Pastor Johnnie's Devotional Archives
September 2006
Most of the next few months' devotionals will have
been written in the jungles of Panama, an airplane, isolated cottage,
or other location during the wonderful sabbatical the Lord has graciously
given us... and which terminates the end of August. It'll be fascinating
to 'see' how the Lord 'anticipated' the various needs of our lives beforehand
and is addressing them today. The thought gives joy to my heart. I'm smiling
as I write this. Blessings!
September 2, 2006
Psalm 90:15 “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted
us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.”
Affliction is not normally an action desired or preferred by the Lord’s
people. Yes, the Bible is clear that those who have determined to truly
live godly in Christ Jesus will, at some point in their earthly journey,
suffer affliction and/or persecution of some sort (see II Timothy 3:12),
predetermined by the sovereign God alone. But we would normally consider
someone who “readily and willingly adapts to pain” administered
punitively (persecution) to be a ‘wierdo’ or a sadist or masochist
of some sort.
Not so for the godly. Trouble, hardship, and difficulty are all opportunities
permitted us that we might submit to the endless power and glorious purpose
of the living God who is preparing His children for heaven (Isaiah 61:3).
Thank you, faithful Father, for your loving attention to us and to
the real needs of our lives (i.e. worship, submission, humility, thankfulness,
praise, etc.). Thank you for your willingness to display your splendor
through us in the circumstances of our daily lives. Accept our gratitude
as we humbly – and willingly – continue to submit to you,
in Jesus’ name. Amen.
September 4, 2006 47 wonderful years
ago this evening Ruth and I said “I do!”
Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
I don’t know how some Christians can cope with the circumstances
of each day when they have not had sufficient input of God’s Word
and reflection therein. When I hear the harsh complaints of some of His
people, one of the first thoughts I have is that they must not be giving
the sweet and comforting teachings of the Bible proper place in their
thinking process or in their daily lives.
The implication of the word ‘satisfy’ is to “be full
of” or “to have plenty of”. In other words, to be so
aware of and to so highly value the priceless-ness and abundance of God’s
loving care (Psalm 36:7,8) that the day ahead is an exciting adventure
filled with many opportunities to sing for joy, to be glad in Him, and
to bathe in His unfailing love. May that be so for each of us today!
Oh, Early Morning Satisfier of our souls, may today be a day of praise
and worship with which you are well pleased! Amen.
September 11, 2006
Psalm 53:4 “Will the evildoers never learn – those who devour
my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God?”
The fools of the earth arrogantly deny the existence of God (53:1). So,
to them the people of a God who does not even exist cannot be considered
as having much value, either. After all, living in a fantasy world of
such unreasonable religious ‘imagination’, what do they know
about ‘reality’? What do they know about handling the real
affairs of life? To the fool, Christians appear to be totally unprepared
to succeed in such a world.
So, in their disregard for God (54:3), these foolish unbelievers treat
the people of God with random ruthlessness and utter disdain, as though
they were totally disillusioned. For them, there is no moral code of conduct
to regulate the often spiteful flow of lies and innuendoes designed to
bury those foolish enough to believe in God and to trust in His sovereign
authority.
Such contempt and disregard for God’s people requires disciplined,
holy patience in response, for the day will indeed come when, for the
glory of God, we can say: “my eyes have looked in triumph on my
foes.” (Psalm 54:7)
Lord of glory, those who dare to walk godly in Christ Jesus have been
promised to experience persecution. During such times, grant your people
the ability to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves in response.
For the sake and for the ultimate glory of the Name – Jesus! - we
pray, Amen.
September 14, 2006
Psalm 46:6-10 “Nations are in an uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts
his voice, the earth melts. The Lord almighty is with us; the God of Jacob
is our fortress. (So), come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations
he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.’”
For us humans, stillness in the midst of difficult times is impossible
if all we ‘see’ are warring nations or the raging kings or
the serious weapons of warfare of those nations. As I write this, certain
Central American nations are (troublingly) aligning themselves with Communist
Cuba. North Korea is adamant in its efforts to snub the world community
and forge ahead with the development of nuclear armaments. Mid Eastern
nations are in holy wars. And what about the USA? Well, we’re frantically
trying to eliminate God and show the world that, even without Him, the
nation is still ‘all-powerful’.
For the child of God, we must ‘see’ the sovereign God in all
the affairs of the world and know that He has ultimate authority over
every nation of the earth. With eyes of faith, we must ‘come and
see’, in the Word of God, the victories wrought by our King throughout
the ages. And, with hearts of faith, we must ‘be still and know’
that He is and will always be, God.
Sovereign God, in our hearts and in our lives, we exalt you. May your
glory permeate us today! Indeed, may your glory be over all the earth!
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
September 19, 2006
Psalm 43:3-5 “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide
me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will
praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
The light and truth of God’s Word upon the paths of our lives never
ever leads us away from Him. He is the Alfa and the Omega; the beginning
and the end. Should there ever be a time when we feel independent of Him,
that we don’t need Him because of our giftedness or our own ability
to handle the issues of life, know this: we have strayed from Him, the
Light and the Truth!
Another interesting focus in this passage is how one can clearly recognize
whether or not the light and truth of God’s Word is having the divinely
designed impact it was intended to have: With a joyful spirit of praise
and utter delight in Him, I go to the altar of God to offer my life as
a sacrifice to Him so that He can do whatever He wishes with my life for
His glory! (Romans 12:1) In other words, it does an injustice to the love,
grace, mercy, light, and truth of God to merely talk about spiritual things
without a corresponding clear commitment of myself to Him! May today be
that day of commitment and dedication to Christ for each of us!
Father, forbid that we should ever depart from your light and truth.
May we learn to delight ourselves in your presence, for in your presence
is fullness of joy! (Psalm 16:11) For Jesus’ sake we pray, Amen.
September 26, 2006
Psalm 47:8, 9 “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his
holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God
of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.”
Why do the nations rage and the heathen imagine a vain thing? Why do
the rulers of the earth take such a united, feisty stand against the Lord
and His Anointed One? (Psalm 2:1, 2) The answer is simple: in the deep
darkness with which they surround themselves and in which they live, there
is no desire to entertain even the slightest light of the presence or
input of their Creator. Sadly, they do not realize that ultimately they
belong to Him!
The day is coming, however, when the knee of every potentate will bow
and acknowledge His sovereign rule (Philippians 2:9-11)! Every earthly
authority who has so naively sought to break the chains of God’s
control and throw off any semblance of His influence will cry out in acknowledgment
of and obedience to His leadership, for the kings of the earth belong
to God!
With the rumblings of war and the constant threat of terrorism, Father,
it is so comforting to know that those who would throw off any appearance
of your sovereign rule are already yours and are, even now, only doing
that which will ultimately carry out and fulfill your holy will. Let us
find real peace in that knowledge today; and, let us be unmistakably motivated
to evangelize as many as we can before Jesus comes. Amen.
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