“…but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death.” — Proverbs 8:36 In Proverbs 8, God’s wisdom cries aloud in the street and beckons men and women to live their lives according to His precepts. She then concludes with today’s verse. I think that there is a great truth found here. It is a very far reaching truth. For example, none of us would ever think of pitting ourselves against the law of gravity. One would not climb up the Empire State Building and jump off just to see if sometimes it doesn’t work. We know that it works. One knows that if we violate it, the law will break us every time. The moral law is not different or elastic; it is one. The law is all one given by the same Law Giver and therefore we can but break ourselves against that law. Although Jesus Christ has taken the eternal punishment—the wrath of God—for our breaking those laws, how slow we are to realize that when we sin against the law of God we invariably bring the chastening and displeasure of God upon ourselves. Have we not been foolish? Have we not been slow to realize that the law is all one and that we can no more break the moral law of God than we can break the physical laws of God? All we can do is break ourselves upon them by violating His laws. May God grant us greater wisdom to experience the joy of obedience to Him. Lord, thank You that You are the source of all wisdom. This day we choose life and eschew death. Thank You that You are the Lord of life. Give us strength for today to follow after You and not break Your laws… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN EMBRACE HIS WISDOM.
“The sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat were seen as minor for him to walk in, for he took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, as his wife and went and served Baal and worshipped him.” — 1 Kings 16:31 Ahab, king of the Israelites, chose a wicked bride, Jezebel, a Syro-Phoenician princess. She was bad and her father was bad. Her children were bad. And her husband was bad. And her grandchildren were bad. She produced calamity in whatever she did, and everything she touched was poisoned by her false belief. She was part of a very prosperous and highly sophisticated people. The Phoenicians are the ones that gave us the alphabet. The Tyrians and Sidonians had great navies, since they had access to the Mediterranean, and they accomplished many things, like establishing Carthage, and sailing to Spain and Britain. But they were molded according to their religion and therefore they were a very bold and cruel people. It was into this nest of the Priest King of Sidon that the weak and wicked king of Israel, Ahab looked for his mate. Now this was a gross mistake. It may very well have looked to be politically a very attractive move. But, it was a violation of the law of God, which had forbidden the Israelites to take wives of the Canaanites or the other unbelievers. That has always been God’s law; we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. A sin like this can have a negative impact on everyone, and in Ahab’s case, on the nation. Lord, forgive us for serious compromise on major issues. Forgive us for allowing ourselves to be allied with the world in the wrong way. Give us strength for today that we might glorify You in all our relationships… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN STAY FAITHFUL TO CHRIST, INCLUDING IN OUR KEY RELATIONSHIPS.
“…and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.” — Psalm 50:15 The Constitution was written, as it says, “in the year of our Lord 1787.” And during that long, very hot summer in Philadelphia, tempers flared and the progress was slow. Indeed, the fact that they ever finished the whole enterprise was a “miracle” to quote George Washington, for they almost gave up midway through. The turning point came on June 28, when Ben Franklin rose to his feet and appealed to them to pray. He said, “In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection—Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered... And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?…” He added, “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” After that they attended a worship service at a local Christian church and prayed together. Much of the acrimony subsided. They were finally able to produce the Constitution. My friends, this is one example among many that testify that if it weren’t for the Christian faith, there would not be an America as we know it. If you are facing a crisis in your life, can you honestly say you have prayed about it? Don’t let prayer be a last resort, as almost happened with the Founding Fathers. Thank You, Lord God, for blessing the undertaking of those godly men who gave us our nation by Your wisdom and guidance. Lord, give me strength for today to expand Your kingdom in our nation… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN RECOGNIZE HIS HAND IN THE RAISING UP AND TEARING DOWN OF NATIONS.
“But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the LORD, which Jezebel his wife stirred up.” — 1 Kings 21:25 When you hear the name Jezebel, what images are conjured up in your mind? She personifies evil. Jezebel is certainly an intriguing character. She is the Lady Macbeth of the Scripture. She was in many ways a remarkably strong woman. In fact she was the worst of all combinations. She was a very strong character and a very bad character. These are the types of people who wreak havoc on their centuries, and Jezebel most certainly did that. She was the daughter of the king and high priest of the worship of Baal, the king of Sidon, a Phoenician city on the west coast of the Mediterranean by Tyre. Her father, Ethbaal, was the king of that city of the Phoenicians and he was also high priest of the temple of Baal. It was into this powerful home that Jezebel was born and molded. Molded as a woman who was born to rank and power, and secondly, as a woman who was taught all of the cruel and licentious and evil ways of Baal worship, which was a most venomous form of pagan superstition. The name Jezebel means “unexalted,” and she was a great defender and propagator of her religion, and here we see an example of the damage that an evil religion can bring. Unfortunately, there are many Jezebels around in our day. But one day their due punishment will come. Hopefully, some of them will repent and turn to Jesus before it is too late. Meanwhile, we pray for deliverance from her seductive spirit. Oh God, purge the wickedness in our hearts. Remove from us the Jezebel spirit that seeks to pull us ever downward and away from You. We live in a land that glorifies Jezebel, without coming to grips with her true end… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE UNSEDUCEABLE.
“Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” — 1 Kings 19:18 Elijah, the bold prophet of the Lord, thought that he was the only one left in Israel who worshiped the one true God. But God told him there were seven thousand who did not bow the knee to the false god, Baal. In the great struggle that we have with the forces of unbelief, we need men and women of faith like Elijah. Men who have something of that unyielding spirit, that iron in their backbone that will enable them to stand up against the forces of evil and godlessness. Men and women who will see the great battle that is really before us. But so many people in America today seem oblivious to the great spiritual struggle of our time. We need men and women of faith today who are not afraid to stand up and confront the unbelief of our day. When Elijah confronted the forces of Baal on Mount Carmel, God answered powerfully with fire from the sky, proving that He alone was God. What consequences hang in the balance for this nation if the forces of godlessness succeed in completely overthrowing the followers of Christ? We thank God that in our day there are far more than seven thousand who have not bowed their knee to Baal. May God grant us that we may have something of the courage and something of the faith and something of the determination and steadfastness of Elijah in the critical hour in which we live today. Lord, we marvel that You would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of even ten righteous people there. As it is, You delivered Lot and his family. Lord, send a great revival that the millions of people who bear Your name will truly live for You… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE BOW THE KNEE TO THE TRIUNE GOD ALONE.
“Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but do not light a fire underneath.’” — 1 Kings 18:25 In the days of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, there was mass apostasy in the land. The people worshiped Baal instead of the true God. One day, Elijah called for a showdown on Mount Carmel between Baal and Jehovah. Elijah was one man versus 450 priests of Baal and 400 false prophets. Elijah gathered the people and said, “How long will you stay between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings 18:21). Sadly, this compromising and equivocating spirit is still alive in the world today. How many there are who have one foot in the church and one foot in the world, and they cannot make up their mind whether to fully follow Christ or to fully seek for the things of the world. The showdown involved two altars, both with sacrificed bullocks. One for Baal; the other for Jehovah. The priests of Baal went first. But as much as they prayed to him, called on him, and even cut themselves bloody, there was only silence from their god. When it was Elijah’s turn, he ordered them to drench the sacrifice on the altar of Jehovah. Then Elijah looked to God in prayer to show Himself. Suddenly, the fire of God fell out of the heavens and consumed the sacrifice and consumed the stones of the altar and consumed the dust and consumed the very water itself. This was a victory for belief in the true God. He alone is the one we should worship and not any false gods. Great Jehovah, God of all gods, we praise You that You alone are worthy of worship. You alone have made us. Forgive us for straying from the path. Help us to be hot for You and not equivocating between worldliness and godliness… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE FOLLOW HIM AGAINST THE TIDE OF THE WORLD.
“But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” — Matthew 14:30-31 One of the shortest prayers in the Bible gets right to the point. It was said by Peter when he began to sink after briefly walking on water. When he looked away from Jesus and at the sea, then he sank and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Is your life filled with troubles? Christ can help you. Some of you may not even know Him. If so, there will come a day when you will find yourself sinking into a different kind of sea—a sea of fire from which there is no help. Right now you are sinking in your sins. Peter prayed his shortest prayer, “Lord, save me,” and instantly Christ stretched out His hand and saved him. If you have never experienced His salvation, if you will merely pray from your heart that prayer, “Lord, save me,” you will find that Christ has stretched out His hands for you and will instantly save you. Whatever your sin may be, Christ can wash it all away. If you do know Him, I hope you will learn that lesson. Whatever troubles you may face now or yet in the future, the great lesson is: Trust Christ, and He will teach you to walk on the waves of the storms of life. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, thank You that You can save us when we are drowning. Give me strength for today to keep my eyes focused on You and not the problems of life pressing in around me… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE FIND SALVATION IN CHRIST.
“The word of the LORD came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’“ — 1 Kings 17:7 Sometimes God prepares us with little tests to prepare us for the bigger ones to come. Elijah, one of the great Old Testament prophets, lived in Zarephath with a poor widow and her son, no doubt an unusual relationship for a man who had spent most of his life in the desert. He spent about three years there, about half that time there was no rain. One day the widow’s son grew sick and died, and the widow became very distraught. Elijah took the boy up to the loft where he stayed and laid his body out over the boy: “Oh LORD, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.” The Lord heard his prayer, and the boy began to breathe again. The great prophet brought the child down to his bereft mother, and there was rejoicing. She said, “Now, because of this, I know indeed that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth!” This was all preparation for the great test that Elijah was to have in the great showdown on Mount Carmel with the hundreds of false prophets of Baal versus just him, representing Yahweh. Don’t despise the little tests God puts in your path. He may well be preparing for larger tasks. Make sure you pass all the tests, or you might just have to take them over again. Father, help me to not shun small tasks. For it is in the mastery of the basics, so often You shape our lives to take on the much larger assignments You have for us. Lord, give me the strength for today to make myself available to You for big tasks or small… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE TO HIM FOR TASKS, BIG OR SMALL.
