Devos

Faith Pleases God

   

“But without faith it is impossible to please him [God]” (Hebrews 11:6).

Remember the Old Testament stories about Noah building an ark, baby Moses floating in a basket, and Daniel surviving the lions’ den? Did you know that those people are also in the New Testament? The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is often called the “faith” chapter. It reminds us of people such as Noah, Moses, and Daniel to show us what faith is and how faith pleases God.

Faith caused Noah to obediently build an ark even though he had never seen rain. Faith caused the midwives to hide Moses when all the other Hebrew baby boys were being murdered by the Egyptians. Faith caused Daniel to continue praying to God even though he knew that doing so meant being thrown into a den of hungry lions. We know the ending of those stories. We know that God saved Noah and his family, rescued baby Moses, and kept Daniel safe. But, Noah, Moses’ parents, and Daniel could not see the end of their stories. They did not know how their faith would affect them, but they did know that faith pleased God—and that was all that mattered!

Obedience to God requires faith, and faith pleases God. Living by faith does not mean you get what you want, nor does it keep you from being teased or persecuted. But faith does please God, and that is the only thing that should matter. You will not know the outcome of your faith in God at the time you are obeying and trusting Him, but you know that your faith pleases God regardless of how it affects you.

Revelation 4:11 tells us that God created all things and that all things were created for His pleasure. As a person who was created by God, you must please Him. That is impossible to do without faith. And it is impossible to live by faith that pleases God unless you first have faith in God for your salvation.

Faith pleases God, and it proves that someone believes in God and seeks after Him (Ephesians 2:8–10).

My response:
» Have I trusted God to save me?
» Am I afraid to trust God if I cannot see how things will turn out? Or do I trust Him no matter what?
» How can I demonstrate faith in God today?

Truth in Real Life Moments

Andrew Murray

   

"Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.”

Born on May 9, 1828, Andrew Murray was raised a “missionary kid” in one of the most remote areas of the world – Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. When he grew up, he too would eventually become a missionary in South Africa, but not before God took him through many events and circumstances to help grow him and prepare him for his future missionary ministry.

The Murray home was a godly home. Often, on Friday nights, Andrew Murray’s father would bring the family together and read them stories of past revivals. The family would then pray for the souls of South Africa. This would go on in the Murray home for thirty years.

When Andrew Murray was 10 years old, he left with his brother, John, to study in Scotland. When he was 20, he was ordained to preach. When he returned to South Africa, he looked much younger than his age. In fact, he was so small and thin that a local farmer saw him and exclaimed, “Why, they have lent us a girl to preach to us!”

Murray may have been small physically, but he had a large and powerful ministry! He gave sixty years of his life to South Africa, wrote more than 200 books and tracts on the Christian life, and was used of God to lead South Africa into a great season of revival.

Murray is perhaps best-known for his writing on the subject of prayer. He believed wholeheartedly that prayer is the fuel for the Christian life. He once said, “Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.”

When was the last time you prayed? Before you ate? Before you slept? The right kind of prayer is the one where the requests are thought about least and God is thought about most. Prayer is not supposed to be a list of things we want – but rather a time to talk to our God. Are you tempted to think sometimes that you probably already know what God can do? Do not let yourself limit God. Pray with faith that He knows what He is doing and that He will do the absolute best thing for His glory and for your good!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.

Devos

God Sees All We Do

   

“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:4–5).

My dad bought me the cutest white rabbit. I named it “Fluffy.” Because it was cold outside, Dad built a cage, and we put Fluffy and the cage in the basement. Every night for two weeks I went downstairs, fed my rabbit, and cleaned the cage. Dad told me it was my responsibility to take care of this rabbit. I wanted to make sure I did my part and followed his direction. After a few weeks, going downstairs to my rabbit and cleaning the cage were not very appealing. Taking care of my rabbit was more of a job than an enjoyment. One night my mother told me that something really smelled in the house. “When was the last time you cleaned out the cage?” she asked. It had been about a week. I told her I would be sure to clean it right away. “I’ve seen your rabbit when I’ve been in the basement,” she told me. “It needs a bath.” It had become filthy because of my lack of care.

When I went into the basement, I could hardly go near the cage—it really smelled bad. My almost-white “Fluffy” looked at me, making me feel guilty that I had neglected my job. As best as I could I washed down my struggling and scratching rabbit. Then I reached in and cleaned out the newspapers I had put down a week before. I played with my rabbit for a while and put it back inside the cage. Then I had an idea. My sister had just gotten a new bottle of perfume and bath power. I decided to make “Fluffy” really smell nice. My idea was to take that perfume and spray it in the cage and sprinkle that powder on my rabbit. I was also thinking that if I made the cage smell nice, perhaps I wouldn’t have to clean it so often!

I went upstairs, sneaked into my sister’s bedroom, got that bottle of spray perfume, put the perfume in my pocket, hid the powder under my shirt, walked quietly by my mother, went to the basement, and began to spray the cage and powder my rabbit as fast as I could before I could get caught. Then I quickly put what was left of the perfume in my pocket, held on tight to the powder, walked by my mother, saw that my sister wasn’t anywhere to be seen, went into her bedroom, and put the perfume and powder back on her dresser. I was sure that no one would suspect what I had done. But when my sister walked into the house she didn’t move. She stood still and sniffed the air. “I smell my perfume!” she said. She marched into her room and came out holding her almost-empty perfume bottle in the air. She looked right at me and glared. “What did you do?”

