WORDS OF WISDOM

WORDS OF WISDOM

Devotionals for Dieters

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Ron was one of the best contractors in the business. Every job he'd ever started, he'd completed to the client's satisfaction. He never left anything undone. His reputation was beyond reproach. No one ever had to worry when they had Ron working for them. When we rely on God to help us with our dieting, we can rest assured that He will stick with us throughout the entire process. God does not give up. When He begins a job, He finishes it. We can have complete confidence in God. He will help us realize our goal.

Today's thought: With God's help, I can see this thing through to the end!

CrossDaily.com. * ©Copyright 2009, Salem Web Network and its Content Providers. Crosswalk 111 Virginia St., Suite 500 Richmond, VA 23219 Devotions for Dieters. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/fordieters/

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The Following Devotionals are from: Copyright © 1996-2009 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. (Back to the Bible) Lincoln, Nebraska, USA Used by permission. All rights reserved http://www.backtothebible.org/
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DEVOTIONAL


Author: Woodrow Kroll, Tony Beckett
Source: FaithWalk
Scripture Reference: Acts 19:1-20 Psalm 10-12

Who Are You?

Psalms 10-12, Acts 19:1-20
Key Verse: Acts 19:15

If you are a "nominal Christian"-that is, you live the Christian life in name only-the devil probably will not bother you much. Why should he? You are little or no threat to him. But when you determine to be a fully devoted follower of Christ, living out the truth of God, seeking to impact others with the Gospel message, then brace yourself. You will be known.

If it weren't for the reality of demonic opposition, this account would almost be humorous. Paul's ministry in Ephesus included those who tried to copy him. Like him, they wanted to drive out evil spirits and tried to do so by invoking the name of Jesus. "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches," they would say (v. 13).

Well, one day the sons of Sceva got more than they bargained for. The demons answered them, saying, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" (v. 15). Then they were literally beaten up by the possessed man.

Notice whom the demons knew or knew about. They knew Jesus and knew about Paul. But Sceva's sons were unknown to them. The demons did not know those who were not really seeking to serve Christ.

Sometimes we wonder if anyone notices what we do for Christ. Rejoice that God knows! And stick close to Him, because it may be that some of the attention that comes your way may challenge you to the core of your commitment.

"Father, help me stay close to You and draw from You the strength I need to resist the devil. May the shield of faith extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."


Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Lessons on Living From Moses
Scripture Reference: Exodus 17:8-8 Psalm 11:6 Romans 8:28

Exodus 17:8

Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

When Life Isn’t Fair

Chris was a young father of four. He had grown up in a Christian home, received Christ as his Savior at a young age, lived a healthy lifestyle and demonstrated a consistent Christian testimony. It was a complete shock when he was diagnosed with cancer. There was no reason for this to happen—except that life isn’t fair.

The Israelites also found themselves being treated unfairly. For no apparent reason, a nomadic tribe known as the Amalekites chose to attack them. They had no quarrel with these people, yet for the next several hundred years, off and on, Israel was the object of the Amalekites’ hatred and harassment. Life isn’t fair.

Fortunately, we have a sovereign God who is able to overrule all circumstances (Rom. 8:28). After three years of treatments, Chris finally recovered. Israel eventually destroyed the Amalekites. Life is not fair, but God is. Sooner or later, God will see that justice is served. It may not be as soon as we would like; it may not be in the way we expect; but God will never be unfair. David declared, "Upon the wicked He will rain coals, fire and brimstone and a burning wind; this shall be the portion of their cup" (Ps. 11:6).

Perhaps you also are experiencing unfair treatment. It might be a coworker who delights in making life difficult for you. It may be a health problem that is keeping you from reaching your fullest potential. Maybe it’s an automobile the garage has "fixed" a dozen times, and yet it still doesn’t run right. Trust God with your situation. Be patient and let Him work out a solution to your predicament. You may find life unfair, but God never is.

Life is not fair, but God is.


Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Psalm 78:1-8

Servants of Tomorrow

Read Psalm 78:1-8

We have a responsibility to the next generation. The psalmist wrote, "We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done" (v. 4).