“For He has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you. ’So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” — Hebrews 13:5-6 How easily we are brought to fear. How often the dark clouds on the horizon seem to gather and they instill fear in our hearts. May I ask you this: Is there anything that is causing you to be afraid right now? Is there some dark cloud gathering on your life? Do you already feel the cold drizzling rain? Is there some terrible calamity that you feel is coming upon you? Consider how God took care of Elijah, His choice servant, even when he was on the run from the wicked queen who demanded he be executed. After the brook Cherith ran dry, God continued to care for him. And though the brook dried up, we see that God’s resources had not dried up, and that God’s love and care was shown in that He gave him the command as to precisely what he was to do. Even in the midst of this trial, God led him to Zarephath, which belonged to Sidon, and there a widow provided for him. This widow was preparing to eat her last meal, but when Elijah came, God provided for her and her son, and also for Elijah. And he says, “Fear not.” This is a great statement we have so often in Scripture—words that were so frequently on the lips of Jesus Christ Himself, and words which we often need to hear. God takes care of His own. Lord Jesus Christ, Your perfect love casts out fear. Forgive us for limiting in our own minds what You can do. You are a big God and great and can do the impossible, and You care for us. Thank You that You are our helper. BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE WALK IN COURAGE.
“…awesome as an army with banners…” — Song of Solomon 6:10 We are the army of Christ. We sing “Onward Christian soldiers/marching as to war,” although we too often sing it flippantly and without much thought. Nonetheless, we are exactly that—Christian soldiers in the army of Christ. He is the Captain of the well fought fight who goes on before us. We are called to a great battle with the forces of darkness, with principalities and powers of the air. We are called to go forth “awesome as an army with banners.” We have a banner. It is the Gospel. The Church has many other banners. “Jesus Christ is Lord” was one of the earliest ones. “He will never leave us” is another. “He always leads us forth in triumph” is yet another. “He is King of kings and Lord of lords,” is yet another. “He goes forth upon a white horse, conquering and to conquer” is yet another of the banners of Christ. Have you noticed that with the armies of this world, sometimes, when they see the flag, the national emblem, lifted up, even soldiers who are fatigued will get new strength? So we, as the army of Christ are to go forth in that way. And we should indeed strike fear into those who are the enemies of God and the enemies of righteousness and godlessness—not because we would take up a literal sword, but because we would proclaim the Word of God to a lost world, which contains many elements that don’t want to hear it. Lord God, thank You for the transforming power of the Gospel. Thank You for transforming my heart and daily conforming me into Your own image. Thank You for making us part of Your story… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR HEARTS ARE TRANSFORMED.
“Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?” — Song of Solomon 6:10 A beautiful description of the church of Jesus Christ was uttered centuries before she was officially inaugurated at Pentecost. Although the Song of Solomon has much to teach about human love between a man and a woman, it is also ultimately the story of the relationship of the heavenly Bridegroom and His earthly bride—the church. Who is she? We are the bride of Christ. Who is she who looks forth as the morning? In the midst of the blackness of night of despair and death, it is the church that brings the hope of the coming morning. Even in the Old Testament when darkness still covered most of the earth, God’s people were like the moon—that fair moon that gave borrowed light to a needy and hopeless world...a world that could see nothing beyond that hole in the ground where life had little meaning and no hope. There was the church (as in God’s congregation), even back then, that was fair as the moon. That is, of course, an idealized picture of the church. Unfortunately, there are many who would be seen merely as pockmarks on that moon; but, nevertheless, that is the picture He draws of the church. And yet there came a glorious day when the night would fade away. On that bright and marvelous morning when Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb and the darkness of death faded away forever, the church became clear as the sun. Lord of the church, we thank You, Jesus, for the miracle of the church. We praise You that by Your strength, she has endured through the centuries and will stand triumphant and glorious on the last day as Your beautiful and spotless bride… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST PREPARES FOR THE BIG WEDDING.
