Pastor Johnnie's Devotional Archives
March 2005
March 2, 2005
Psalm 52:8 says: "But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the
house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever."
King Saul had it in for David. David fled from the King to Ahimelech the
priest who supplied him with bread to eat and, for self-protection, gave
him the sword which David had used to kill Goliath. Saul's head shepherd,
Doeg, was there and overheard the entire transaction. He later told the
King, who called Ahimelech and his entire family into his presence for
questioning. Angered at the priests of God for their assistance of David,
Saul ordered Doeg to kill them all. That day, 85 faithful priests of God
were slaughtered because of the driving and relentless jealousy of this
king against God's man, David.
It is in that context David's words of Psalm 52 are recorded. Verse 7
identifies those who "grow strong by destroying others". But,
David finds refuge in the presence of God, where alone there is fullness
of joy (Psalm 16:11) and eternal pleasures at God's right hand. And God
sees to it that, as he trusts in Him and in His unfailing love, he continues
not only to grow but to bear fruit as well. Such is the child of God whose
delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water (Psalm 1:3).
Regardless of life's difficult and seemingly overwhelming and impossible
circumstances today, plant your feet and your heart firmly and convincingly
in the presence of Almighty God; find your refuge in Him. His promise?
"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will stay fresh
and green". (Psalm 92:12-14).
Sovereign Ruler over all the affairs of our lives, in You we have
found true refuge. Cause us to flourish and to bear fruit, today, as we
plant our feet firmly in Your presence and trust in Your unfailing love!
Amen.
March 5, 2005
Psalm 35:27 brings a deep and abiding peace to the heart of the sinning
saint who casts himself upon the mercy of a gracious, compassionate God:
May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may
they always say, 'The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being
of his servant'.
Sometimes in our arrogance, we evangelicals forget that we are still sinners,
though saved by grace. We can live with caustic and judgmental spirits,
looking on sinning brothers or sisters and condemn them, as though we
were squeaky clean. NOT! That kind of pride is a trait of the wicked,
not the saved saint. "Concerning the sinfulness of the wicked, there
is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect his (own) sin." (Psalm 36:1-2) Looking even casually
at the life of King David, the forgiven saint comes away with the humble
realization that a righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord
delivers him from them all (Psalm 34:19). David had rebelled in his heart
against God and righteousness by insisting on having his own way. He had
lusted, stolen, adulterated, deceived, lied, and murdered. Who better
than he to 'model' what his son Solomon later wrote Proverbs 24:16 he
says, "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again",
and that only by the grace and mercy of God!
Admittedly, I sometimes find it hard to 'delight' in the vindication,
the forgiveness, and the 'foreverness' of the righteous person's eternal
standing before a holy God, though an admitted, caught-red-handed, guilty
sinner. But then I remember my own many, many pleadings for mercy and
grace for the awful sins I continually commit against the holiness of
God; and the Holy Spirit faithfully reminds me that the righteous will
never be uprooted (Proverbs 10:30).
Forgiving Father, to the enemy we humbly and constantly say: do not
gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit
in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against
him, I will bear the Lord's wrath until he pleads my case and establishes
my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness
(Micah 7:8-9). Hallelujah for the cross! Amen.
March 7, 2005
Psalm 37:5,6 are as much verses of hope as they are verses of challenge
to the weary, tired, attacked, and feeling beaten down child of God: "Commit
your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your
righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the
noonday sun.
Picture, for a moment, our Savior hanging on the cross in the midst of
great 'darkness'. To the world that was tired of Him and His nerve-wracking,
incessant talk about righteousness, His severely bludgeoned body on that
cross was a sight to behold! It meant that He would no longer be calling
them to account for the wickedness of their words, thoughts, actions,
and attitudes. His down-to-earth teachings, His probing questions, which
only revealed their ignorance of truth and brought embarrassment and anger
at the exposure of their true nature, would now be quelled. But that was
Friday. When Sunday came, His resurrection from the dead was His glorious
vindication!
The weary child of God, hungry not only for answers to their questions,
but also starving for some ray of light that will infuse a measure of
hope and allow their cause to be seen and handled by Someone far more
capable than they, quickly takes the immense ball of burden from off their
own shoulders and rolls that huge ball onto the Only One Who should be
trusted at such a critical time! Only He can make sense out of it all.
