Devos

God Cares for Us

   

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

Every fall, Ricky and his sister Anna got to go with their cousins to the apple orchard. The orchard was way out in the country, and Ricky and Anna could smell the sweet, spicy scent of ripe apples even before all the kids could pile out of Uncle Josh’s truck.

The orchard owners would let them do “taste tests” on all the different kinds of apples, to see if they could tell the difference (sweet, or tart, or juicy, or crisp, and so on). They learned that apple trees need about six to eight weeks of cold winter weather so they can go dormant (which is like hibernating, or sleeping for a while) so that the trees will produce juicier, more flavorful fruit. They also learned that if the owners pruned (cut, trimmed back) a tree, it would produce more–and many times better–fruit than it would have if they had left it alone. And Ricky’s jaw dropped when the owners told them that sometimes a branch from one tree is grafted onto another tree–so that it is possible to have different kinds of apples growing on the same tree!

The Bible talks about God like a husbandman, which is the name for someone whose job it is to care for an orchard or vineyard. Instead of trees or vines, God cares for people! Like the orchard owners, God puts a lot of hard work (and seemingly ugly work) into taking care of His own, and helping them bear the best “fruit.”

Did you know that God prunes (cuts and trims) His people so that they will grow spiritually? In John 15:2, Jesus says, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Sometimes this process that God uses can feel painful for us, but we still ought to rejoice that He is working on us–because it is going to reap good results. We read in James 1:2-3, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”

What is that spiritual fruit that God is trying to help us bear? He tells us in Galatians that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffereing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” We know that God has many good thoughts toward us. (See Psalm 40:5 and Jeremiah 29:11.) And we can be sure it is God’s will for us to bear fruit. (See John 15:8.) Knowing these things and knowing what we know about God’s character and power, we should trust the heavenly “Husbandman” when He “purges” us or when He tries our faith. It is His goal to “grow us” into people who are more and more and more like Jesus Christ. And being more like Christ is the way we bear fruit.

God is our “Husbandman,” and He wants to “grow” us spiritually for His glory and for our good.

My Response:
» Does it feel like God has been “pruning” me or putting me through some uncomfortable “rough weather” lately?
» Does God ever have a mean or evil purpose for doing what He does?
» What kind of fruit is God trying to bring forth out of my life?

Truth in Real Life Moments

G Campbell Morgan

   

“Everything a sinning man needs he finds at the Cross.”

George Campbell Morgan was born in England on December 9, 1863. Even as a child, he admired his father who was a Baptist preacher. Morgan once wrote that he had no choice but to get saved because of his father’s wonderful Christian testimony.

As a child, Morgan was often sick and unable to go to school. He was tutored at home and was taught to love learning and to study hard. This love of learning would grow with him throughout his life.

When he was 10, Morgan got to hear Dwight L. Moody preach. He was so impressed by what he saw and heard that he started preaching, as well. So, he became a preacher at the age of 13. By age 15, he was traveling and preaching as often as he was able.

Then something very dangerous and difficult happened that would change the course of Morgan’s life.

When G. Campbell Morgan was 19 years old, he began reading as much as he could about God and religion. Some of it was good, but much of it was wrong. A lot of it was human discussion about God and His Word, rather than God’s own teaching about Himself. Very soon, Morgan got all caught up in wrong thinking about God and the Bible. He became very interested in philosophy – or the pursuit of knowledge – and unfortunately, he became even more interested than he was in the things God had written about Himself in His Word. For the next two years, Morgan refused even to read his Bible!

Finally, at age 21, God got a hold of his heart and Morgan realized he had had enough of man-made philosophy. Instead, he returned to God’s Word and to trusting Christ. He spent the rest of his life preaching that God knows much more than human beings know. He wrote 60 books and 11 pamphlets. Eventually, Dwight L. Moody ended up relying on Morgan to help him in his ministry. In serving God, Morgan had the opportunity to help the man who was so used by God in his own early life as a believer.

Have you ever been tempted to trust human opinions and conclusions more than you trust God’s own Word? It is possible to be smart about the world and ignorant about God.

1 Corinthians 1:27 – But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.

Devos

God Tells Us To Wait on Him

   

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Adele’s pet dog Molly is so smart. Molly seems to be aware of everything that goes on. She hears everything! Adele has to spell words out when she talks about F-O-O-D or a S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L, so Molly will not understand her. But it is very hard to trick Molly, even when you spell words out! She is so smart, it is easy to think of her as a human being rather than a dog. And Adele loves Molly dearly, but Molly does have one fault. There is one thing that Molly has never learned. For the past eight years she doesn’t quite understand what is meant by the word “wait”!

Adele knows that she has probably not helped Molly learn the meaning of “wait!” because Adele is always quick to get Molly whatever she acts like she wants. Molly stares at Adele for a long time if she wants some food. If Adele sits on the couch, Molly will sit right in front of her and stare and stare. Not just for a short time. It is an actual staring contest, as far as Molly is concerned! And Adele gets “out-stared” every single time. Exasperated, Adele finally gets up and goes to get Molly’s food. Molly has no concept of “wait,” and she has found a way to get what she wants when she wants it!

All of us have had to “wait” for something. It may be for dinner, a school bus, or a friend. It may be waiting to get over a cold, or waiting to go visit some special place or favorite family members. Waiting is not an easy thing to do–not for a dog, and not for us! It requires patience and understanding. Most of all, it requires trust.

In our world today we expect to get what we want when we want it. But God has instructed believers about waiting and about what (or Whom) we should be waiting for. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” This verse tells us Whom we should look to for what we need: We should wait on the Lord. At least Adele’s dog knows whom she ought to wait on in order to get her food. It would do Molly no good to sit and stare at the mailman, or at a tree trunk. Molly waits (if only briefly!) on Adele, because Adele is, in Molly’s world, the best source for F-O-O-D. When a Christian needs something, that Christian should go to the God of the Bible for it.

