2 Timothy 3 ESV
"1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra-which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
                                                                                                              
After reading this passage, I could here my mother's words, “You can have one or the other, not both.” I think it’s the same in the Christian life! We can either be in fellowship with the Lord or be living for self. One or the Other!

This passage of scripture is a great challenge for those who desire to live a faithful life for Christ, especially in the times we are living. We can break down this chapter into two sections:

Verses 1-9 The world’s way in living (especially in the last days)

Verses 10-17 The Christian’s way of living (now and in the last days)

In verses 1-9, we have warning after warning describing the characteristics of those who live apart from God's instruction manual, the Bible. In verses 10-17, we have the characteristics of those who live for the Lord in accordance with His Word.

Read this passage again, and then if you have time and would like to write me your observations, I would love to hear from you.

May you have Joy on your Journey,

"9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live." (Numbers 21:9 ESV)

"9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." (Numbers 21:9 KJV)

Our reading today deals with the nation of Israel out in the wilderness, wandering. I've seen the wilderness in Israel, and even today, I wouldn't want to be there in a car, let alone with thousands of people complaining daily...you know they did.

At one time or another, all of us have faced a difficulty – some, it seems, more than others. I'm reminded of Jesus' words in John 16:33:

33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

I came across the following Illustration that speaks to this point:  

"The story is told of a Sunday class that had been asked the question, ‘In your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture?’ A young man said, ‘the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want Psalm 23:1.’

A middle age woman said, ‘God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1.’

Another woman said, ‘In this world you shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome this world. John 16:33-35.’

Then old Mr. John who was 80 years old, with a head of white hair and dark black skin, stood up and said with as much strength as he could muster, "and it came to pass 85 times in the Bible.’

The class started to laugh a little thinking that old Mr. John's lack of memory was getting the best of him. When the snickering stopped, he said.

‘At 30 I lost my job with six hungry mouths and a wife to feed. I didn't know how I would make it. At 40 my eldest son was killed overseas in the war. It knocked me down.

At 50 my house burned to the ground. Nothing was saved out of the house. At 60 my wife of 40 years got cancer. It slowly ate away at her. We cried together many a night on our knees in prayer.

At 65 she died. I still miss her today. The agony I went through in each of these situations was unbelievable. I wondered where God was. But each time I looked in the Bible I saw one of those 85 verses that said, 'and it came to pass.'

I felt that God was telling me, my pain and my circumstances were also going to pass and that God would get me through it.’”

Let me ask you reader...

Are you also in a hard situation in life and feeling helpless?

The good news is that if you will fill your mind and heart with God's Word, you'll always be reminded that you have a God who will rescue you – no matter how big your problem.

Take a moment right now and choose a "memory verse" that you can meditate on whenever you're in a time of discouragement.

Blessings on the Journey,

19 "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh," 

In our verse for today, we see God promise to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. In other words, His desire is to transform a hard-hearted person into a softhearted, sensitive person.

When a person gives his life to God, the Lord puts a sense of right and wrong deep within his conscience through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. What we once loved we sometimes quickly discard, while other times we gradually chip away at it.

But if we too often rebel against His conviction, we become hard-hearted towards God's will for our lives. If this happens, we need God to soften our hardened hearts so that we can grow spiritually and become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

Being in His presence regularly helps soften our hearts and makes us more sensitive to His still small voice. Without a heart that is sensitive to God's touch, we will not recognize the times He is speaking to us. Remember, God speaks about matters gently, in a still, small voice, or with gentle conviction (see 1 Samuel 3:10).

A person with a hard heart is also a person who is in danger of hurting other people. He may not even be aware that he is doing so – a state that I believe truly grieves the heart of God. Let's be honest, those who are hard-hearted are too busy "doing their own thing" and will not be sensitive to God's will or His voice. God wants to soften our hearts with His Word, and a hardened heart will not hear His voice or receive the other blessings He longs to give.

What is God's word for us today?

Keep your heart soft and attentive to My voice...

