Letting Go of Our Liabilities

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their
clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, "Men, why
are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you,
and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things
to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all
things that are in them."Acts 14:14,15

The turning that God requires of us is a matter of huge importance, but very few of us look at it in the way it should be looked at. Turning to God is something we view with reluctance. We see it as being very difficult and probably quite unpleasant. Some even seem to see it as unnatural. In truth, however, the God who calls us to repentance is calling us simply to let go of the "useless things" that have been holding us back. The things that we're being asked to leave out of our lives are merely our liabilities, things that in the long run can never do anything but hurt us. What kind of fools are we to refuse God, the ultimate source of all satisfaction, in order to hold on to "empty things which cannot profit or deliver" (1 Samuel 12:21)?

One reason we're so reluctant to let go of our sins is that we fail to see the depth of satisfaction that is available to us in God. Our sins are like the water from the well in Samaria. "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again," Jesus said, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst" (John 4:13,14). Next to the empty things in which we invest ourselves, God is a satisfaction so superior as to defy comparison. If we ever saw, even for an instant, what it might mean to "never thirst," we would give all the world to have that gift.

Yet we have no adequate appreciation of what God can be to us. "Divine Love, if we were satisfied with You, we would climb to the highest heavens. If we were smart enough to leave everything to You, we would achieve the summit of holiness" (Jean-Pierre de Causade). God has never required anything but what will do us good, and what He forbids is only what will disappoint us. Before it's too late and the time for our turning is past, we need to open our eyes to what can be ours. Can we not see the astounding wonder of the "exchange" we're being offered?

Abiding

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
aWhen God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:10

TODAY'S TOUGH QUESTION:
Does God ever change his mind?

Some people believe that God cannot change his mind contradicting his unchanging nature. Others believe that since God knows all things, he does not change his mind. However, the Bible often speaks of God's mercy in terms of God changing his mind about judgment. God does change his mind, but not the way we humans do. God, being sovereign can predetermine to change his course of action in response to our prayers, while leaving his ultimate purposes unchanged. He simply builds in options into his purposes from the start. Its kind of like taking a trip and altering the route along the way, but ending up at the pre-planned destination. Our God never changes, but can change his mind in response to our prayers. For examples of God changing his mind see: Exodus 32:9-14; Isaiah 38:1-4; Hosea 11:8,9; Jonah 3:10


TODAY'S MIRACLE:
The sign to Hezekiah; the shadow moved backwards. Isaiah 38:7,8

TODAY'S EXAMPLE OF GOD'S LOVE:
Then the word of the lord came to Isaiah. "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.'" Isaiah 38:4,5

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There is nothing that cannot be accomplished with prayer, except that which is outside God's will.
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TODAY'S PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, Lord God above we acknowledge you as the one and only Lord. Father, we give you thanks for your unchanging nature and your fulfilled promises, and those yet to be fulfilled. We thank you Lord for listening to our prayers and for your sovereign ability to adjust in response. Lord we know there is true purpose in our prayers, and ask that you put it on our hearts to pray for your will, and to pray without ceasing. We ask all in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Gift of God

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God."

Revelation 21:3

Whatever secondary blessings flow from God, we ought to seek none of these as diligently as we seek God Himself. We must be those who seek God primarily for His sake, because He is our God and we long to give ourselves to Him.

Selfishness and manipulation are nowhere more out of place than in our relationship with God. And selfishness here would be quite self-defeating, as it always is. If we're concerned only with the other things God can give us, we'll miss the greatest Gift of all. "God's chief gift to those who seek him is himself" (E. B. Pusey).

When we speak of "the gift of God," we should think of God as both the Giver and the Gift. Jesus, for example, said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water" (John 4:10). What is the living water which only God can give? Paul would later write that "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). But concerning eternal life, Jesus had gone to the heart of the matter on the night of His betrayal when He prayed: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). God gives us life by giving us Himself. Other blessings may flow from a right relationship with God, but that relationship itself is God's greatest gift to us. If we "have" God and His Son, we have the highest thing to which we can aspire. "He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son" (2 John 9).