Why should we share the Word of the Lord with the generation to come? "That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments" (v. 7). That's preparing them for the future, because hope looks to the future. Christians are born again unto a living hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We know that our Lord is going to return and take us home to heaven. Too many people in the younger generation are setting their hope in money, in government or in their abilities. So we share the blessing of the Lord with the next generation to help them set their hope in Him.

Second, we want the next generation to remember the works of God. How easy it is to forget what He has done for us! Yet if we keep reminding the next generation, they will remember, too. The past must not be forgotten. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes.

Finally, we must share the things of the Lord with the younger generation so they will keep His commandments. The psalmist wasn't talking about a legalistic life. He was talking about a loving obedience to the Lord. Yes, we do have a responsibility to the new generation, and we fulfill that responsibility by being a good example, by teaching, sharing and encouraging.

* * *

You are entrusted with your Christian heritage. When you share with the next generation the Word and works of God, you teach them valuable lessons about how He still works in the lives of His people. Strive to be an example that encourages the next generation to obey the Lord.


Author: Theodore Epp
Source: Strength for the Journey
Scripture Reference: 1 Samuel 28:1-19 Isaiah 57:20-21

The Dilemma of the Disobedient

1 Samuel 28:1-19

David and his men became bodyguards to Achish, king of Gath, and this soon put David in a dilemma. The Philistines decided to go against the Israelites, and David apparently could see no way out of going along and fighting against his own people.

He had a weakness for telling lies when doubts came into his heart. This was one of his besetting sins. He had lied to Jonathan and, through Jonathan, to Saul. He had lied to Ahimelech, and that had brought death to 85 priests.

When Saul saw the Philistines, he desperately wanted help to know what to do. The story of his visit to the witch of Endor is well known. Samuel had been dead for some time, and Saul had no one he could turn to who would reveal to him God's will.

It was in keeping with Saul's character to have issued orders to destroy everyone who sought contact with the dead, such as the witch of Endor, and then, when he found himself facing a real difficulty, to seek the help of just such an evil person.

The witch of Endor was terrified when she discovered that it was not the evil spirit for whom she was a medium who appeared to Saul. It was Samuel himself.

Once again we see that Saul's great sin was the sin of rebellion against the will of God. May we always seek to know God's will in order that we may do it.

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isa. 57:20,21).


Author: Woodrow Kroll
Source: Early in the Morning
Scripture Reference: Genesis 22:1-14

Obedience

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Obedience to God's call is the prerequisite to God's blessing. If we are not willing to relinquish our own interests in compliance with God's call to duty, we should not expect His blessing automatically to be ours. To Abraham the Lord promised, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). Before these promises were realized, however, the patriarch had to prove his absolute obedience unto God. Four times Abraham endured the test of obedience and each time it was related to separation. Initially he received the divine call to leave kindred and country behind and journey to an unknown land. Later he found his nephew's herdsmen at odds with his own and Abraham had to separate himself once more from his kin. Still later this obedient servant of God found his wife Sarah engaged in a jealous battle with her handmaid and Abraham had to bid a sad good-bye to Hagar and his young son of the flesh, Ishmael. Each of these events tested Abraham's obedience to God and each was passed with flying colors.

However, Abraham was yet to undergo a final test of loyalty. This was to be the fourth and supreme test of separation. The Lord said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I tell thee of" (Genesis 22:2).

Abraham's parents were long gone. Lot was gone. Ishmael was now gone. But as long as Isaac was alive, God's promise of blessing was yet intact. Now, however, was the son of promise to be sacrificed? Was he to be gone as well? You can well imagine the consternation in Abraham's heart. He had given up so much; must he give up his only son whom he loved? Reason told him no. But Abraham immediately brought his reason into the captivity of his faith. As soon as he received God's call to duty Abraham took no counsel with flesh and blood but rose early in the morning and set out with Isaac to the land of Moriah (Genesis 22:3). True obedience neither procrastinates nor questions.

The journey was upwards of sixty miles. On the third day Abraham bid the two young men accompanying them to remain behind with the donkey while he and his son went yonder to worship. Abraham grabbed the container of fire and a knife, while the wood for the burnt offering was laid upon the back of his only son, Isaac. How reminiscent this is of Abraham's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who also bore the wood upon which He was sacrificed as a sin offering for us (John 19:17).

