Crumbs from the Master’s Table Mark 7 “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.” (v. 28) This verse has been very precious to me. Here is where these devotions were born; where they have their “roots”. Originally, I had written down many thoughts under the title “Crumbs from the Master’s table” and finally refined them into devotionals. The “Bread of life” is made up of crumbs. Every loaf of bread is made of millions of crumbs, lumped together to make a loaf. Each crumb has its significance, and though the master has the loaf, the crumbs are important to the dogs. Do not ignore the crumbs. The dogs have never eaten so good! As the Word of God contains much food for the weary soul, and the Master’s table is full of good things, let us glean a few crumbs as they fall our way. Personally, I believe it is this same Bread, and the many crumbs of it, that Jesus refers to in His model prayer in Matthew 6, where He says “Give us this day our daily bread”. I do not think He refers to literal bread, but to a “touch from God” so to speak. You see, we are to trust Him for bread, and not ask for it. Nowhere in Scripture is it commanded of us to ask for our basic needs, they have already been promised, and provided, we need only to trust God for them. Let us find these crumbs, as jewels of treasure, precious, and in this case, delicious. This woman had faith, and was rewarded accordingly because she realized the importance of crumbs. I think of crumbs as “leftovers” as we see in the feeding of the five thousand where they disciples gathered twelve baskets full of them. ( Mt. 14:20). These “fragments” were made of big crumbs! I also am reminded of the importance of “background people” who are not in the limelight, and are sort of comparable to “leftovers” in the church; the “undesirables” who fall by the wayside and no one wants to pick them up. The churches are full of them, but I ask, “What will you do with the crumbs?” These may be sweeping the pews, but not winning the souls; they may be slow witted, but cleaning the bathrooms and doing the things no one else wants to do, but they remain “crumbs” of no value to the congregation. They are people we endure, but do not wish to associate with. Let us gather the crumbs first, and then we can have the full loaf.
Honoring God Proverbs 3:9-10 God promises that as you honor Him through giving, He will honor you through blessings. Many people in our world pride themselves on helping the helpless, and many times that is proven during natural disasters. After the events of September 11, 2001, many people used vacation time to travel to New York City and help through recovery, search and rescue, clean-up, and counseling those who were affected. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the same response happened. People gave of their time, possessions, expertise, and resources to help those affected by the tragedy. More recently the devastating earthquake in Haiti has seen people from all over the world seeking to help. Within days after the catastrophe, people flew to Haiti to help with the repair. One charity noted that within twenty-four hours of setting up a donate-by-text service, they saw over one million dollars donated to help Haiti. Even former Presidents Clinton and Bush teamed up to address the needs of one of the world's poorest countries. Throughout history the people of our world have shown that when others are hurting, they want to be involved in helping. While we certainly can be proud about the helpful attitude displayed after tragedies, recently released studies on the annual charitable giving of Americans is revealing. We pride ourselves on being ready to help, yet the average American doesn't help until something goes wrong. Time Magazine once conducted a state-by-state study on charitable giving in America. The study found that Mississippi (the forty-ninth poorest state) was the second most charitable state with an average annual donation of $4,070 per family. On the other hand, Massachusetts (the fourth richest state) was the forty-ninth ranked state in charitable donations, averaging $2,645 per family. As is shown in the study, giving isn't always a result of wealth. Giving is a result of a heart condition, a sensitivity to others, and many times a submission to God's command seen in Proverbs 3:9, "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." How can we honor the Lord? Notice two ways today. We honor God through our tithe. The phrase "firstfruits of all thine increase" refers to our tithe, which means a tenth. God desires that as He blesses us we would turn around and honor Him by giving back one tenth of what He gives us. Leviticus 27:30 explains it this way, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD." Tithing is not giving; it is bringing. It isn't giving God what He does not already require. Nothing we have is of ourselves. If we have a job, it is from God. If we receive a bonus, God gave it to us. If we see our needs provided, it has come from God. All we have is given to us from God, so to honor Him, He asks that we give Him-through His local church-a tenth of what we receive. We honor God through our offerings. While God requires a tenth of what we receive, He also desires offerings above and beyond our tithe. We tithe out of obedience, but we give out of love. Each chance we get, we should be willing to give to God's work through His church. We can honor God and show Him our love by giving above what He's asked us to give. Obeying God's command of tithing and also giving more out of love will take faith, but God promises that as you honor Him through giving, He will honor you through blessings. Don't focus on what looks feasible on paper, but trust God and obey His command. Honor God by giving back to Him what He has given to you. Daily Bible Reading 1 Samuel 4-6 | Luke 9:1-17
