JUST THIS ONCE

JUST THIS ONCE


READ:
Psalm 19:7-14


Keep back Your servant
also from presumptuous
sins.  -Psalm 19:13


As a boy, I used to ride a go-cart that was steered with a rope.  On one occasion, as I propelled my way down the driveway, my parents' warning came to mind:  "Always look up and down the street for cars."  But I rationalized:  It's okay not to do that just this once.  Then I heard the sound of screeching tires as a car came to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting me.  Thinking I could break my parent's rule nearly cost me my life.


The Bible has many examples of those who knew better but who chose to break God's rules.  From boyhood, David had meditated on the law of God while he tended his sheep.  He knew that the seventh commandment condemned adultery, yet when he saw a beautiful woman bathing he used his royal power to take the wife of Uriah for his own.  This sin resulted in terrible consequences (2 Samuel 11-12).


The psalmist wrote:  "Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins" (Psalm 19:13).  Have you felt tempted to do something "just this once" even though you knew it was wrong?  Glancing at Internet pornography, "borrowing" money from an account at work, or stretching the truth may each seem like an isolated activity but can lead to terrible consequences.  With God's help, turn from sin and find His way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). -Dennis Fisher


Prone to wander - Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above. -Robinson
********************************
Temptations will knock at your door;
don't ask them to stay for dinner!


INSIGHT
Psalm 19 is a song about the "two books" through which God speaks to people.  In verses 1-6, David reads the "book" of creation, which reveals God's character and power (cf. Romans 1).  In verses 7-14, he turns to the other book, Scripture.  He explores the nature, characteristics, and impact of God's words can have on those who embrace them.  The song concludes with the desire that David's words would be pleasing to God (v.14), just as God's words should be to us.


Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

WATCH THE LORD RESCUE YOU

Today's promise: God's timing is perfect

Watch the Lord rescue you

The Lord continued to strengthen Pharaoh's resolve, and he chased after the people of Israel who had escaped so defiantely. All the forces of Pharaoh's army — all his horses, chariots, and charioteers — were used in the chase.…

As Pharaoh and his army approached, the people of Israel could see them in the distance, marching toward them. The people began to panic, and they cried out to the Lord for help.

Then they turned against Moses and complained, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave? Didn't we tell you to leave us alone while we were still in Egypt? Our Egyptian slavery was better than dying out here in the wilderness!"

But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. You won't have to lift a finger in your defense!"

Exodus 14:8-14 NLT

Bearing down

Whatever your worries are today, they probably do not top the 600 Egyptian war chariots bearing down on the children of Israel! Trapped between the mountains and the sea, the people forgot the God who had delivered them from the Pharaoh's hand, and they cried out in despair. But Moses, who focused on the promise of God, stood firm in his hope. When we face our "chariots," it is quite normal to feel anxiety and fear. But when we remember God's faithfulness and his ability to bring good out of any situation, we find our fears calmed and our confidence renewed.

from TouchPoint Bible commentaries by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 62

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE INSIDE

GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE INSIDE

READ:
Jonah 4

Then the LORD said, "Is it
right for you to be angry?"
-Jonah 4:4

I love the story of Jonah!  It's full of drama and important life lessons. 

After stubbornly refusing to do God's will, Jonah finally preached a revival service in Nineveh that would have made him one of the most successful missionaries of his time.  When the people repented and turned from their wicked ways-and when God relented and turned from His anger against them-you would have expected Jonah to rejoice.  Instead, he was angry that God was merciful.  Why?  Although he was finally obeying God by doing the right thing in the right place, he was deeply flawed on the inside.

Like Jonah, if we are not careful, we can be spiritulally "looking good" on the outside, but far from God in our hearts.  He is most interested in what we are like on the inside.  His Word is "sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit"  (Hebrew 4:12).  With it, He performs divine surgery to remove the greed, dishonesty, hatred, pride, and selfishness that live in the deep shadows of our hearts.

So the next time the Holy Spirit convicts you and asks you about your bad attitude (see Jonah 4:4) - listen carefully.  Surrender and let Him change you from the inside out. -Joe Stowell

I confess, heavenly Father, that I know what it's like
to be more concerned about my outward obedience
than my inner rebellion.  I want to look good to others.
Forgive me.  Change me and make me pure within.
*********************************************
If God controls you on the inside,
you'll be genuine on the outside.

INSIGHT
In Jonah 4, God used several elements of creation (plant, worn, and wind) to teach His frustrated servant.  God frequently uses ordinary things to teach extraordinary lessons about Himself and His love (for example, Jesus' use of parables).

Have a blessed day and week ahead.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

THE POWER IN PRAYER

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

The Power in Prayer

[Jesus told them,] "Now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."

Luke 24:49 NLT

Though the Bible be crowded with golden promises from board to board, yet they will be inoperative until we turn them into prayer.