Blessings on your Journey,

Our Scripture reading today is found in just one verse, Psalm 46:10:

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ESV

I like how the New American Standard translates the first eight words to this verse:

"Cease striving, and know that I am God."

We live in a world where noise surrounds us. It is easy to become overwhelmed by all the voices – our children, friends, spouse, and even ourselves.

These voices can easily distract us, and as a result, we soon forget how to listen to the most important voice of all – God's.

This devotional offers a short reminder that will hopefully inspire you and help you to make time with God your top priority.

It really is my hope and desire to help you to develop a passion for daily time with Him and to understand His responses to your prayers.  We all need to learn to maintain our relationships with others while spending more personal time with God.

I can't think of a better way to start each week and day than with someone who not only loves you more than you can imagine, but who also has all the answers you will ever need!

Blessings on your Journey,

Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth-
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

We live in a day when most think that obtaining a degree means that a person is smart. Now please, I am in no way discrediting the value of an education. However, a degree does not prove a person’s intelligence. For some, it can simply mean that they are book smart.

I would like to suggest that you can have all the education in the world and still not be wise or have true knowledge. In these first few verses of Proverbs 1, we have written for all mankind to understand that true wisdom and knowledge come by one simple action: fearing the LORD!

That's what verse 7 tells us is the starting point for wisdom and the ability to truly understand life.  Look at what you gain when you fear the LORD:

v. 2 - To know wisdom, and instruction, to understand words of insight.

v. 3 - To receive instruction in wise dealings, in righteousness, justice, and equity. (All the things mankind really desires.)

Then in verse 4 we see that fearing the LORD gives  "prudence" or "cleverness" to the simpleminded, (could this be to those uneducated in the world’s ways?) and knowledge and discretion to the youth; boy, don't they need this?

v. 5 - Solomon gives his readers a quick nudge to remind them once again that to be wise, we must listen (hear) and then increase in learning. I'm reminded of Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:14-15 "Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Back to verse five. Solomon concludes with "the one who understands obtain guidance."

Isn't that really what we need to live life to the fullest...Guidance?

Guidance to navigate the rough seas of life!

Guidance to understand verse 6!

Oh, that you and I will heed the words of this Proverb as well as all of the Scriptures.

What will it take?

Verse seven, taking the first step of Fearing God!

Blessings on your Journey,

"7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;"
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 ESV

How's that rejection going? Ever felt rejected? If you are like me you can say in the affirmative, absolutely!

Today we have a guest whom I love to quote often in my sermons. A minister who is a minister to ministers, Dr. Chuck Swindoll.

The following is from an email I receive on a monthly basis that Chuck writes, specifically to pastor's entitled "The Pastor's Soul, Role, and Home."

Dealing with Rejection
If you enjoy watching and playing the game of football (I certainly do), you have observed a curious activity called a “spike.” It’s rather unusual. A team fights its way toward the goal line yard by yard. Minutes seem like hours as the offensive team plods along and presses on. Suddenly, it happens. A play works beautifully, and streaking to the long-awaited touchdown is a muscular running back or some fleet-footed wide receiver. Six points! But as soon as he crosses the line, this athlete takes the ball and slams the little thing to the ground. With all his might! The guy doesn’t so much as say, “Thanks, ball.”

I’ve thought, What if that ball had feeling? What if it could talk? Can you imagine how it would react after being spiked? It had done its job well. Stayed inflated. Didn’t jump out of the player’s arms—no fumble. And after all that, all the thanks it gets is a vicious spike. Talk about rejection!

So it is with the child of God. We do what is right . . . and we get tossed aside. Sometimes, “spiked” viciously. It hurts.

I urge you to listen up! Every once in a while we are going to get kicked. Now, this doesn’t mean God has abandoned us or that we are out of His will. It just means people are people, sheep are sheep. It’s all part of the humbling process God uses in shaping our lives “to bear the family likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29 Phillips).