Vengeance Belongs to God Hebrews 10:30“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.” The longer you live, the more you realize that life is filled with hurts. Unfortunately, many of the hurts of life come from people. Whether or not these people meant to hurt us, the fact is that hurt has occurred. Many times this hurt brings the desire to get revenge on those who brought the hurt to us. The word “vengeance” means “to inflict pain on another in return for an injury or offense.” As you can see from the definition, vengeance is a reaction. Many times the reaction is an immediate reaction that we regret later on in life. Going further into the definition of the word “vengeance,” the root of the word comes from the Latin “vindico” from where we get our word “vindictive.” In other words, vengeance is an action that we perform to get revenge for what someone has done to us. According to the verse above, vengeance belongs to God. Vengeance is one of the things that God never allows humans to have the right to own. Though many times God uses humans to get vengeance on those who have hurt someone, vengeance always belongs to God. Therefore, when we try to get revenge, we are stealing from God. Christian, you have to understand that trying to get revenge is evil. It is evil because we are trying to hurt someone. By our attempt to get revenge on someone, we then sin against God, and now God must punish us as well. Vengeance only belongs to God. Let me point out one other statement in the verse above that will help us concerning vengeance. Notice God promised, “...I will recompense, saith the Lord.” God promised He will take vengeance on those who have hurt us, but only in His timing. God's timing for vengeance is always better than ours. God's timing is always right. When God recompenses vengeance upon those who have hurt us, He does it at a time when that person is either too far gone to come back to Him, or it is at just the right time when God knows that vengeance will bring that person back to Him. This is why we must not try to take God's place in this area of vengeance. Christian, God understands that you have been wronged, but you cannot live to get revenge on the one who has hurt you, for this will lead to bitterness. Stop trying to get revenge upon those who have hurt you and leave the vengeance up to God. When you move on and let God deal with the hurt, you will find life will be more enjoyable.
Sojourn - to stay at a place for a time. From Old French, sojourner, "spend the day." The word caught my thoughts as I listened to Gloria Gaither's song, "I don't belong." Sojourner is mentioned eight times in the Old Testament, none in the new. But my favorite is Psalm 39:12 -- "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry, hold not they peace at my tears for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." Here's David, King of Israel, and he looks upon himself as a man here for just a short time. Like Gloria's lyrics, he was singing a sojourner's song -- he felt that he didn't belong. In the fourth verse he again sounds much as we all do: "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am." And, again in the seventh: "And now, Lord what wait I for? My hope is in thee." I do, however, disagree with the last verse "O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more." I will not "be no more." I will be forever. This is the promise of the Lord -- eternal life. The first time that phrase is used is in Matthew 19:16 "And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Oh, that poor rich young man. And the last time it's used is in Jude 1:21 "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. There, in His kingdom, we will not be sojourners. But, while we're here, we need to be sharing this sojourner's song -- we belong to Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, given in love -- and the reason for that gift is that the world through Him might be saved. Everything circles back to the love of God. His love for us, our love for Him. For we are to love the Lord, our God, with all. We don't have to figure out what portion we owe Him, it's all. And in return, we get Him. Fair trade, isn't it?
A Pattern of Good Works Titus 2:7“In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,” Do you remember in elementary school when the teacher would give you a piece of paper and tell you to trace the lines of the picture? At that young age your teacher was teaching you to find a pattern to follow and trace the lines of your patterns life. If the truth were known, everybody is a copy of somebody. We have all copied the pattern of somebody's life. Though the pattern that we copied was not just one life, we still have copied someone's pattern of living. That pattern, whether good or bad, has been engrained into us because of the influence that pattern had on our life. In the verse above, God commands the young men to be a “…pattern of good works:” Even though God was talking to the young men, I believe everyone should take this command personally and understand that we should be a good pattern that can be followed by those who choose to copy our lives. We should be a pattern of purity, honesty, sincerity, wholesome words and conversation, and a pattern that cannot be condemned. This is the pattern that God prescribes for us to be in the verse above. Whether or not you like it, you are a pattern that someone is copying. I ask you, what kind of pattern are you giving them? If you look at your life for the past month, would you want someone to copy everything that you have done? Though there are parts of your life that you don't think people see, it comes out and someone is copying your pattern. Think of this, would you want your child to do EVERYTHING that you do? You can tell your children all you want to do what you say and not what you do, but they will end up tracing the lines of your life. Christian, make the lines of your life lines that are worthy of copying. Be careful that you don't draw a line in your life that would cause heartache for someone who is copying your pattern. You are a pattern for someone! Don't be a pattern that leads to heartache, but instead be a pattern of good works.
