Daily Devotional Dives - Get It Together

Joel 3 will make you think; it did me.  

We must proclaim to "the nations".  We need to go to war on our spiritual lives, the physical and emotional but especially the spiritual; each one affects the other.  Put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) to fight against the powers of spiritual darkness.  Stand and Pray.  Rise up, oh men of God!  Spiritual leaders.  Fight the spiritual battles in your life.  Fight for the spiritual battles among the people of God, so that in the end, you can proclaim, "All is well with the "Lord in Zion"!"  

Joel 3:11 beckons:

"Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there."

I'd like to apply that to gatherings of God's people the world over.  With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  He is our security.  The Lord in Zion, could symbolize that He has control over my life once I've allowed Him access to the throne of my heart.  He is also the Head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23).  Let Him be on the throne.

This leads me to think of groups of Christians, be they in the Eastern or the Western world.  If only they'd gather together all the elders, all the people and pray and fast and call upon the Lord as Joel was to call from all stations of life, to get to the bottom of their troubles within.  Everybody get serious.  If only they'd face the facts and truth and be rid of every root of evil (Ephesians 4:31) and by this one is talking of petty differences; personality clashes; slander, malice; bitterness; unforgiveness.  To be rid of those "locusts", what blessing they/we could all have.

Oh Lord, stir us all up again.  The mess often dies down, with sweepings under the carpet and people get comfortable again.  Everything is hush, hush.  Let us not be self-righteous in thinking we are the faithful remnant.  Lord, perhaps we are faithful in remembering Jesus in His death and all He accomplished; but You prefer obedience to sacrifice-Lord make us, compel  us to see what happens among Your people that these bickerings, etc are not of You and make you very grieved.  Start at the greatest of us and work even to the least of us.  Help us to see the facts and truth or our wrongs which displease You.  How can divisions among Your people be truth?!  You want us to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

Cause your people to be shaken, and shaken again, to rethink, especially the spiritual leaders who have so much influence with the general populace of those under their spiritual care and who are trusted.  Let them rethink how they are leading Your children so that Your sons and daughters in Christ do not get "sold" away.  Open the leaders' hearts to your Spirit's convictings.  Of course, Father, it is not only the leaders that can be guilty of misdirecting your saints, it could be any one of us.  Bind your enemy Satan and his minions.  Put a hedge of protection around the leaders of your people and around Your people, Father God.  I ask this in Jesus' name.  May Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

                                                           ~ERC 2017~
                            Originally written in Feb 1995 but adapted and blogged in in 2017

Daily Devotional Dives - Surrendering to God

Ever hear the song All To Jesus I Surrender?  In Joel chapter 2 we read of those who humble
themselves and call on the LORD with fasting and repentance; those returning to Him will find compassion and graciousness.

Blessings are forth coming.  He does not take away without replacing once our hearts have been rent, painful though it may be; exposing our inward being  to God and His healing.  

Psalm 51:7 says,

"...A broken and contrite heart God will not despise."

Let Him work in your life as He wishes.  He does great things and you do not need to fear (vs 20-22).

In Joel 2 and 3, we learn that all those things He does are so we know He is God.  He is really the One in control and waits for us to realize and give our all (whole being) to Him.

There is one of our friends who will not sing the "I Surrender All" and says that so many Christians sing this but do not live it; they are hypocrites.  But if our hearts are indeed broken and contrite, we could sing this as a prayer of our desire of how we want to live in God's presence.  

This side of Heaven it will be a daily struggle, sure enough, but that is why the verse in Romans 12:1 talks about a "living sacrifice".  Living sacrifices can jump off the altar.  We need to be daily conscious of indeed living humbly for our Heaven Father, God, in a pleasing manner for Him, not just to get His blessings in our lives but to give Him the glory, honor and praise due His Name.  Let Him do that "great work" in us as He will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Another meaningful song, this one by Bob Benson, Sr:

"Give your all to Jesus
He will turn our sorrow into joy".

                                                              ~ERC  2017~ 
                                                   Originally written February 1995

Daily Devotional Dives - About Locusts

Locusts...the Old Testament book of Joel seems to have a lot to say about locusts and the devastation they can bring.  In the opening verses the Lord is really trying to get the peoples' attention; LEARN from the disaster of the locusts!!  In the prophet Joel's time, I suppose they were literal  locusts that had destroyed the crops and the land &/or referring to a threatening army; whichever, both would be laying waste and ravaging the country.  