“But what is the divine reply to Elijah? ‘I have kept for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’” — Romans 11:4 Elijah the Tishbite—his name no doubt conjures up certain images. He was a man of the wilderness and the desert. John the Baptist was a prophet like unto Elijah. He was a man of solitude—a man whom God had prepared for a most difficult time. He was a man of unbending character. He was an austere man. A man whom perhaps many people would not find particularly likeable. He was what some people would call rigid in his beliefs. He was a diamond hard man for the hard days that were there. To set this in context, in the early years of the reign of Ahab, he married Jezebel, who was the daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon and she brought the Sidonian religion of the worship of Baal into Israel. This religion prospered and grew and Jezebel had set herself up to see Baalism replace the worship of Jehovah in Israel. She had killed a great many of the prophets of the Lord and provided hundreds of prophets of Baal. Baalism was rampant in Israel so that there were very few worshipers of the true God. Elijah said that they have slain the prophets of the Lord and that he was the only one left, and they were seeking his life. But God encouraged him, as seen in the verse above, that there was still a faithful remnant. May God help us to have resolute character to faithfully serve Him for our tasks at hand. Righteous Father, we see our own country turning away from You and we too are discouraged by all the ungodliness. Thank You that there are many more than seven thousand in our land who have not bowed their knees to Baal… BY GOD’S GRACE AND STRENGTH, WE CAN STAND FIRM AND STRAIGHT IN A CROOKED WORLD.
“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will be watered also himself.” — Proverbs 11:25 If I wanted to know about your real spiritual commitment, one of the means to check would be with how you handle money. It is an important indicator of our real, not just professed, priorities. No moral system is complete unless it deals clearly and fully with the subject of wealth and the procurement and dealing with such. Since we live in a materialistic universe, it is quite evident that the individual cannot be moral unless he has food to eat, or should I put that more accurately, he cannot be moral or virtuous for very long unless he has food to eat. Without clothing to wear it is not even possible to have civilization. In the case of the nation, it is vital that the nation rise beyond a bare subsistence level. There needs to be some people who do not have to engage in merely trying to get enough food and shelter to continue, but they may go on into education and the arts, music, and culture, and of course religion. The Book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about the matter of wealth and our acquisition of it and its proper uses, as do more generally some of the other significant texts in the Bible. Through Proverbs, God teaches us to be diligent workers, to plan ahead (while recognizing that the outcome is in His hands), to save as the ant does, and to be generous with everyone, especially the poor. Lord, give me strength for today to be generous, to be genuinely concerned by other people’s needs, and to help where I can. Help me to refresh others and thus be refreshed myself… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN LIVE GENEROUS LIVES.
“When a servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, a force surrounded the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What will we do?’” — 2 Kings 6:15 As noted yesterday, Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, found out that Elisha the prophet was revealing to Israel Ben-Hadad’s inner secrets for attacking Israel. Ben-Hadad decided to capture Elisha. So he sent a large group of chariots and horses and soldiers to take Elisha. First the spies tell him that Elisha is in Dothan, and they make a march by night and then the sun rises. That morning, a young man who is a servant of Elisha goes out to look around, and he discovers in the valley all around are the horses and chariots and enemy soldiers. He is filled with terror, with trembling. How many times in our life do we exclaim, “Alas, my master! What will we do?” There was no escape. They were completely surrounded. There was no army there, no soldiers, just two of them. They were totally outnumbered. They were helpless. But Elisha said, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Then he asked God to open his servant’s eyes, so He did, “and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). Dear friends, if that concept really filled our hearts and minds it would literally change our lives—most particularly in the difficult places of life. With the eyes of faith, Elisha could say, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them.” Sovereign Lord, we praise You that You know and see all. We ask that You give us strength for today to go about our lives with the assurance of Your sovereign watch over our lives. Forgive us for harboring secret fears and unbelief… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE PROTECTED.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” — Ephesians 6:4 Well, dads, this is your day—Father’s day, and what is the state of fatherhood in modern America today? One lady, a few decades ago, put it like this: “Women need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” That is what she said. That is what Gloria Steinem, one of the leading gurus of the feminist movement said. And so, men, fathers, it seems that we are obsolete. We are unneeded. There has been a huge denigration of fatherhood and maleness in our country in our generation. It is even said that maleness is a recessive and repressive gene, and it’s a big mistake. We’d be better off without any men in this world. I’ve got news for those ladies. There wouldn’t be any civilization without men, but I guess they are working on that next. America is suffering from a serious case of fatherlessness. An absentee or brutish father, an abusive father, a weak father, has an enormous impact upon the children. Scientists have discovered that you, gentlemen, as godly fathers, as faithful fathers, have an impact and an importance which is vastly greater than anybody imagined many years ago. Yes, it seems that fish need bicycles, doesn’t it? God has chosen earthly fathers to essentially be His representative on earth to their children. Therefore, let all Christian fathers strive to be great examples to our children. Lord, help us to realize the importance of our relationship to our children. Help us to fulfill our vows that we made to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord… IN HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN REFLECT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TO OUR CHILDREN.