Crossing the Bridge Proverbs 3:5-6Don't choose the bridge that seems safest, but choose the bridge that follows God's path. When I was in junior high, I visited the Philippines with a group of pastors and other Christian young people with the goal of passing out tracts and helping local missionaries and churches. Our travel plans called for us to visit Baguio City in the northern Luzon province of the Philippines. The church we were staying in the first night was situated in the jungle, and after a long plane ride from the States, we piled into Jeeps to travel into the jungle to reach the church. The jungle we traveled through were inhabited by the Calinga jungle tribe, and at the end of our ride, we met the Calinga tribesmen who stood with torches ready to guide us deeper into the jungle to the church. The next three hours were spent hiking through the jungles of the Philippines. Already exhausted by jet lag, I imagined every possible enemy hiding in the bushes around me. Eventually, we reached a bridge that stretched across a large gully overlooking a rushing river below. The bridge wasn't a normal, American bridge we were used to seeing. It was made of vines, bamboo, and slick material, and swayed when walked on. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about crossing the bridge. I thought that day would be my last, and I'd plunge to my death below in the river. As we rested for a few minutes before crossing the bridge, I began rationalizing crossing the bridge in my own mind. I looked around at my traveling companions and realized that if some of the older and heavier people with us could cross the bridge before me, I'd be safe to cross. One by one the heavier members of our group crossed and the bridge proved to be trustworthy, so I crossed with no problem. In the Christian life, we all come to bridges we must cross. Every bridge will be different and the circumstances surrounding it will vary by Christian, yet many bridges will appear weak, wobbly, and untrustworthy. Can we trust the bridge? Or will we fall to our death below? One bridge we must cross is that of provisions. How will we survive in difficult economic times? Will we stay on the side of trusting self or will we step onto the bridge of faith and trust God's provision? The bridge may look unstable to us, yet God calls for us to step onto the bridge and trust Him. One group of people who stepped out and trusted God for provision were the Israelites. Although they were slaves in Egypt, they were given housing and food. Yes, they wanted to escape slavery, but as shown through their murmuring, they were given reliable provisions in Egypt. They had a choice to make-remain in Egypt and trust the Egyptians for provisions, or step onto the bridge of faith and follow God into the desert. The Israelites didn't always see how God would provide, nor did they immediately trust God in each situation, yet as they continued following Him they saw His provisions time after time. God desires that you would step onto the bridge of faith and trust Him for your provisions. Don't choose the bridge that seems safest, but choose the bridge that follows God's path. As the Israelites learned, crossing the bridge of faith takes small steps. Trusting God is done through daily placing your faith in Him. Each time you face a need or something comes up in life, turn to God. Refuse to seek your own answer, but seek God's provision. Have you stepped onto the bridge of faith when it comes to your personal finances and daily provisions? The economy's current condition is no secret, yet thankfully God doesn't operate by this world's economy. Refuse to take the bridge of least resistance, but choose to trust God to provide for your needs each day. Daily Bible Reading 1 Samuel 1-3 | Luke 8:26-56
Mark 7:6-9 Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.So many today think they are religious and think their good deeds will outweigh the bad and hopefully they will make it into Heaven. However, many's heart is wicked and there is no good thing found in it. Even at its best, as with the Pharisees, there is not enough to enter Heaven. If it were not so, Christ would have died in vain. But today's devotional is not about the Pharisees but it deals with doing a sincere moral inventory on your heart. Be honest with yourself for once in your life. Why? Because where you spend eternity depends on you being honest with yourself! Ask yourself these questions:
- Is your heart truly dedicated to God and the things of God? Only you can answer that. What do you think about the moment you wake up? What do you think about during the day? Is it your heart's desire to serve God? What do you think about when you are alone? Mother Theresa was one of the greatest benefactors of mankind. However, even at the end of her life, she questioned where she would spend eternity and knew she was lost as lost could be. Even after so many good deeds, she had no assurance and knew she was not going to Heaven!
- Do you truly worship God or is it honestly only through your church? What I mean is, do you think about God at all after you walk out the church doors? Do your thoughts revolve around God, His Word, righteous living? Or do you predominantly think about work, your next party, or hanging out with friends? The Bible says that what is in your heart will come out of your mouth. The Bible also says that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. What kind of fruit are you bearing?
- Are the commandments/instructions you follow in your church a priority in your life? If so, why do you keep them? Is it because the church says so or is it because the Bible says so? Is it because you love God and want to serve Him? Do you keep these commandments because you have to or because you desire to do God's will?
- If the Bible contradicts one of your church traditions, do you continue to do it or do you figure the church "fathers" know better and so you follow what they say instead?
- Does your church have their own instruction book like the Book of Mormon or something similar? If so, does it take precedence over God's Word making God's Word irrelevant?
Moral inventory is something everyone should do and the sooner the better. God desires to be your Father. God desires fellowship with you. God desires to guide you. What are your desires today? Do they revolve around God or the here and now? If you desire to be a child of God, you must be born again according to Scripture. Baptism at birth does not allow the baby to make a conscious decision. A baby cannot be born again because it does not even realize it has sinned yet. However, you can. You must be born again to be able to go to Heaven.
