Devotions

One of my favorite assurances in Scriptures is found in 2Chronicles 16. That chapter speaks of an incident in the life of Asa, King of Judah. During his reign, Baasha, King of Israel, started a war effectively isolating King Asa.

King Asa had a choice. He could call out to God for rescue, or he could look to man. Asa made the choice of looking to man and enlisted the help of Ben-Hadad, King of Syria.

Ben-Hadad did rescue King Asa, but it was the wrong choice. God sent the prophet Hanani to Asa and announced the consequences of his foolishness. “In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” [16:9b NKJV]

Isn’t it interesting that even though King Asa had a successful outcome to his problem, in God’s eyes it was a failure.

 God also reminded Asa of something vital for all of us to remember … this is the assurance I love! “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”  [16:9a NKJV]

We have the assurance that God is eager to show Himself strong on our behalf. No matter where we go in this world, no matter what we experience in this life, God is looking for ways to prove His care for us. We just need to make sure that we make the right choice – to look to Him instead of to man.

A while back I lost one of my good hearing aids. Finances were a bit tight, so I bought a set advertised in a magazine. Unfortunately, they aren’t very good. They do amplify sound, but I still am unclear at times on the words spoken.  They also do not fit as well as the old ones and make my ears “itchy” after a few hours wearing them. I take them off early in the evening when I can, and Bob and I just shout “What?” at each other a lot.

That had me thinking about Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 4. “Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.” [2 Timothy 4:2-4 HCSB]

2 Timothy 4 is an interesting chapter to read.  From what we know, these may be the final written words of Paul to not just Timothy, but to the church.  Often the final thoughts of a great person’s life hold wonderful truth and meaning.

Paul warned the church that a time was coming (and has certainly arrived) when people would not want to hear sound doctrine.  Instead, they will want religious novelties and things that neither challenge nor offend.

Sound doctrine often offends.  It offends our old fallen-flesh nature.  The old fallen-flesh nature neither wants to be convicted of sin, nor does it want to repent. It wants to gather around preachers who tell it what it wants to hear.

I read an article titled, “How We Moved from Theological to Therapeutic Preaching.”  Just the title got me thinking!

And yes, there are some churches that do not teach sound doctrine – theological peaching. Instead, they give people what their itching ears desire. Therapeutic preaching that makes them feel good and never offends. Paul’s warning could not be more relevant for today.

Let’s make sure we are in a church that teaches and preaches sound doctrine.

Matthew 5:14 tells us that we are the light of the world and that a city on a hill cannot be hidden.

As I read 1 Peter 3:13-16 this morning, I thought about how it fits so easily with Matthew 5:14. As the world gets darker, we are going to become much more noticeable.  That is going to bring both good attention, and attention that is not so good.  Peter addresses both:

“And who will harm you if you are deeply committed to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed, but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame.” [HCSB]

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  Who indeed.  I think that must have been a rhetorical question because Peter was certainly aware, even a recipient of harm from others after doing good.   As Peter noted, however, there is a blessing that comes when we suffer for doing what is right.  We must not be afraid to step up.

I saw a YouTube video of a minister who was in a Kroeger’s in Cincinnati paying for people’s groceries as an outreach.  Those who received this blessing were amazed and thankful, and when they asked why, the minister simply said, “God is good.”

Yet many comments on the YouTube page about the video were vicious.  The language was foul and shocking.  People were enraged that a Christian was trying to bless people in the community.

Peter would not have been surprised.  We should not be surprised either.  Suffering for doing what is right is not new but is certainly becoming more acceptable in our society.

I try to read my Bible through each year, or at least once every two years. That means I read through Job each time. I started that in the 1980s. That means I have read through Job many times.

Listening to Job and his friends debate about God—who God is and what God does—can be trying, until that wonderful moment when God Himself steps into the debate in Job 38. When I read that first verse, I want to shout “Finally!”

“Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind.” [HCSB]

And I love how God enters the conversation. “Where were you when I established the earth?” [38:4 HCSB]

He follows that with a series of questions that reminds His listeners that He is the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, and they are not. The question I love most comes at the beginning of Chapter 40. “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” [40:2 HCSB]

Who are we to attempt to counsel or correct God? And yet we try. I have on occasion argued with God. I have tried to bend His will in a different direction. I have tried to convince Him to do things a different way. I have stubbornly refused to listen because I wanted to hear something different than what He was speaking.

Arguing with God (for whatever reason) is a fruitless endeavor. We will not change God, but we will make ourselves – and everyone around us – miserable.

“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” Nope – We may try but thankfully we won’t win.

Pastor Jerrad spoke out of Psalm 23:4 a couple Sundays ago. “When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me.”

As he spoke about not being afraid, he used a few verses from Deuteronomy. Two of the passages spoke to me. I wrote of Deuteronomy 7:17-28 yesterday.

Another passage was found in Chapter 20, verse 1: “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” [NKJV]

Notice that little word “for?” As used in this sentence, it is a conjunction. It connects two clauses.

“When you go out to battle against your enemies … do not be afraid of them” is the first clause.

The second is “the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

“FOR” connects them. Moses reminded the people that they did not need to be afraid FOR the LORD their God was with them – the same LORD God who delivered them from the land of Egypt.

We are not to be afraid either … FOR … the LORD our God has brought us out of darkness and brought us into His glorious light! Those “FORs” in our life in the past provide such assurance for our present and our future.