There were "locusts", "great locusts", "young locusts" and "other locusts" or as another version renders, "swarming locusts".  Your imagination can picture that quite well.  Rather alarming.  I recall seeing a Little House On the Prairie episode depicting just such an overwhelming occurrence.  The crops were laid bare in no time flat.  They mentioned too that they would lay the eggs in the ground and the next spring, hatch and start the vicious cycle all over again.  It was insidious.  The only thing that could break that cycle, if I recall correctly, was frost.

In more present times we can see that these locusts and their eggs could represent any number of things that can creep slowly but surely or swoop in and 'attack' a person's life such as addictions of various kinds or habits of uncontrolled anger or stealthy, compulsive lying.   These can fester and then surface in volcanic-like eruption.  Things that may have been suppressed for years suddenly wrecking greater havoc.

Look at chapter 1 and verses 2-4 of Joel.  The elders and all who lived in the land were supposed to "tell it" to "their children"; their children to their children and the those children to their children; four generations would know of the locust disaster.

Why should they be telling the next generations of the locusts?  Should we tell our generations about our personal anger, lying, porn addictions, etc and what the effects to our life and relationships have been?  How could this help?

The "drunkards" and "drinkers of wine" of verses 5-10 are told to wake up and go into deep mourning, grieving, weeping and wailing" because of the devastation of the land.  The "farmers" and "vine growers" are asked to "despair, wail and grieve" as well; understandable seeing as their groups and livelihood came to abrupt end.   Yet, God means business and wants to arrest these people in their tracks...take all this seriously!  Stop.  Sit up.  Take notice.  Why would this happen?  Be moved by it.  Moved to tears and deep mourning.  

There is need to be totally, sincerely, deeply sorry and saddened about the locusts and the damage they'd inflicted when left unchallenged.  Locusts come swiftly, or with the eggs waiting to hatch, are not easily done away with.  When we view these 'locusts' as symbolic of the negative things in our lives, let us seek our Heavenly Father, God's, intervention.

Take the example of anger.  With God's help a person can dig up and discover the 'locusts' that have been eating away at them causing the anger to spill out and affect them and others; played out in either physical or emotional abuse enacted to family members or towards other road users, or as root causes to diseases such as high blood pressure or heart attacks or combinations of all.  When anger has been left to fester, it can come crashing out so suddenly, swiftly and headlong.  One definitely needs to seek God and His help!

We can thank God our Heavenly Father for those brothers and sisters-in-Christ He puts along our path giving their prayer support, lending a listening ear, directions to professional counselors, and the guidance and direction of these servants of Christ.  There should be no shame in that.  One needs to find the 'frost' to be rid of the 'eggs' breaking the cycles of anger and erosion in one's life, aiming instead towards maturity in Christ, and healing in ourselves and our relationship with God and man.

Joel 1:13-14 introduces another group called upon to take note, that is the spiritual leaders, "the priests", "who minister before the altar".  This group is called upon not only to make noise (mourning and wailing) but to show their mourning, and I suppose repentance, by donning sackcloth; to spend the night in it.  They are to lead the way and call the elders to "fast" and "to a sacred assembly."  To call all who live in the land.

There is to be group fasting; everyone to be thoroughly sorry and to cry out to the Lord.  The priests of Israel were to lead the way, as mediators and examples for God.  All are called:  the "elders", "all who live in the land", the "children", the "drunkards", "farmers", and the "priests"; no one exempt from taking heed and beseeching the Lord.

What would happen if all did this among the assemblies of God's people today?  

If locusts of anger, slander, etc are allowed to go on unchecked, further caustic effects to ones' life will ensue.  The life of the individual, the family, the spiritual family, friends and other relationships will continue to break down.

Note that the groups in Joel 1 are called individually, then collectively, to cry out to the Lord in His house and with fasting.  So dig for your root causes of anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, brawling, malice (Ephesians 4:31); addictions, etc; seek our Father's forgiveness through Jesus, for the Lord's mercy and help.  Put on the armor of God and do spiritual warfare battle (Ephesians 6:10-18).  Knuckle down, get serious; do so individually and then as an assembly of God's people wherever you may be.

There is another "locust" checklist in 2 Corinthians 5:11:  sexual immorality, idolatry, greediness, drunkenness, swindling.  Do any of these characterize you?  Examine yourself, repent, confess and gain the Lord's forgiveness and purification (1 John 1:9).   As is known, new habits take about 30-40 days to put down new roots.  Again, we have the Lord on our side and when we rely on Him we will be helped.

Victims of sexual, emotional and spiritual abuses...let's face it, these happen and that terribly even among God's people; take them one at a time, recall the incidents no matter how painful they may be, find a counselor if need be, there's no shame it that; release to the Lord with the anger and unforgiveness that will probably accompany such remembrances.  