~John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. You must recognize that not one of your good works is going to be good enough for your entrance card into Heaven. If it were, Christ died in vain ( Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is ALL about Christ and has NOTHING to do with any good deed we do. Accepting the fact that Christ is the Son of God, who came to earth to live a sinless life, died on the cross and shed His own blood so He could pay the price of our sin and penalty of Hell. He rose from the dead and now sits in Heaven as our King and Saviour. That is the Gospel full and complete. Nothing more, nothing less. Please, reader, be sincere and honest with yourself for once in your life. If you are not a true born-again Christ, you will know. Today's devotional will sound like mumbo jumbo to you. You will pass judgment on me and will criticize my writing. That's good! I don't mind as long as my devotional will get you to thinking!
Acts 17:6. These that have turned the world upside down are come hither alsoDo you turn your world upside down? Or is concern about creating turmoil and offending family members or friends keeping us from doing so? My own answer is that I've found it much more simple to witness to co-workers or even strangers than it is to family members. Do we ask for grace to be said at meals when visiting family? A simple gesture that has the potential to offend -- or open a conversation. Would we do so at a family gathering in a public place? Do we select Christmas cards that celebrate Christ's birth? Or are do the cards generically wish a non-specific Happy Holidays? Are we able to discuss our beliefs based on scripture? Do we open the Bible to refute erroroneous statements? Are we able to discern when a person is unsaved? Wearing a cross could just as easily be a fashion statement than a statement of faith. Let's pray for the grace and faith to dare to offend, and turn our worlds upside down!
Praise Be to God!
~Psalm 98:2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.~John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.~Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.~Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.As we celebrate this Resurrection Sunday (Easter), let's remember that it is not about the Easter bunny nor eggs. It's all about the wonderful gift of salvation given to mankind by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! Tomorrow we will remember what He did for us - and we should continue to remember it daily and show our gratefulness by our lives and our actions!!
Up From the Grave He Arose1. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!Refrain:
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!2. Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)3. Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)
God's Ultimate Gift of Mercy and Grace Luke 23:3-4 Christ's suffering has paved the way for our salvation. He had done no wrong, yet they accused Him. His life screamed "Innocent!" yet the people screamed "Crucify Him!" He came to show His love for them, yet they had sentenced Him to death. He only wanted to preserve their life eternally, yet they wanted to end His life prematurely. But through it all, His mission was being fulfilled. His plan was now complete. Luke 23 takes us on a journey through the last few days of Jesus' life. Verse by verse the scenes of one of history's greatest events unfolds. Throughout the Gospels we are told of Christ's love and good works toward others, yet we sit by helplessly as we read about the ones Jesus loved turning on Him and calling for the ultimate form of punishment-death by crucifixion. But even as tragic as the events of Luke 23 are, the end is cause for hope. Today, let's survey Luke 23 and remember Jesus' sacrifice and suffering that gave us mercy and grace. Verses 1-2: "And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King." The people lead Christ to Pilate, demanding justice for Jesus' claims of deity. Pilate finds no fault in Him, yet feels pressured to act upon the crowd's demands anyway. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod for a ruling. Verse 11: "And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate." Infuriated by his silence, Herod mocks Jesus, clothes Him in "royal robes," and sends Him back to Pilate. Verses 16-21: "I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him." Pilate still doesn't believe Christ is guilty, so he offers to beat Him then release Him. Set in their ways, the crowd cries out for His death, ignoring reason and believing their own lies. Pilate gives in to the crowds demands and sentences the innocent Son of God to death. Verses 33-38: "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Jesus was led to Calvary and was crucified on a cross while the people continued to mock and scorn Him. The Man whose only "crime" was leaving Heaven's throne to save His people from an eternity in Hell endured the verbal abuse of the people He loved while paying for their eternal salvation. Thankfully, the story of Jesus' sacrifice doesn't stop in Luke 23, for Luke 24:1-6 gives us hope and joy in the midst of tragedy: "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee." Christ is alive! Yes, He was accused, mocked, scorned, beaten, whipped, bruised, crucified, and blasphemed. But Christ endured the shame of the Cross, and on the third day He rose from the grave, conquering death. While the devil thought he had the upper hand on God, Christ proved that glorious morning as He rolled away the stone that no grave could hold Him. On this Resurrection morning, we have cause to rejoice as God's children. The story of the Cross and what Christ endured for us is sobering, yet because He conquered death, we are given the gift of eternal life with Him. His suffering has given us salvation. Take time today to remember Jesus' sacrifice. Read through Luke 23, realizing that God was taking your place on Calvary, paying for the sins you've committed. But don't stop at the end of Luke 23. Keep reading to Luke 24 and rejoice that because God has conquered death, you have eternal life through His salvation. Rejoice today in Christ's work on Calvary. Daily Bible Reading Ruth 1-4 | Luke 8:1-25
|
RSS Feed