F. B. Meyer (1847-1929)

Golden promises

Before Jesus sent out the disciples to take the message of the gospel to all nations, he assured them of his promise to send the Holy Spirit. That promise motivated them to continue with one accord in prayer (Acts 1:14). God's promises are provided to stir us and inspire us to pray. Those precious promises — there are hundreds throughout the Bible — show us things God has purposed and wants us to ask for, just as he wanted his disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit so they would have power for ministry. These golden promises teach us about how to pray, and they build our faith. "If I am to have faith when I pray," said American evangelist R.A. Torrey, "I must find some promise in the Word of God on which to rest my faith.…If there is no promise in the Word of God, and no clear leading of the Spirit, there can be no real faith." Today, ask the Lord which of his promises he wants you to pray about. The Holy Spirit will fill you with power from on high to accomplish what needs to be done.


THANK YOU, FATHER, for the promises in your word. May they be incentives for me to continue in prayer so that your will may be accomplished and your kingdom will come in my life, family, nation, and world. Holy Spirit, thank you for dwelling within me and for filling me with your power. Let my prayers be pleasing to you, Father, as your Spirit leads me in praying in light of your promises.


Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 29.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

ACTING IN FAITH

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

Acting in faith

That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

You honor Jesus when you act in faith on His Word.

Ed Cole

Fertile lives

Most of us try to get through life on human wisdom. Some of us succeed. Others of us make so many mistakes that we die with innumerable regrets. If only we could get guidance from above, we would get this "life" stuff right. If only we could hear the voice of the One who knows. If only.


The truth is that we can. The Voice has spoken. His words are available to us. But there's a catch. We have to be willing to obey it. Otherwise, we won't have what Jesus calls "ears to hear." Those who obey what they already know of God have their ears opened to more; and those who have ears open are readily obedient.


The root of the problem is that most of us have trouble, however minor it may be, with obedience. We lose our "ears to hear," and as a result, we fall back on human wisdom. Our lives never match those of the biblical heroes. Why? Human wisdom would not have pushed Abraham up a hill to sacrifice his son; it would not have led God's people to the edge of the Red Sea with an army in pursuit; it would not have marched around Jericho seven times and blasted a trumpet for the wall to fall; and, most strikingly, human wisdom would not have vilified the Son of God on a cross in order to save a wretched race.


Really, when it comes to it, would you prefer to live by the human logic that results from losing your ears to hear? Or would you prefer the cutting-edge, risky-but-real life of a true, radical believer? The answer isn't clear for everyone. But we've seen who lasts. Your Bible is full of their stories. They lived by faith, not by sight.


Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 30.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

NEVER DISAPPOINTED

Today's promise: God's timing is perfect

Never disappointed

Every day I call to you, my God, but, you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy. The praises of Israel surround your throne. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed.

Psalm 22:2-5 NLT

The fugitive translator

William Tyndale was born about 1494 and educated first at Oxford, where he was ordained into the priesthood, then at Cambridge, where he joined the Reformation. He became convinced that England would never be evangelized using Latin Bibles. Tyndale's efforts to get permission to translate the Bible into English were unsuccessful, so he left England.


His first English New Testament was printed in Germany in 1525. As Tyndale's English Bibles were smuggled into England, the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London began attacking him fiercely. On June 18, 1528 Thomas Wolsey, the English cardinal, ordered Tyndale's arrest and extradition to England. It took seven years to track him down, then spent eighteen months in a cold castle dungeon.


Tyndale, in his early forties, was found guilty and condemned to death as a heretic. Referring to the king's opposition to his English Bible, Tyndale said, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes."


The year that Tyndale died, there were two English Bibles containing his translation of the New Testament. When presented to Henry VIII, the king, not realizing it contained Tyndale's work, proclaimed, "In God's name let it go abroad among the people."


Tyndale's Bible translations were his lasting legacy. They were so well done that they made up 90 percent of the wording of the King James Version published nearly one hundred years later.


Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for June 18.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

CARELESS SPEECH

CARELESS SPEECH

READ:
James 3:1-12

He who has knowledge spares
his words, and a man of
understanding is of a calm
spirit.  -Proverbs 17:27

When my wife and I were visiting a church for a special musical program, we arrived early to get a good seat.  Before the program began, we overheard two members seated behind us complaining about their church.  They criticized the pastoral staff, leadership, music, ministry priorities, and several other things that made them unhappy.  They were either unconcerned about or oblivious to the presence of two visitors in their midst.

It occurred to me that their unfortunate conversation could have pushed us away if we were there looking for a new church home.  Worse, what if we were seeking God and their disgruntled opinions had driven us away?  Their careless speech was not just a matter of the words they used or attitudes they displayed, it also demonstrated their lack of concern for the impact those words could have on others.

A better approach to the use of words is reflected in Proverbs 17:27, where Solomon said, "He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit."  Most often, we would do better not to say all we think or know (or think we know), but instead seek to use words that promote calm and peace.  You never know who may be listening.  -Bill Crowder

Lord, I need Your help that I might control
my thoughts and words today.  I want to be a
blessing to others, to lift them up that they might
see Your goodness.  Amen.
*****************************************
Discretion of speech is better than
eloquence with words.

INSIGHT
To introduce the power of the tongue, James discusses the heightened responsibility of those who fill the role of spiritual teacher (vv.1-2).  The role of teacher is made difficult by the greater accountability they have to consistently live what they teach.

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace