7 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 7 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Cor. 1012-13

One day I was having a conversation with a friend and he began to tell me of all the problems and struggles that he was having.  He had personal health issues, lost a spouse, and job issues due to his health.  He was going through his own personal tornado of stuff.  As I listened, he said, ‘Well, like the Lord said, he won’t give you more than you can handle.”  Internally, I began to sigh and it probably showed on my face.  Normally, I keep a pretty good poker face, but not this time.

I knew this person was trying to comfort himself with God’s word, but he misquoted and misunderstood the text.  He is not the only one.  Many people say this and are disillusioned when God actually gives them more than they can handle.  God does give you more than you can handle, but he is always with you and is there to preserve you through it or deliver you into his presence.  Paul tells the Church in Corthin, that their temptations are common to all men.  God in his mercy, doesn’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle.

First, God doesn’t tempt you, either Satan brings it or your own desires. (see James 1) All sin is premeditated.  We know it, entertain it, and then execute it without help from anyone. Temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death.  God may test your faith to make it stronger, but he never puts you in a position to sin within the testing.  In his mercy, he shows you how to escape temptation so you do not sin.  The key is to learn to pay attention to the exit signs.  

The Holy Spirit will give you insight as he gives you notice when temptation is creeping in.  It’s like he gives you pause to see it and to choose to escape or engage it.  These moments create a hatred for sin and a softening of your heart to choose smartly.  How are you doing with this? If you are struggling, ask God to help you see the exit and to use it when it is offered.

Are you seeing and using the exits from temptation?

Reading Plan: Psalm 107:33-43, 108: 1-6; 2 Kings 19:21-36; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Matt. 8:18-27

6 OCT 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 6 OCT 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Yet preaching the Good News is not something can boast about.  I am compelled by God to do it.  How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” 1 Cor. 9:16, 19b, 22b-23

Do you have a passion? I have met people passionate about football, fishing, crafting, their work, and many other things.  When they are not doing their regular daily routines, they are trying to make time for what they are passionate about.  It is good to have drive and passion.  I think we all have something that motivates us to chase after that prize.

The passage in Corinthians talks about Paul’s passion.  He had been touched by Jesus’ choosing him to be an instrumental piece of His mission.  It gave birth to the passion that lasted his entire life and even was expressed in his death.  It compelled him to live his life in a particular way and to seek out all kinds of people as he journeyed from place to place.  He was willing to be offended, to suffer, to cross cultures, and to cross religious barriers so that people could hear about Jesus.

If Paul wasn’t connecting and sharing the hope that he had in Christ, he felt terrible.  When you are not living according to your purpose and passion, it is the natural response to feel bad about it.  If the Lord has given you a passion for something, what are you doing with it? Are you learning? Developing? Are you using it to the level that it should be? If God hasn’t given you a passion yet, ask him.  He is ready to supply one.  God desires for you to live into the person that he has created you to be.  So get to living!

What is the passion that God has given you?

Reading Plan: Psalm 102; 2 Kings 19:1-20; 1 Cor.  9:16-27; Matt. 8:1-17

5 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 5 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on the bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25

You can learn the easy way or the hard way.  Either way, hopefully, you learn it and don’t repeat the same mistake.  Have you ever heard that? Parents always hope their children will listen and receive the wise advice and apply it to their own lives.  One day the child will grow up to adulthood and have to make decisions that will affect themselves and those around them.  It is better to apply wisdom now and save yourself some pain.

You might not be the early adopter, but one of those who run into a wall a few times before you make a change.  If you are smiling right now, it might be you or you know that special someone who is.  Jesus spoke to large crowds of people and taught with real authority.  He knew who was his and who was not.  He knew who liked to hear teachings, but would not apply them.  To those who would not obey his teaching, he said they were foolish.

He describes their lives as someone who built their home on a sand foundation.  When the storm came, it would level the house.  Life will bring difficulties, stress, and suffering, but will you have the resilience to make it through or not.  As believers, we will have additional difficulties because we are the torchbearers of His name.  Jesus has a word for us too.

Like the hymn says, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”   If you build your life on Jesus and his words, and obey then you be preserved until the end.  The storms of life will beat you, break you, and make you suffer, but the Lord will bring you through it all.  Jesus gives us an opportunity to seek him daily and apply His wisdom to our lives so that we can experience a resilient life.

Are the storms of life beating you down?

Reading Plan: Psalm 105:1-22; 2 Kings 18:28-37; 1 Cor.  9:1-15; Matt. 7:22-29

4 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 4 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.  The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who will choose that way.  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

It is said that the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) proclaims that God would put an end to death and the New Testament proclaims that God did put an end to death through His son Jesus.  What lingers in all men including women, is the fear of death. (Heb. 2:15)  The fear that resides deep in us bubbles to the surface through different experiences in life.

We may have an accident and feel our lives flash before our eyes.  We have seen war, famine, and disease move across nations and have that feeling that life is like a vapor.  We are here today and gone tomorrow.  The older you get, you realize you have lived more days than you have ahead of you.  It can be an unsettling feeling, but God uses this to get your attention.

Jesus proclaims a strong truth that is often watered down by false teachers on television who promote health, wealth, and prosperity.  Jesus says in this life there will be trials and suffering.  In the scope of eternity, this life is short here and we need to think about what the future holds.  Jesus states that there is a way to obtain eternal life with God and that is through the narrow gate.  Few actually find it and the life lived now will be difficult.

Jesus says in John 10, that He is that gate and the people who come through him will be saved and have eternal life.  The people who will obtain everlasting life in heaven will recognize His call on their life and He will know their name.  The rest will be deaf and blind to him and follow the road their human nature takes them on.  They will find the broad road and the wide gate that leads to hell.  Many are called, but the chosen are few.  Wake up! The Lord is calling.  If you have ears, listen!  Jesus will wash peace over your fear and give you life.

God has provided “the” way to beat death, are you on it?

Reading Plan: Psalm 101, 109:1-4, 20-30; 2 Kings 18:9-25; 1 Cor.  8:1-13; Matt. 7:13-21

3 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 3 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:1, 5

Church discipline is by far one of the most misunderstood and malpractice areas of the Christian life.  There is a place for correcting and admonishing one another, even judging fellow Christians. (1 Cor. 5:12)  The context of the passage in Matthew speaks of not judging or maybe a better description is not condemning.  There is a call on the body of Christ to build one another up and help each other grow into the person that God wants us to be.

The standard we use in judging is the standard that will be used to judge us. (v.2) So do we give our brother in Christ the smackdown or do we pick him up, dust him off, and give good help? The natural response we receive when we correct others is not pleasant no matter the approach, so be prepared.  Jesus, Peter, Paul, and James all write to believers correcting them of their sins and holding them to a higher standard.  What we don’t need to do is to condemn.

Jesus says in John 3:18 that we don’t need to condemn people who are lost. They are condemned already, that is why they need to repent and follow Jesus.  Paul says, there is no condemnation for those that follow Christ and are called according to his purpose.   The passage in Matthew verses one through six, makes the point that we need to check ourselves first before helping someone else.  We tend to see other people’s problems as huge and ours as small or non-existent.  If we are going to become better people, we must be honest about our condition, be humble, and be teachable.

If you want to grow into the person that God wants you to be, then you need other people to help fortify you, encourage you, correct you, and even judge you.  This is part of becoming a disciple of Jesus, we are developed within a community with the same goals and hearts.  It is iron sharpening iron so we are ready to be used by God.

  

Do you have difficulty judging without condemnation?

Reading Plan: Psalm 97, 99; 2 Chor. 29::1-3, 30:1, 10-27; 1 Cor.  7:32-40; Matt. 7:1-12