It was a good thing that my mother overheard and saw everything that was going on. I didn’t know my mother knew what I had done, but she did. She asked my sister and me to go to the basement with her to see what had happened to her perfume and the bath powder. Mother laughed so hard that even my sister began to laugh. Poor “Fluffy” was covered with powder. The floor of the cage was wet with perfume. It really smelled. But this time it smelled good!

My mother explained to me that what I had done was wrong. I apologized to my sister and I was never allowed to go into her bedroom again without her consent. When my dad heard what I had done, he made sure I cleaned the cage every night.

When I was eight, I wasn’t thinking about what God thought of my actions. But now I can see several character flaws that were not pleasing to God. See if you can find them in the story.

Character flaws:Look at what God says:
  1. A promise was broken.
  2. Laziness developed.
  3. An idea came that was not of God.
  4. Deceit came because of the idea.
  5. I stole to complete the idea.
  6. I hid my wrong actions to cover them.
  7. Hurt came because of what I did.
Romans 4:20-21
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 16:9
Proverbs 19:5
Leviticus 19:11
Jeremiah 23:24
Ephesians 4:32

God sees all we do, but if we’re saved, He will lead us into truth and into doing the right things.

My response:
» What are my character flaws?
» What sins have they led me into?
» Have I confessed those sins to God?

Devos

Only the Lord Can Promise Safety

   

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

Devon woke up with a start and sat up straight in his bed. His room was pitch black. In his mind, he could still see the dark forest and the mean-looking dogs that had been chasing him in his nightmare. He looked across the room toward the window. Were they out there, outside in the back yard? What if there really were mean, wild dogs out there waiting for him under his bedroom window?

He thought about calling for his mom to come in and sit with him. Or maybe he could catch Grandpa in the kitchen again, munching on a midnight snack. Maybe Grandpa would make him a jam sandwich and tell him stories about the Navy. Devon looked at the crack under the door. It was dark in the hallway, and he really did not want to go out there by himself. Deep down, Devon also knew that Mom needed to get up early for work in the morning. It would probably be better not to bother her. He lay back down and glanced toward the window again. Was that a twig snapping outside? Was something moving around in the bushes out there? Oh! What could he do?

Then Devon remembered that his Sunday School teacher had talked about different kinds of fear. Mr. Rooks was tall and had huge muscles, but even he admitted that sometimes he felt afraid of things. He shared with the class a verse, something about trusting in God in the times he was afraid. It was hard for Devon to imagine someone as big and strong as Mr. Rooks being afraid of anything. But if Mr. Rooks found comfort and courage in trusting God, Devon thought, surely he could too.

A light came on in the hallway, just then, and Devon could hear Grandpa’s heavy footsteps on the stairwell. “Hmm. I think maybe I’ll just talk to God about this nightmare tonight,” he said to himself. And so he did.

Has your mind ever been so busy with worries and heavy thoughts that you cannot get to sleep at night? Have you ever been so afraid that you didn’t know what to do? Have you ever wondered if anyone could really help you with your fears? Devon had that problem, and you probably have felt that way too. The Bible teaches that we can go to God when we are fearful. In fact, it teaches us that God is really the only One Who truly can help us deal with fear.

Psalm 4:8 says that the Lord is the only One Who can give true safety and protection. The Lord is the only One who is all-powerful and all-knowing; and He loves His children! More than anyone else you know, God is worthy of your trust when you feel frightened. Talk to Him about your fears. Trust Him for comfort and courage.

God is the greatest protector; He is worthy of trust when we feel afraid.

My response:
» Do I always feel afraid about some things?
» Do I go to God for comfort and courage, or do I trust in myself and other humans?
» How can I show that I believe God is a great protector?

Devos

God Hates Sin

   

“These six things doth the LORD hate, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” (Proverbs 6:16).

Brad and Mia were sitting in Sunday School one day when their teacher, Mrs. Naginflagin, asked them a question. “Who can describe God?” she asked. Mia’s hand flew into the air. There she goes again, showing off, thought Brad. Mrs. Naginflagin called on Mia to answer the question. While twirling her hair, Mia said, “God is love, but He also hates things too.”

Brad smiled to himself. Everyone knows that God is love, but He can’t hate anything, he thought to himself. Mrs. Naginflagin saw Brad smile and asked him what was so funny. Trying to sound as smart as he could, Brad said, “Well, I just think that, um, well, that God, um, I mean He can’t hate anything.”

Mrs. Naginflagin asked the rest of the class what they thought. When it came time for the vote, Brad was happy to see that the rest of the guys in the class sided with him. Mrs. Naginflagin then told everyone to turn to Proverbs 6:16–18. She asked Brad to read it for the class.

After reading the verses, he said, “Well, I guess God does hate some things.”

“That’s right, Brad,” Mrs. Naginflagin replied. “The important thing to remember is that God doesn’t hate people, but that He does hate sin.” Mrs. Naginflagin then listed on the chalkboard some of the things God hates.

  • A proud look
  • A lying tongue
  • Hands that shed innocent blood (kill)
  • A heart that devises (“makes up”) wicked plans
  • Feet that are swift (“fast”) in running to evil
  • A false witness who speaks lies
  • Sowing discord among brethren (“causing fights in a family”)

“Which of these are you guilty of doing?” Mrs. Naginflagin asked the class. For the rest of the time, they talked about what they were the most guilty of doing. It was good for the class members to think about what they were doing that God hated.

God loves people but hates certain things.

My response:
» Which one(s) of the things that God hates do I need to confess to God and ask His forgiveness?