25 AUG 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 25 AUG 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 

“O Lord, rescue me from evil people.  Protect me from those who are violent, those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long.  Their tongues sting like a snake; the venom of a viper drips from their lips.” Psalm 140: 1-3

We officially enter the season of the presidential election this week in the United States.  Candidates fill the airways with their vision for the next four years and how they will lead.  They discuss current problems and bring to bear their strategies for fixing a problem or creating a better tomorrow.  In the process, they expose to some level their own character.

It is good for us to look at a leader’s heart, character, and background to see what kind of person they are and not just the results they plan to deliver.  Most promise more than they can actually do.  It doesn’t take long in today’s political atmosphere for it to turn into a storm of verbal fighting.  It can pour over into the rest of society as people find the leader they like and begin to imitate the leader they want to follow and sling the same mud.

 As a follower of Christ, it is par for the course to be on the receiving end of confrontation.  David experiences this as he looks to please the Lord as he leads a nation.  People talk bad about him and curse him.  People lie about what he has done or what he has said.  He knows the pain that causes and how it can destroy another person with their words.  David describes his enemies as snakes and their tongues are full of deadly venom.  If you have ever had someone talk ill of you, you can understand.

David handles these attacks first and foremost in conversation with God.  He doesn’t complain and gripe to other people, but he goes to God.  We need to learn to go to the thrown before we go to the phone or social media.  It is the Lord that gives us perspective on the realities of our time.  He is the one who allows bad things to happen for his purposes.  He is also the one who can deliver us or walk with us through the fire.

How do you deal with damaging words from others?

Reading Plan: Psalm 140, 142; 2 Sam. 19:24-43; Acts 24:24-25:12;  Mark 12:35-44

24 AUG 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 24 AUG 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 

“Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus.  As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened.  Go away for now, he replied.” Acts 24: 24b-25

You never know who you will speak to about Jesus.  The Lord can and does orchestrate divine appointments with various people up and down the socio-economic ladder.  The route to people can be much different than you might expect.  Sometimes amid great suffering and persecution, God presents a beautiful opportunity to represent him.

Paul is a great example of this excellent work of God connecting him with people so that he can share the good news of Jesus.  He made the most of his opportunities even when he was not doing well.  His eyes and ears were always open seeking the lost whether poor or rich, farmer or king.  No matter who they are, reactions to the message are still the same.

People either reject the message, hostile to the message, desire to hear more or receive it.  In the passage above, Paul has been arrested and is in a courtroom defending himself in front of the Governor and judge.  This was not a quick case, which was fine by Paul.  It gave him time to reason through the Scriptures with the Governor.  Flex was not dismissive but desired to hear more even though it scared him at times.

Paul shared regularly for two years while he was in jail.  We don’t know if Felix or others came to faith or not.  We do know that Paul remained faithful and shared the good news with everyone he came into contact with.  For a man that could make excuses, he never did.  He just shared his faith.

Are you sharing the faith where you are or making excuses?

Reading Plan: Psalm 131, 132; 2 Sam. 19:1-23; Acts 24:1-23;  Mark 12:28-34

23 AUG 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 23 AUG 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 

“The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.” Psalm 119:160

Many historic universities used to have the Latin word, Veritas, in their motto or as their overall goal as an institution.  Veritas means, truth.  Today the minds of our culture and institution have become confused and blind.  There is real objective truth and absolute truth in this world and all of creation.  The culture and the institution alike have denied this reality.

There is a notion of relative truth and your own truth.  These things are constantly changing so much that they can’t even keep up with their own stories.  It is probably not much different than the days of Ceasar when Pilate asked Jesus, what is truth? It may be strange to some, but spiritual reality and biblical truth cannot be understood or received without the work of the Holy Spirit.

One thing is for sure, the word of God endures forever and it is absolutely true and trustworthy.  David understands this to be true in his writings in the book of Psalms.  His testimonies of God’s faithfulness even when David is not are extremely encouraging.  We this with every writer in the sixty-six books which make up the Bible.  Jesus himself says, “Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Our challenge today is knowing God and his word more.  We also must testify to the truth and shed light on things that are not true.  We need this as believers, but the world needs to know it too.  The truth becomes our shield if we put our trust in it.

Are you a student of the truth?

Reading Plan: Psalm 119:145-176; 2 Sam. 18:19-33; Acts 23:23-35;  Mark 12:13-27

21 AUG 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 21 AUG 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” Psalm 121:1-2

 I was driving down the road the other day and the car’s license plate in front of me said, NUTN EZ.  I laughed, but there is some truth to that. In this life we will have trials, the Lord said. People can think that they will never face challenges, suffer, or experience death.  There is a feeling of invincibility that it won’t happen to you. Eventually, it does and all the insulating factors they have built around themselves are gone.  They stand naked and afraid looking for solutions.

Desperation sometimes leads to poor choices, but it can also lead to foundational clarity.  People look at horizontal solutions to get them through the problem or suffering.  They look to the latest psychological approach thinking the solution is within themselves.  They look to religious practices of the far east, like mindfulness and meditation.  Sometimes these work for a temporary fix.  These things are a false hope.

Others like David, leave all the world’s ways behind and find vertical soul-utions in God himself.  If God is the maker of heaven and earth, is there any problem that he cannot solve? If Jesus faced all the issues and challenges that we face plus suffered and died a horrible death, is there anything he cannot advise us or care for? David had a relationship with God and knew His character.  David to his cares for him because God would provide real and lasting solutions that would extend into eternity.

Are you putting your hope in Jesus or still exploring the world’s solutions?

Reading Plan: Psalm 121, 122, 123; 2 Sam. 18:9-18; Acts 23:12-24;  Mark 11:27-12:12

20 AUG 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 20 AUG 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“He said to them, The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Mark 11:17

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus curses a fig tree for not producing fruit even though it is not in season.  It seems strange except that the fig tree represents Israel and the life that they were living.  For all extensive purposes, the fig tree looked great on the outside, but it lacked fruit.  When people are healthy and faithful, there will always be fruit regardless of the season.

If you have no fruit in your life, the root cause is often unfaithfulness and/or worldliness.  Jesus shows this when he enters the temple and becomes angry at what was being done.   The leadership created a marketplace within the temple to make themselves wealthy.  He exposed their lack of trust and dependence on God for their lives and their dissatisfaction with the level of material status they were enjoying. They had become a fruitless and faithless people.

Their pursuit of wealth created a stumbling block for those that came to pray and worship. The temple was made for the people of God to pray and worship, not to conduct business.  The church today and individual Christians are the stones of God’s temple and our lives are made for his purposes, not our own.  God expects that we are faithful, fruitful, and making a clear path for those to connect with the Lord.

Does Jesus need to clear out the Church today?

Reading Plan: Psalm 106:1-18; 2 Sam. 17:24-18:8; Acts 22:30-23:11;  Mark 11:12-26