Only He will (not: 'can' or 'hopefully will' or 'might consider') make
your weak, brokenhearted but humble submission and obedience to Him "shine
like the dawn". And the brightness of the eventual (Yes, Sunday is
coming!), glorious revelation of His holy purposes (Romans 8:28; II Corinthians
1:4; II Corinthians 4:7-11), birthed out of the darkness of your crisis
and out of the many unanswered questions, will be like the warming brightness
of the noonday sun. So, please, don't fail to commit your way to the Lord!
Precious, comforting Father of truth and revelation, may we not doubt
in the darkness of our crises that which we know to be true in the light!
Amen.
March 9, 2005
Psalm 9:16 says: "The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are
ensnared by the work of their hands."
This is a scripture of such magnitude as to quiet the ignorant, accusing
heart whose understanding of the sovereignty of God makes no room for
His 'justice'. When, in stubbornness of heart, Pharaoh refused to let
God's people leave the land to worship Him, in justice God said: "The
Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against
Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it" (Exodus 7:5). We know the
rest of the story. You see, the wicked ensnare themselves through their
own arrogance (Psalm 36:1-2). They have only themselves to 'blame' when
they are justifiably brought to the table of reckoning by God. And, when
we abandon the covenant of the Lord, and go off and worship 'other gods',
bowing down to them, it is appropriate and perfectly justifiable that
the Lord's anger would "burn against the land" (Deuteronomy
29:25-28) in one way or another; His justice demands it.
When the spies went to check out the promised land, news of God's justice
had "gone before them", so to speak. The wicked people of the
land were able to put it together in their own hearts, their own consciences
bearing good witness that they had ensnared themselves in wickedness by
their own careless, self-focused choice: "We have heard how the Lord
dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,
and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of
the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts
melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your
God is God in heaven above and the earth below" (Joshua 2:10-11).
May the Lord open our eyes today to see His perfect justice in all things,
"so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are
God" (II Kings 19:19b).
Thank You, Holy Father, that righteousness and justice are the foundation
of your throne (Psalm 89:14). Help us to grasp that truth in a deeper
way today. Amen.
March 12, 2005
Psalm 112:4 is another of the innumerable peace-giving, soul-satisfying
scriptures found in the Bible: "Even in darkness light dawns for
the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."
Over 42 years of ministry, Ruth and I have observed the Lord's people
- and ourselves! - in numberless situations. Times of trial and distressing
circumstances, which seem to be so faith-draining, are perhaps the 'darkest'
hours for most of us, aren't they? The word used for 'darkness' here has
a broad spectrum of application: misery, destruction, death, ignorance,
sorrow, wickedness, to name a few. To have beams of light begin to appear,
shooting forth like the rays of the rising sun, after a long night of
deep, starless darkness, is a glorious thought, isn't it? I am compelled,
however, to look carefully at the 'qualifiers' the Psalmist interjects:
the light dawns "for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate
and righteous man". What I come away with is this: if I habitually
walk in the darkness of sin; if I am, therefore, unkind and merciless
to those spiritually needy, fallen souls around me; if I do not continually
seek the way of righteousness for myself and hopefully for them as well,
those of you around me will be among the first to know. You'll hear me
focusing on the 'darkness' instead of the hope of 'light'. You'll sense
a growing bitterness in my words, actions, and attitudes, which unmasks
the true - dark! - condition of my soul. "Light is shed upon the
righteous" (Psalm 97:11).
Jesus came as light into our darkness "so that no one who believes
in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:46). So, "Let him who
walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and
rely on his God" (Isaiah 50:10).
Merciful Father, rejoicing in the eternal victory procured at the
cross for all brokenhearted, repentant sinners, we echo Micah's words:
"Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have
sinned against him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until he pleads my case
and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light." (Micah
7:8-9) For continually pouring out such grace and compassion upon us,
we humbly give You thanks and wholeheartedly worship You in spirit and
in truth! Amen.
March 14, 2005
Psalm 114:8 is a continuation of the thought from verse 7: "Tremble,
O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
(v. 8) who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of
water."