“Struck down”—as Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 4:9—it’s the idea of being thrown down, shoved aside, or cast off. This explains why J. B. Phillips paraphrases it, “we may be knocked down.” Amazing thing! Even though we may faithfully and consistently do our job, help and serve and give to others, we can expect, on occasion, to be thrown aside and rejected . . . knocked down. Let’s don’t be caught off guard.
—Chuck

Blessings on your Journey,

Psalm 85
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 
13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. 

Good Morning.

As I've pondered these verses today, it doesn't seem that I will finish this Psalm as I’d hoped. Yet I do hope that you have been blessed each week with these short devotionals. That's my intent, to keep them short yet sweet.

As we seek to grow our faith, let's ponder our text once again and ask God for revival.

Their Pronouncement vv. 9-13
As we examine our text for today, I want to remind us of the first part of verse 8, in which the psalmist gives us the suggestion to, in essence, take a deep breath, pause and listen with his words "Let me hear..."

Now in verse nine, we see God’s consummate love for His creation in the words, "Surely his salvation is near." Not only was it near in that day, but it is still just a prayer away today. Yet, there is a condition, so to speak. That condition is "to those who fear him." We're not talking about a cowering fear, but rather a reverence, a respect. Think about it for just a moment; God is God. He is our creator. I should think reverence would be an automatic response, just as we should respect our own parents. You get the picture.

Along with this salvation comes security: "that glory may dwell in our land." This grace we've received, "salvation,” brings with it a glorious peace that will be an assured measure of confidence for the believer in our walks with Him, that, "He will be our God, and we will be His people." Leviticus 26:12

In these next few verses we see the outcome of "fearing God."

Verse 10
- Steadfast love and faithfulness meet!
- Righteousness and Peace kiss...Hebrew word is nashaq pronounced naw-shake.' It means to fasten up, unite.

Verse 11 
- Faithfulness springs up from the ground (picture the opening song of the Beverly Hillbillies).
- Righteousness looks down from the sky (God watching over us).

Verses 12 & 13
These two verses seem to sum up all that has been said in the previous verses. They are promises to the child of God who truly reverse his Lord and God. Read them slowly, and let them reassure you as His child:

12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, (see James 1:17) and our land will yield its increase.

As I write these last words, rain is literally pouring down outside.  It’s just another reminder to me, as most of our nation is in a drought, that God will take care of me. I am reminded of the words in Psalm 37:25 that speak to the righteous not having to beg for bread.

13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. 

Oh the day Jesus comes to take us home, when their will be a new heaven and new earth! When, as a people walking through the land, God's righteousness goes before them and their paths are made straight. 

God's will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. As John the Revelator exclaimed in Revelation 22:30, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

If you want, go ahead and sing this great old hymn of the faith:

 There is coming a day
When no heartache shall come
No more clouds in the sky
No more tears to dim the eye
All is peace forever more
On that happy golden shore
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus:
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face
The One who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be.

There'll be no sorrow there
No more burdens to bear
No more sickness, no pain
No more parting over there
And forever I will be
With the One who died for me
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus:
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon His face
The One who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be.


 Blessings on your journey,

Psalm 85
1 LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Their Pursuit vv. 7-8
Last week, we left off with the first part of verse 8. Today I hope to finish Psalm 85.

Continuing in the later portion of verse 8 we read, "but let them not turn back to folly."

According to this verse, there is a condition to having peace. It's not turning back to "folly."

I won't take the time in our devotion to delve into it, but I challenge you to read the book of Judges. Time and time again, Israel fell back into "folly" when God delivered them from their sin. In fact, God used seven different nations to chastise Israel. They would repent, God would restore, and they would relapse back into idolatry again. The cycle would repeat.

That should not be the way of the Christian. Please don't misunderstand me; I know we will not be perfect this side of heaven. However, I do believe that we are called to a higher level as Christians.

That higher level is simply a yielding to the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 6 we read:
1 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:1-4 (ESV)

How does this happen?
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

And when we are led by the Spirit, we will be sensitive to sin. When we do sin, we are assured that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (ESV)

Well I did it again—went too long. Yet I hope I've brought both comfort and a challenge today.

I will attempt to finish next week. Pinky Promise!

Blessings on Your Journey,

Psalm 85
1 LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.
 

What's Your Song?
Last time we looked briefly at verses 1 through 6:

Their Praise vv. 1-3

Their Petition vv. 4-6

Today we are going to look at this Psalm and touch on the next two verses 7 and 8 as we seek to understand the need for revival. Let's begin, then, looking at:

Their Pursuit vv. 7-8
 "Show us your steadfast love,"

The KJV says, "Show us thy mercy." Listen to the words of Barton Bouchier who was known as a religions writer in 18th century England:

" ‘Thy Mercy.’  It is not merely of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, but all is mercy, from first to last, - mercy that met us by the way, - mercy that looked upon us in our misery, - mercy that washed us from our sins in his own blood, - mercy that covered our nakedness and clad us in his own robe of righteousness, - mercy that led and guided us by the way, - and mercy that will never leave nor forsake us till mercy has wrought its perfect work in the eternal salvation of our souls through Jesus Christ."

Need I say more? Yes! “Thank you LORD for your Mercy (KJV) endures forever.” (Psalm 136)

Verse 8 seems to suggest in its opening declaration, "Let me hear,” that the writer – who is also the worship leader – stands before the congregation and announces, "It's time now for us to be silent before God, to block out all the noise of life, and to listen to the message He has for us as His people."

What's that your saying Lord?

The writer lets us know.

It's something we long for, and it doesn't matter our position in life...PEACE!

"For he will speak peace to his people, to his saints."

Peace.  The world is clamoring for it. It even goes to war to try and bring peace; talk about an oxymoron! We all long for it in our lives, even the children of God.

As believers we are not immune to trials and tragedies. Jesus told us in John 16:33, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. BUT take heart; I have overcome the world."

Just as the psalmist in our reading today knows where his peace comes from, we, too, as believers living in the New Testament era, also know from where our true peace comes. It comes from Jesus!

Today, as you face the week ahead, know that you too can have peace as a child of God, even in the tribulation or trial that may come your way.

More next time...

Blessings on your Journey,

Psalm 85
1 LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.


What's Your Song?
Here we have a song by the Sons of Korah. Have you ever asked yourself who these guys were? According to Numbers 16:1, Korah was “the son of Izhar, son of Kohath.” In Numbers 4:2-3, it tells us that the Lord set aside able-bodied “sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi ... from thirty years old up to fifty years old ... to do the work in the tent of meeting.”  The chapter goes on to describe their specific duties in the tabernacle, along with those of the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari.

Now that we have that settled, let’s look at this song of theirs.

Notice first off:

Their Praise vv. 1-3
Who in his right mind would not give God praise after doing what He did for them—"forgiving iniquity, covering ALL their sin." As if that's not enough, verse three says, God withdrew "ALL" His wrath and did an about-face in His anger toward them.

But, as is the case with them and with us, our sinful nature rears its ugly head.

Notice verses four through six:

Their Petition vv. 4-6
They, like us, fell back into sinful habits needing to be "Restored." Another word for restored could be "Revived." I am so thankful that I was born after Christ's death and resurrection, aren't you? Think about it, no longer do we have to make a trip to the Temple every year or so in order to sacrifice an animal in our place. Christ has done it once for all: "He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself." (Hebrews 7:27) 

Sprinkled into the remaining verses of this section are questions about God's anger. The bottom line of verses five and six, "God, will you be angry at us forever, will you pass your anger to the following generations?

For the believer surrendered to practicing confession God's way, I find the answer today is a resounding NO! Even in the Old Testament, a person received forgiveness when he acknowledged his sin and God's Holiness. Listen to the words of David a few psalms over in Psalm 103:12: "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." But he doesn't stop there: verse 13 "As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him."

Let me leave you today with the writer’s petition in verse 6: "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?"

More next time...

Blessing on your Journey,