Even when we try to appreciate what God should mean to us, we can hardly grasp the glory and grace of a God who would give Himself to such people as we are. But it would take a hard heart indeed not to be moved by Jesus' simple words: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). This seems much too good to be true. Only God could make it true.

Pebble in the Water
Drop a pebble in the water, just a splash, and it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on;
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing out into
    the sea,
But there isn't any way of telling where the end is
    going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water; in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's
    ripples circling yet,
And there's little ripples flowing, to a great big wave
    have grown.
And you've disturbed a mighty river just by dropping
    in a stone.

Drop an unkind word or gesture; in a minute it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on;
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the
    center as they go,
And there isn't any way to stop them once you start
    them on to flow.
Drop an unkind word or gesture, in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's ripples
    circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of
    tears you've stirred,
And disturbed a life that's happy when you dropped
    that unkind word.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness; just a flash and
    it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples, circling on and
    on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing,
    dashing wave,
'Til you wouldn't believe the volume of the one kind
    word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness; in a minute you forget,
But there's gladness still a-swelling and there's joy
    a-circling yet,
And you've rolled a wave of comfort, whose sweet
    music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water, just by dropping
    a kind word.

 With God's Love  Bob

Faith Explains

If God has given you a special gift to help people understand the Bible, I'd like to encourage you today to use that gift.  You may not even realize it's a gift.  You may think that reading and understanding the Bible just comes naturally to you.  But I'd like to show you what a gift it really is.

In Acts chapter 8, an angel of the Lord told Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, to go to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza.   Along the way, Philip encountered a man from Ethiopia who was sitting in his chariot reading from the book of Isaiah.

The Ethiopian was an important official in charge of the treasury for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia.  He had been to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way back home.  The Spirit told Philip to go near the man's chariot, and when he did, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet.  Philip asked:  "Do you understand what you are reading?"  To which the Ethiopian replied:

"How can I, unless someone explains it to me?"  (Acts 8:31)

So the Ethiopian invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told the man the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled together along the road, the Ethiopian understood so well that he said, "Look here is water.  Why shouldn't I be baptized?"  So the Ethiopian stopped the chariot, was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing!

God had given Philip special insight into the Scriptures.  He had exposed him to the teachings and the life of Jesus in a way that Philip was able to help someone else understand why Jesus had to come and die.

 The Ethiopian was smart (he was in charge of the Queen's treasury).   He loved God (he was just returning from a lengthy trip to worship in Jerusalem).  And he was eager to learn spiritual truths (he was reading the book of Isaiah).  But he still needed someone to explain the Scriptures to him.  So God sent Philip to do just that.

Faith explains.  When God gives you the faith to believe and to understand what He's done through Christ, He wants you to share what you've learned with others.

I remember flying to California one time, hoping to share with someone I knew there about what Christ had done for me.  But even though I tried to bring up the topic throughout the weekend, God never opened the door for me to walk through and share.  As I flew home, my plane made a stop in another city before I reached home.  A man  boarded the plane, sat down next to me, and proceeded to open up a brand new Bible to the first page of the New Testament.

I glanced up to see his face and couldn't believe it!  It was a friend of mine from college who had been involved in some of the same things that Christ had eventually delivered me from!  He was just as shocked to see me as I was to see him.  When I asked about the Bible, he said his mother was worried about him so had bought this Bible for him.  He thought he'd give it a try and had sat down to open it for the very first time.  I knew what God wanted me to do.

We spent the rest of the flight talking about his life and talking about the Scriptures.  I started with the passage where he had opened his Bible and I explained how Christ had delivered me from the very things with which my friend still struggled.

Although I don't know what happened to him after we left the plane, I do know that God answered my prayers to be able to share what was on my heart.  And He answered my friend's prayers (or at least his mothers!) that someone would help him to understand what he was reading.

If God has given you the ability to understand the Scriptures, know that it's a gift, and know that God wants you to use that gift to explain those Scriptures to those around you.

Let's pray...

Father, help me make the most of every opportunity You give me to explain to others what You've revealed to me.  In Jesus' name, Amen.