It is by faith we are fully persuaded and - consequently! - have placed
our absolute reliance upon the fact that God, by His command, "spoke
into existence" the universe, so that what is seen was not made out
of what was visible (Hebrews 11:1-3). So, in humble obedience to its Creator,
the rock opens up and pours forth water. [No way, Jose! Way, Joe!] As
a matter of fact, the Bible says that water "gushed" out (Psalm
105:41); water "as abundant as the sea" (Psalm 78:15); enough
to make "the desert into pools of water". And, by the way, the
context of their situation was that they were being led "through
the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its
venomous snakes and scorpions" (Deuteronomy 8:15).
This morning, no matter how 'vast' the troubling situation of your life;
no matter how impossibly (and impenetrably) hard the rock of life's circumstances
may seem to you; regardless of how dry (waterless) your life may be, due
to personal carelessness, or actually be by divine design for a brief
spell (I Peter 1:6,7), the Lover of your soul, Almighty God, can speak
the word, break open whatever needs to be broken open, and release the
exact provision for your need. Of course, we shouldn't expect Him to do
so, in spite of our pleadings for a quick 'release', until we are spiritually
ready to receive His provision (think: eating unripened fruit or overripe
fruit); until that provision will meet the broadest spectrum of need in
our own lives and possibly even be applied to the needs of others around
us for whom He may especially be preparing us to respond (think: it's
not always about you). We must never forget: the prerogative of timing
is His alone.
We tremble at Your presence, Gracious and Holy Father, Who accompanied
Your people in Old Testament times, and Who continually met their every
need. May we also - today and every day! - drink from the Spiritual Rock,
Christ, by Whose presence and power the rock-hard, seemingly impossible
experiences of life are always faithfully met, whether we 'see' it or
not (I Corinthians 10:1-4)! Through Christ our Lord, we humbly pray. Amen.
March 16, 2005
Psalm 76:10 "Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and
the survivors of your wrath are restrained."
Whenever I think of Pharaoh, I'm reminded of the inflated idea he had
of his own importance. His stubborn arrogance in thinking he could go
mano a mano (hand to hand) in battle with the Lord of glory, is such a
profound, multifaceted study of both God and man. But, God was very clear
about His own intentions: "I have raised you up that I might show
you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
(Exodus 9:16) And He did! And it is! His 'wrath' against Egypt continues
to bring Him praise!
When King Herod seized Peter, he was "kept in prison" and the
Lord's 'wrath' took on a different 'look': "the church was earnestly
praying" (Acts 12:5). Don't you love it?! The Lord used prison chains,
snoozing soldiers, and angels going: "Pssst... Peter (tapping him
on the side)! Get up, pal! You're outta here!" If that weren't enough,
the final gate to freedom "opened for them by itself"! I sincerely
hope that gentle, yet incredibly powerful 'wrath' against His enemies
still brings Him praise from the depths of your heart!
The 'wrath' of God's revelation of the truth to Joseph's brothers' hearts
(Genesis 42-50) would be called 'creative' in today's world. And, it was,
no doubt. I probably would have handled those bean heads in a totally
different way. But God was able to use lying, deceit, prison, disloyalty,
lust, dreams, a baker, famine, and wonderful, long-range administrative
planning - to name just a few! - to accomplish His purposes for a single
man, an extended family, and two entire nations! And, in spite of the
passing of many centuries, you and I are still pouring forth praise to
Him from our hearts and our lips!
O Lord, who among the gods is like You? Who is like You: majestic
in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11) Your wrath,
which we frequently don't 'see' at all, or which we totally misinterpret
when we think we do see it, truly does bring you praise. Please give us
eyes to see way beyond the temporal circumstances here on earth to Your
eternal purposes in heaven! Amen.
March 18, 2005
To me, Psalm 18:28 is both a statement and a confession: "You, O
Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."
Throughout the centuries the lamp has become a symbol for understanding
(II Samuel 22:29), guidance (Proverbs 6:23), and life (Job 21:17). In
Bible times the lamp was a small clay saucer that held either oil or fat,
the burning agent. The saucer had a pinched lip around it to hold a single
wick, sometimes two. It would burn from two to four hours in duration
before needing refilled. As a statement, this verse is easily understood,
since God's Son, Christ, is for us the Light of the world. Apart from
Him, in other words, there is no light; only darkness. And, apart from
His faithfulness in filling this 'jar of clay' (II Corinthians 4:7) with
the necessary oil to keep it burning, there will be no light.
