Category: Devotional Thoughts

Post relating to items the Lord impresses me to share.

Posted on

Blotted Out

  I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17)

These are the true words of a false prophet, false to himself and the principles of truth; but the Spirit of God came overwhelmingly upon Balaam and he spoke the truth.  He predicted the rise of the Star of Jacob, even the Lord Jesus Christ. 

How sad it is to have a part in the work and Word of God and then depart from it!

It has been said that, “Anyone who sells hIs hope of eternal life for any price that earth has to offer sells out too cheap, and he who exchanges the greatest of treasures of earth for the true riches makes the best of bargains.  Poor Balaam! He was one of those the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of – who having eyes, see not (Jer. 5:21).  In his case gold hid God.

A man once visited Robert Hall, the great English Baptist minister, to complain of some statements he had made in a sermon.  It was evident that man was in bondage to the love of money. Hall opened his Bible, found the name of God, and while pointing to God’s name asked, “Can you see that?  “Certainly,” replied the man.  Then the preacher took the smallest coin he had and placed it over the word.  “Can you see it now?” he asked. The man understood and, by God’s grace, his spiritual sight was restored.  

James Lowell wrote of the choice we each must make in like this:

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;

Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,

And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

For each of us the item may be different, the choice may take a different form – lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, it could even be some combination of the three.  But the result is still the same – God is blotted out. 

I encourage you this month to make the right choice, and join the Psalmist in this prayer – Help us, O God  of our salvation … and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.  (Ps. 79:9)

Posted on

A Closer Look

As we come to the end of another year I hope that you take the time to reflect on what has taken place in your life over these past 12 months.  Socrates put it this way “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  Paul in 2 Corinthians 13: 5 shared this instruction to the church, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” The prophet Jeremiah was a little more passionate in Lamentations 3:40 when he said, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!

Each one of these writers inspired or otherwise, identifies the need for all of us to take a look at the life we each lead. The words of Jesus help me to put my life into perspective – “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”- Luke 10:27.  Following that vein here are some questions you might ask yourself as this year draws to a close:

  • Am I closer or farther away from God today than I was December 2011?
  • What have I chosen to remove from on my life because of my relationship with Christ? If nothing what should I have?
  • What have I chosen to add to my life because of my relationship with Christ?  If nothing what should I have?
  • What have I spent the greater part of my time on, and does it have long term, or even better, eternal consequence?
  • Outside of my circle of friends and family how many lives have I touched in a meaningful way?
  • What have I done to better myself this year in each of these categories: physically, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually?
Posted on

Hlystan & Hlosnian

Great quote that gets to the heart of the quality of human interaction.

“I often ponder over the nature of true human sincerity, true transparency… It is a rare and difficult thing; and how much it depends on the person who is listening to us! There are those who pull down the barriers and make the way smooth; there are those who force the doors and enter our territory like invaders, there are those who barricade us in, shut us in upon ourselves, dig ditches and throw up walls around us, there are those who set us out of tune and listen only to our false notes, there are those for whom we always remain as strangers, speaking an unknown tongue. And when it is our turn to listen, which of these are we exactly…?”

–          Anonymous