Psalm 27:14 also shows us how we can endure the waiting, by strengthening our hearts and taking courage. Similarly, Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” The only patience Molly shows is the ability to stare for as long as it takes to get what she wants. Dogs and human beings are not born with patience. They have to learn it. Christians can learn patience, by God’s grace, and they can trust that the Lord’s timing is the best possible timing.

God wants believers to show their trust by waiting patiently on Him.

My Response:
» Am I in a situation right now where I am having to wait on God?
» Is my typical response to wait patiently, or is it just to figure out ways I can hurry things up?
» Are God’s perfect will and God’s perfect timing worth even the longest wait?

Devos

God Cares When We Are Distressed

   

“I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.” (Psalm 18:3,6)

Have you ever heard a kitten or a rabbit that was in pain? A rabbit’s scream is a terrible sound. If a rabbit is caught in a bush or a trap, and especially if he is frightened or wounded – or both – he is probably going to scream.

What if you were to hear a call even more desperate than that of a small animal? What if you were to hear a fellow human being call out in distress (in pain or great fear of danger)? Would you answer? What if you were walking along in your neighborhood one day, and what if you were to hear a voice call out, “Help! Somebody – please help!”

Well, you might be afraid! That would be a natural reaction in an emergency. You might feel like there isn’t much you could do – whether you’re limited by your age or size or knowledge or whatever the case may be. But if you heard someone desperate and calling for help, you would probably do everything in your power to try to be of at least a little help! Maybe you could find the nearest phone and call 9-1-1 or some kind of emergency response number. Or maybe you could run to find out what was wrong and see if there is some way to contribute to fixing the problem. It may not be very much, but you would probably do all you could!

There are hundreds of verses in God’s Word that reveal (show) Him to be a God Who comes to the rescue when we call out to Him for help. The marvelous thing about having the God of the universe as our Deliverer is that – unlike well-meaning humans who might respond in an emergency – God has no limitations at all! He is always present and all-knowing – so He knows when we are in trouble, maybe even before we ourselves are aware of the trouble. He is all-powerful, so nothing could possibly keep Him from helping if He wanted to help.

God does want to help. Being our highest Source of comfort and strength and power and mercy brings glory to His name, and He loves to help His people who trust Him. These verses about calling out to God in our distress do not have to do only with physical danger or emergencies that we can see and touch. We should also look to God – first and foremost! – when we find ourselves in spiritual danger!

Are you tempted to sin? Are you losing a battle in submitting your reactions to God and responding rightly to what He is bringing into your life? Are you worried or upset or afraid or confused about what God wants you to do next? If so, good! It’s not good that you are in trouble, but it’s good if that trouble drives you to call out to the best possible Savior and Deliverer you could ever have: God.

More than anyone or anything else, God is able and willing to deliver us out of our troubles.

My Response:
» Am I in some kind of physical trouble right now?
» Am I in some kind of emotional or spiritual trouble right now?
» Am I calling on and trusting in God to help me when I need Him?

Devos

God Will Use Anything To Glorify Himself

   

“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:2-3; *read John 9:1-12*)

Have you ever seen a beautiful diamond? Diamonds come in all shapes and sizes. Every little girl dreams about that day when her “Prince Charming” will ride up on a white horse and presents her with a huge, sparkling diamond ring. And no little boy ever dreams he might end up being that Prince Charming!

Diamonds are beautiful. When sunlight comes through a diamond and makes a rainbow of colors, it is something to see! But do you know what diamonds are made from? The beautiful diamond that you see on your mom’s ring comes from carbon. Ok, so what is “carbon”? Carbon is the same thing that coal is made of. Coal!?! That’s right! Genuine, solid, black, ugly coal.

So, what makes the difference whether coal or diamonds come out of carbon? The answer is pressure and heat. Basically, the more the pressure and heat that get put into the carbon, it will produce a better and better quality diamond. Less pressure and less heat on carbon causes it to produce coal, which is far less valuable than diamonds.

The way diamonds are made can be a reminder to us of how God often chooses to work when He refines believers. In John 9, we read about a man who was born blind. The disciples asked Jesus if this was a result of this man’s own sin, or perhaps the sins of his parents, or what? Jesus’ response is very interest. He said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

Jesus teaches us a valuable lesson in the passage: God will use anything to glorify Himself. What does that mean? It means that God will use all situations and circumstances to bring honor to His name. This man was born blind, not because of anything he did, but so that one day Jesus would pass by, spit on the ground, make clay, put it on the blind man’s eyes and give him sight. The man was born blind so that he could be a part of an exhibit of Jesus’ supernatural, miraculous, powerful, and gracious glory.

Just think about it! God used the “pressure” and “heat” of a very hard situation (this man’s lifetime of blindness) to turn this man into a dazzling testimony of God’s ultimate strength and lovingkindness!

The next time something happens to you that you do not like or that you feel you cannot bear, stop and ask yourself how God could be honored in your situation. Your response to hard things could be one way God gets glorified. If you trust Him to take care of you through a hard time, your faith and submission to Him is an honor to Him. And if you wait to see what He is trying to do in the lives of other people through your hard situation, or how He might change your heart to make you better through this trial, then you are honoring Him. He will glorify Himself through showing Himself as a powerful and gracious God. Trust Him that He knows what He is doing and that He will do whatever it takes, for the sake of His own glory and His people’s best good.

God will do what it takes to accomplish what will glorify Himself and bless His people.

My Response:
» Am I in a situation right now that is confusing and hard for me to bear?
» How might my response to God’s control bring Him glory in this situation?
» What might God be showing me and others about Himself through a painful thing that He has brought into my life?