Likewise, as a confession, I freely admit that I long ago ran out of whatever
'oil' I thought I had to light my own feeble fires (See Isaiah 50:10-11).
I quickly acknowledge that any true 'light' emanating from my life is
a reflection of the burning oil of the abiding Holy Spirit's presence
in my life. I humbly confess that whatever darkness surrounds me can only
be dispelled by the burning oil of His presence, whose gracious and intervening
Presence I too often carelessly resist. Finally, I unhesitatingly own
up to the fact that not having enough oil to keep my lamp burning will
usually represent some form of disobedience on my part (see Matthew 25:1-13)
which I am too prone to minimize or overlook.
O God, blessed and only Ruler, King of kings and Lord of lords, Who
alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light (I Timothy 6:16),
fill our lamps with Your glorious presence and keep them burning for Your
glory. Keep us from settling for walking in the darkness of independence
and self-sufficiency. That we might always bring praise and glory to Your
Son, Jesus, we pray this. Amen.
March 22, 2005
Psalm 82:1 tells us that "God presides in the great assembly; he
gives judgment among the 'gods'."
As He was maliciously brutalized by His handlers on that dark day 2000
years ago, Jesus was supremely confident of the truth Asaph gives us in
this verse. At a time like this, when you are caught up in the emotion
of your rage, I don't expect you to understand this. But, it makes no
difference what you do to me or what is said about me in your 'courts
of law'. There is Someone far greater than you Who knows the truth, Who
has a glorious plan which eclipses the temporary results your audacious-yet-unjudicious
actions will produce. Though perhaps strangely quiet for such a time as
this, He is, nonetheless, superintending this whole process. I tell you:
"Judgment belongs to God" (Deuteronomy 1:17). Furthermore, if
you see the "oppressed in a district, and justice and rights are
denied him, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed
by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still" (Ecclesiastes
5:8); that's what I'm talking about. So, stick around. This is only Friday.
Sunday's coming!!
Matthew Henry well stated: The "supreme authority and power in all
councils and courts, whether asserted or laid down", is no other
than God Himself. So, when an innocent Joseph languishes in jail unjustly;
when God-empowered apostles and missionaries and church planters and Christian
businessmen/women and pro-lifers are maligned, fined, persecuted, imprisoned,
or murdered for their faith in Him; when the unborn are judged unworthy
of life and are instead legally entrusted to the whims of selfish, self-coddling
fornicators, find comfort, peace, and encouragement in the fact that there
is One Who sees it all - nothing escapes His attention; He sees what is
done in secret (Matthew 6:4)! He is carefully and attentively presiding
over it all! He is the One before Whom every man, woman, and child will
one day stand and give ultimate account. The Bible guarantees it!
Rise up, O God; judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Amen. (Psalm 82:8)
March 24, 2005
Psalm 34:11 says: "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach
you the fear of the Lord."
For 21st Century parents, this is an invitation, a command, and a challenge
which, if ignored, will ultimately bring terribly unfortunate results.
Recently, I witnessed a display of the power of the sinful nature in two
little boys. Their mother had invited them to eat at the kitchen table.
They delayed and kept playing. She turned the invitation into a command,
which seemed to have little effect, either. Then there was the challenge:
do you want to come eat or do I...? According to our verse today, she
could have continued: or do I teach you about the fear of mommy and the
consequences of disobedience?
Solomon lays down a powerful challenge to every parent: "train a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from
it" (Proverbs 22:6). The word for train can actually mean "to
narrow". In other words, the constant task for the godly, God-fearing,
Bible-believing, truth-and-discipline-applying parent of children up through
about 5 years of age is to wisely narrow the options for them so that
they are 'trained' and 'disciplined' to make right choices. Then, when
they're older, the obvious wisdom of 'their' choices will have the much
greater probability of prevailing when making decisions on their own.
The alternative? "...a child left to himself disgraces his mother"
(Proverbs 29:15).
