JULY 31ST: HAPPY LORDS DAY TO YOU ALL, I PRAY THAT IT HAS BEEN A BLESSING AND TIME OF REJOICING IN THE WINGS OF THE LORD...........LENORE
I HOPE THAT ENCOURAGEMENT WILL BE FOUND IN THE FOLLOWING..LENORE
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The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who
can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine
the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve."
Jeremiah 17:9-10
2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14
Psalm 89:38-45
Proverbs 19:6-7
Acts 25:1-22
Where Is Our Trust?
You have become enraged with Your anointed.
PSALM 89:38
God' s glory is more important than our own well-being. The serious problem is not the pain that others have inflicted upon us, but the pain we have inflicted (and continue to inflict) upon God. Let me spell out as clearly as I can exactly what I mean.
Many Christians are far more interested in focusing on how they can get God to comfort them when they have been hurt than considering how much they have hurt Him.
Not that it is wrong to seek His comfort - Scripture encourages us to do this - but it is only one side of the picture. The most popular books in our bookshops today are titles such as these: How to Be Healed of Life' s Hurtsor How to Overcome the Pains of the Past.
I repeat that this is a legitimate emphasis, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the important issue is not how badly people have behaved toward us, but how badly we have behaved (and continue to behave) toward God.
Take this for example: Someone hurts us or upsets us, and we decide to become the architects of their judgment. But what does God say? "Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay" (Rm 12:19).
Don' t you think God is hurt when He sees us ignoring His Word? We may have been sinned against, but is that any justification for sinning against God? Let' s not mince words here, for any violation of a divine principle must be called by its rightful name - sin. And no sin ought to be treated lightly - especially a sin against God.
Daily Prayer
O God, forgive me that so often I am more concerned about how others have treated me than the way I treat You. I see that a failure to trust You is a failure in love. I say, "I love You," but only so far. Forgive me and help me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to
do, should say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done
our duty."
Luke 17:10
Can a Lie Be Justified?
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
PROVERBS 19:5
Will the universe sustain a lie? Today the church is being inundated with a philosophy called "situational ethics," which would have us believe that sometimes a lie can be right. I think that is a deadly and diabolical doctrine.
A lie is never right - no matter what attempts we might make to justify it. "God is not a man who lies," says the Scripture in Numbers 23:19, and in 1 John 2:21 we read, "No lie comes from the truth." God cannot lie, and He will never delegate to you the task of lying for Him.
When we take dishonesties into our lives we take fire into our lives - here and hereafter: "All liars - their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur" (Rv 21:
.
"Situational ethics" proponents come up with all kinds of possible scenarios, such as: "What if someone came to your house to murder a member of your family and asked if that person was in. Would it not be right to lie in those circumstances?"
Can you see the thrust of this question? It is the argument, "This is what we ought to do because it makes sense." But once we view sin as an "ought," it is magically turned into something that is "good."
The Bible does not teach that anyone in any situation ought to sin. First Corinthians 10:13 teaches that because God is faithful, we will never find ourselves in a situation where we must sin, but there will always be a way of escape. God never calls upon us to break one of His laws in order to keep another.
Daily Prayer
O Father, in a world that seems to be always looking for excuses and exceptions, help me to steer my life by the clear statements of Your revealed will. I don' t want to measure up to exceptions; I want to conform to the rules - Your rules. In Jesus' name. Amen
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our
God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
Satan - Angel of Light
My faithfulness and love will be with him. - PSALM 89:24
A feeling that the Devil delights to arouse in an unguarded heart is the feeling that God does not love us. He usually times his attack to coincide with those moments when everything is going wrong and we are beset by all kinds of difficulties. Then he whispers in our ear: "Do you still believe that God is love?"
When you respond by saying that you do, he transforms himself into an angel of light and tries another of his deceitful tactics. "Well," he says, "it is obvious that He does not love you, for if He did, then He would not allow you to go through these difficult situations."
There is only one protection against such an assault; it is to put firmly in place the "armor of righteousness." Nothing else will avail at this point. You must point him to the truth of Romans 8:28 - "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God." Paul does not say "we understand," but "we know."
This brings you directly to the theme of justification by faith, which is in fact the righteousness of Christ. You rest on this established truth, and that is all you need.
You must say to yourself: "He would never have clothed me with His righteousness if He had not also set His love upon me and saved me. I will have courage. I do not know what is happening to me now. I cannot fathom it. But if He has begun His work in me, then I know He will go on to complete it."
Daily Prayer
O God, what wondrous power there is in Your Word. I can feel it doing me good even as I read and ponder it. Give me a greater knowledge of Your Word, for only through its truth can I maintain an advantage over the Devil. Amen
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day
may bring forth.
Proverbs 27:1
The Word That Irritates
[If] my people . . . humble themselves . . . and turn from their evil ways, then I will . . . forgive their sin, and heal their land.
2 CHRONICLES 7:14
Most Christians never allow themselves to come too close to the deep thirst for God that exists at the core of their being, for if they did, they would be compelled to get in touch with their basic helplessness.
Why would we want to deny this? Because to recognize our helplessness puts us in a position where we have to repent of it - and that is something our fallen human nature pulls back from doing.
Believe me, the one word that grates and irritates our carnal nature is the word "repent." It is much easier to be given advice like: "Read more of the Bible every day,""Add extra minutes to your prayer time," or "Seize more opportunities to share your faith," than to be told to repent.
All these things I have just mentioned may be excellent in themselves, but more is required if we are to get in touch with our deep thirst for God.
We must repent!
But repent of what? Our stubborn commitment to independence, as well as the awful desire and practice of choosing to dig our own wells.
A passionate pursuit of God demands this. Believe me, no matter what we say with our lips, we will never begin to pant after God until we repent of the self-sufficiency that has made its home deep within our hearts. This, in my opinion, is the biggest single step we can take in our pursuit of God and the experience of having feet like "hinds' feet."
Daily Prayer
Gracious and loving heavenly Father, help me to repent deeply. May I know at this moment a turning from self-dependence to God-dependence. I give You my willingness - now give me Your power. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen
Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of
evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15