Once alone with his father, Isaac pointed out that they had fire and wood but no lamb for the sacrifice. In faith Abraham replied, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8). Yet as they came to Moriah, Abraham built an altar, laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his only son, gently laying him on the altar. As he raised the knife to slay his son, Abraham must have spent an agonizing eternity with his hand in the air. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord called out to him, forbidding Isaac to be slain. A ram was provided and Abraham offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. This totally unexpected ending to Abraham's personal ordeal prompted him to name that place Jehovah-jireh: the Lord will provide.

The supreme test was over. The Lord had not tempted Abraham with evil but rather provided a proving ground for his unflinching obedience. Now Abraham could indeed be the father of a great nation and be greatly blessed of the Lord. Like the patriarch, all who hear God's call to duty must tread the path of absolute obedience before we discover the many blessings along the way. "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD, that walketh in His ways...happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee" (Psalm 128:1-2).

MORNING HYMN
But we never can prove,
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favor He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey.


Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

No Other Choice

No Christian ever gets beyond the power of temptation as long as he lives in "this mortal coil." Jesus was not beyond it--who are we that we should become more spiritual than Jesus? If we say that we have been delivered forever from sin, we are deceiving ourselves. We are never in a more vulnerable spot than when someone sins against us. All the "old Adam" in us rises up to retaliate. Perhaps we control the urge to punch the person or even to retort with the withering words that spring to mind. But then we wake up in the night and think about all the ways we could put this individual in his place--polite ways, we tell ourselves, Christian ways, but put him in his place we certainly will. The still small voice asks: Is that Christlike?

"The love of Christ leaves us no choice....His purpose in dying for all was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves" (2 Cor 5:14,15 NEB).

No other choice but love. Cease to live for yourself. Live for Christ. Don't bother singing, "Oh, how I love Jesus" as long as you are plotting retaliation. You don't really have that choice, not if you're a Christian.

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BIBLE STUDY
Jesus' Last Will
Date: Jul 14, 2009
Topic: New Life


Imagine receiving a spectacular inheritance, and then ignoring it. The Bible talks about something Jesus left for all of us in His will that many Christians ignore.

Wait. Jesus left a will? John 14:27 records for us Jesus' last will, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (ESV).

Many Christians don't seem to have this peace in their lives. So, how do you embrace your inheritance? Paul has the answer to finding peace in his letter written, strangely enough, while in prison.
What Does God Say?

Near the close of his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7, ESV).

1. What doe Paul tell us to do first?
2. What does "let your reasonableness be known to everyone" mean?
3. How does "do not be anxious," relate to "rejoice in the Lord"?
4. How do we need to make our requests to God?
5. What image does "guard your hearts" create in your mind?

In the times we need peace the most, rejoicing may not be the first thing on our minds. But it's not just, "rejoice"; it's, "rejoice in the Lord." And it's not just "rejoice in the Lord" when things get bad; it's, "rejoice in the Lord always." The first step to finding the peace that Jesus promised is to always keep your mind focused on the blessings He provides every day.

Paul also talks about not being anxious about anything and bringing our requests to God in prayer and supplication. Now, this doesn't mean that God will just remove us from whatever stressful situation we might be in. He might, but often what He'll do is give us a fresh perspective on our situation. He'll show us that He is in control.
My Thoughts

Peace--it may sound good to be true. But look at Paul's own example. Read Philippians 1:12-14 and see how and why Paul rejoiced even while in prison.

* What was Paul's concern even more than his own comfort or advancement?
* What did Paul find to be happy about?
* What situation in your life can you apply these verses too?

My Part

Are you struggling to find a reason to rejoice in God these days? Believe me, I know--it's hard to find them some days. There have been times when all I could do is repeat Romans 8:28 over and over to myself.

Find that verse, and memorize it. And as you spend time with God in His Word each day, ask Him to speak to you the words you need to hear. And pray for His peace that surpasses all understanding.

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WORDS OF WISDOM