This may be more about us parents than it is about our children; you see
that, don't you? So, briefly consider a few benefits of a child who has
been faithfully trained in the narrow way of righteousness: they gain
understanding (Proverbs 4:1); they are saved from moral promiscuity (Proverbs
7:24); they learn to recognize the right kind of 'wealth' (Proverbs 8:17);
they receive the favor of the Lord (i.e. the Lord shows His delight: Yo!
That's my son! That's my daughter!) (Proverbs 8:32).
Gentle Father, grant modern day parents the courage to accept your
invitation, obey your command, and apply your challenge to fear you in
all they do! Amen.
March 28, 2005
Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love,
O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands."
Through the years of our lives, Ruth and I have worked on quite a few
500 to 1000 word puzzles, usually on vacation, of course. The straight-edged
borders are sought for and put together first. That is of utmost importance,
both for encouragement and meaning in light of an ultimate goal. When
that's done, at least we know we have the basic 'frame' in place, and
now all we lack are the other 924 parts of the puzzle. But, what keeps
us 'sane' is constant reminder that, for us, the remaining pieces only
have significance as we connect them to the frame or border. Until that
important point, we can interconnect maybe 10-15 other pieces and they
can have independent significance in light of the whole; but until we
have found the one piece that connects them to the border, it can sometimes
be frustrating. The tendency is to think: "this is the one piece
that's missing in the entire puzzle!".
For heaven-bound saints, the puzzle of life on earth can be absolutely
frustrating, can't it? Especially if we do not keep in clear focus what
the puzzle is supposed to look like when it's finished. How many times
do we pick up the box and view what it's supposed to be and hold it close
to or move it back and forth over the many parts that are spread helter-skelter
across the table, wondering, "Will this ever come together into one
finished product?!" Knowing what the end product is supposed to look
like - that is, "the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" -
brings a measure of peace, but only to the trusting, obedient child who
resists the very real temptation to think either that God has abandoned
them or that a piece of the puzzle is definitely missing.
Glorious Maker of some of the most beautiful yet frustrating yet wonderfully
ending puzzles, grant us grace to not doubt in the dark what we know to
be truth in the light! Amen.
March 31, 2005
Psalm 131 is one of the 'songs of ascent', sung as the people of the
Lord walked the streets of Jerusalem on their way to temple for worship.
David, the author, reveals the thoughts of his own heart during this time
of personal preparation for worship. Verse 1 says: "My heart is not
proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great
matters or things too wonderful for me."
In today's busy world, with fewer of God's people personally meditating
on the Word of God and on the God of the Word, even on Sunday in preparation
for fellowship with other Christians and authentic worship of the Living
God (which should merely be an extension of the worship which has been
'happening' every day throughout the week), there is legitimate concern
on the part of God that 'worship' is not what it ought to be. We seem
to come to church tired, exhausted, frustrated, and, worst of all, spiritually
unprepared! Throughout the week, we seek "great things for ourselves"
(Jeremiah 45:5); we entertain thoughts of being "better than others"
(Deuteronomy 17:21; Romans 12:16); starving for earthly attention (versus
God's approval), we "look for praise from men" (I Thessalonians
2:6,7); we fail to concentrate on the important things: integrity of heart
(Psalm 78:72), holiness and righteousness (I Thessalonians 2:10); often
our service for God, if there is time to quickly and un-sacrificially
do so, lacks humility and tears of genuine concern for the spiritual condition
of others (Acts 20:19); and, even some of us spiritual care-givers "run
away from being His shepherd" (Jeremiah 17:16).
If such lack of concern for spiritual quality control in 'preparation'
for church becomes widespread, personal agendas will rule (Yeah, I think
I'll stay home from church tomorrow! I need a break.); church will continue
to be more about how I can be entertained rather than how I can become
broken in heart (Matthew 11:29) and prepared to be a vibrant and serving
Christian; God's money will be selfishly frittered away on selfish pursuits;
ministry needs will be unmet; and, Satan will cackle with unhindered delight
through it all.
Father in heaven, we confess the oft presence and truth of this verse
in our lives, for which we humbly plead Your forgiveness. Today, may we
be all You intended us to be. Amen.
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