What are you angry about?  Has someone attempted to totally control every aspect or facet of your life:  spiritually? emotionally?  Have they tried to do the Holy Spirit's convicting work in your heart where they've felt you haven't lived up to his or her standard?  A spirit of legalism undertaking to gain control?  Does someone belittle you especially in public and you become the brunt of jokes?

Identify the 'locusts' eating you and others up, prayerfully repent, renounce, mourn, wail, weep, do what it takes to be free; bring them all to our loving Heavenly Father who loves and cares about you so much.  You will realize that God is so nice.  He is a perfect Father.  

Come full swing now.  Why were the elders, priests, etc to tell their children and children's children about the locusts?  God doesn't want to leave anyone out.  All need to be warned, concerned, to call upon the Lord, to receive His forgiveness and blessings and to experience His great love for them.

Should you tell others about your anger, etc?  We each have our failings and we each have our testimony to God's love and intervention in our lives.  He helped, healed and comforted us.  No doubt, use discretion and God's wisdom in what and how you tell your story, but do so to encourage others as opportunity comes, to warn and strengthen others who may also be in bondage and fear, etc.  The Lord came to set the captive free,  to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18).  We His children need to be able to help others of His people to give comfort as we ourselves have been comforted by Him (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

Above all else, rely on Him...

Oh dear Father, God, we need Your help in sorting out and dealing with those things in our life that have been repressed for so long and that now surface in uncontrolled anger, addictions and so forth (name your 'locust').  Help us not to allow these things to be taken out on others, like our loved ones or others whom we may see as 'getting in our way'.

Father, help us to speak truth and wholesome talk; help us not to belittle anyone.

Father, thank-You for hearing our requests and giving us more understanding from those you put into our path to help us.  Compel us to follow through in dealing with the 'locusts' in our life.  Give us the deep, grieving and mourning and sense of your love, and care and compassion and feelings towards how life has been and help us to choose to do right from now on.

Thank-You for all Your wondrous and mighty acts You perform on our behalf and shower upon us.

In Jesus Name we ask...

           ~ERC - originally written in Feb 1995 but blogged in, in 2017~

Daily Devotional Dives - The Laver Signifies

When reading Exodus 30:17-21, you'll see that each time before the priests had to make offerings, they had to do the ablutions, that is, the washing of their hands and feet.  They had to be 'clean' in God's presence.  They did this at the Tabernacle Laver. 


This is a symbolic principle for us today.  First of all, we can only come into a relationship with God when we are 'clean'.  When we have accepted God's offer of salvation and 'cleaning' through Jesus Christ.

"The blood of Jesus Christ, His son, cleans us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).  

Theologians use the term "justification"; a big word meaning 'just as if I'd never sinned'.  Not too sure who coined that meaning but it's an easy one to remember.  God imputes His righteousness to those who have accepted this forgiveness of sins (Romans 4:6; Philippians 3:9).

"..just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works..." (Romans 4:6 KJV).

Another version, the NIV, uses the term "credits" in lieu of "imputes".  God gives us His righteousness as we have none of our own and are helpless to earn it on our own.

On the flip side of 'justification' is the word 'sanctification'.  The first term involves God's sovereignty;  this later 'sanctification' term is generated by man's responsibility.

God wants us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16) and as we still have our sinful nature embedded in us til we reach the glory of God's presence in Heaven, we still have to deal with sin daily.

Therefore, we have that blessed verse in 1 John 1:9 which reads,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

The 'if' depends on us.  If we are humble and willing to admit our shortcomings and misdemeanors and sin, then God is right there, standing by, ready and willing to forgive and purify.  This is where the picture of the priests' daily ablutions triggers the advent of examining ourselves and allowing God to purify us how He will.  He is faithful in keeping His promises; if we confess our sin...He will forgive and purify.

The priests' daily ceremonial washings, repeated time and time again, portrays our need to come to Jesus time and time again in repentance and confession.  

Don't be misled.  I'm NOT saying to 'get saved' again and again.  NO.  Justification is a done deal.  It's sanctification that is a process; so take heart for the long haul and you will slowly come to some maturity in Christ.  This is Christian living.

The saying, "God loves us just the way we are but refuses to leave us that way" (Max Lucado), seems to explain it all.  To top it off, God has given us His Holy Spirit to aid us in that process.  Listen to Him and read God's Word to learn God's will and ways.  Obey them.

When we are called to be "with Christ" we will no longer be plagued by our sinful nature (Revelation 21:4, 8, 21).  Won't that be wondrous!?

                                                            ~ERC  2017~

Daily Devotional Dives - Atonement

Read Exodus 30:11-16

Atonement money.  It was to be a specific amount that each and every one 20 years old and older were to give as "an offering to the Lord" (vs 14), and this regardless of the individual's wealth or lack thereof.

Atonement in this case, was to atone for being counted in the census of the Israelites.  It was literally "your money or your life" (a plague could come upon them otherwise [vs 12]).

Being counted was a serious matter to the Lord; reasons for it being so are not given.  However, I do know, generally speaking, that people often take pride in numbers.  They perhaps see that as their strength &/or success victory and reliance upon it instead of upon God.

How many converts have you?  How many came to the evangelistic meeting?  You get the point.  God is interested in the individual not the crowd.

And the sin of pride is anathema to Him.  Don't take pride in numbers.  Remember what happen to King David's subjects when he tasked his general to count the number of soldiers?  Many died because of it (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21).  A solemn lesson learned.

What really impacts me about this portion of Scripture in Exodus is that "each must pay the LORD a ransom for his life" (vs 12) and "The rich are not to give more...and the poor are not to give less" (vs 15).

At the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, all are equal.  Each of us must come to Christ for atonement in the exact same way.  There is only one way to God and that is through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus paid the atonement for us already.  He paid the penalty for our sins.  "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).  Death, and ultimately an eternity in Hell.  Now, as Jesus has made atonement for our souls, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him in Heaven, when we accept, on an individual and personal basis, His sacrificial offering for us; for you.  God will see and preserve your life.

                                                        ~ERC  2017~

Daily Devotional Dives-Reaching Out to Commune

Read Exodus 30:1-10

God met with the Israelites.  Bless His holy name.  He is ever reaching out to commune with us too; to have that close relationship with us even now as He did with His chosen people of old.

Aaron, twice daily, lit lamps,  every morning and again at twilight and  burnt "fragrant incense" (vs 7) before God on the altar of incense inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting).  Aaron and subsequent high priests were to do this regularly "for the generations to come" (vs 8).
  

What was God's promise?  There He "would meet with you" (vs 6).  Isn't He gracious!?  When He promises us something, He keeps His promise.  When the Israelites obeyed all these commands they met God.  His presence was there waiting for them.  

God gave us 'day of grace people' a promise too:  "where two or three come together, in My Name, there am I, with them"  (Matthew 18:20).  This promise was in regards to prayer and agreeing with another believer and asking God for "anything" (Matthew 18:19).

In Exodus, the altar of incense symbolized the prayers, and worship that would be raised up to their Heavenly Father and were pleasing to God.  The Revelation 8:3-4 verses explain it well, too.

So it can be seen that God covets a relationship with Him on a daily basis.  He wants us to spend time with Him.  He doesn't force it.  Let it come from a willing heart full of love and gratitude for Him.  Don't disappoint Him.  Dive in.

                                                            ~ERC  2017~

Daily Devotional Dives-Consecrated for God's Service

Exodus 29 marks out the consecration procedure for the priests in the service of the Tabernacle of God in Old Testament times' worship.  They were consecrated for making atonement for sins on the behalf of the people, and for the receiving of the tithes and offerings to God.

Moses was commanded by God to consecrate his brother Aaron as the High Priest and his four nephews, Aaron's sons, to serve as priests.  Not only were they consecrated, but the garments they were to wear were sanctified; in fact, Aaron's were termed "sacred garments" (vs 29).

While reading this chapter it struck me that we in New Testament Christian living, have been made righteous by God when we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.  God "imputed His righteousness" to us (2 Corinthians 5:21).  We are nothing in and of ourselves, yet God in His grace covers us and makes us worthy in His sight.

We are then instructed in 1 Peter 1:13-15 to "Be holy as God is holy".  So our everyday living needs to become more Christ-like.  We still have  our sinful nature which loves to sin yet with the Holy Spirit's indwelling (this happens at the moment of salvation), we have His help in living and behaving according to God's will and pleasure.  In this way, we children of God can become consecrated for His service.  Incidentally we are called a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9).

Unlike the children of Israel however, we do not need a human high priest to mediate for us.  We have Jesus Christ who is now our High Priest and who mediates for us as we send our prayers and petitions and thanksgivings and worship up to God (Hebrews 8:9).

We can do so boldly, with confidence to "come before Him" (Hebrews 4:16), at His throne of grace.


                                                          ~ERC  2017~