A Christian Devotional

[Shammu]

God is with us!

Psalms 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.

On October 27, 2005, the Iranian president declared that Israel should be "wiped from the map!" He went on to declare that a new series of attacks would destroy the Jewish state. Psalm 83 prophecies of an attempt by Israel's enemies to "cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance". But the Lord will continue to defend His people that men may know that He, whose Name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth!

Earlier this week, a twenty page manuscript dating between 800-1000 was accidentally discovered by an engineer digging up bog land in Ireland. Interestingly, the book was found open to a page describing in Latin script, what else but -- Psalm 83!  Hmmm...God-incidence?

Just as God continually watches over His land, never slumbering nor sleeping, He watches over us, His children. Be encouraged! God is with us and for us! He will get the victory, both in Israel and in us! And He will be glorified!

[Shammu]

Start building your legacy!

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

At a time when thousands of people were dying each year of rabies, Louis Pasteur, pioneer of immunology, was working on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old boy, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy's mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days-- and he lived. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.

We are called to save lives too. Our greatest legacy will be those who live eternally because of our efforts.

Thousands of people are dying each year, so many who don't know the love and truth of their Messiah. Let's make ourselves available to be used by the Lord for His Kingdom for Christ's sake!

[Shammu]

Time to pull out the big bait!

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

I love fishing but sadly, I haven’t been able to do it in quite some time. Yeah, I know, one would think there'd be some good fishing spots here in Israel. However from what I understand, they’re not really available to the public. So sad. Nevertheless, fishing gives me a chance to get a break from the world and just relax and meditate… and on a good day, maybe catch a fish or two.

I recently saw a fishing-related cartoon that really moved me. Pictured, were two Eskimos fishing through holes in the ice. One of them had his line in a hole the size you'd expect to see. But the guy sitting next to him had his line in an enormous hole, in the shape of a whale!

This guy was hungry! He didn’t want some dinky little fish! He was fishing for whales! In the same way, if we want to do greater things for the Lord, we must have a greater hunger and a greater vision!!

Are you hungry for the bigger and better things of the Lord today? Let’s enlarge our vision for Him! Let’s pull out the big bait! Let’s expect even bigger catches! Let’s allow the Lord to get us ready! The harvest is plentiful -- there’s so much work to be done!

[Shammu]

Mercy triumphs over justice!

Matthew 18:32-35 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the servant mistakenly thought that he could demand justice from another servant all the while asking mercy for himself from the king. When the king found out about this servant's awful behavior, he became enraged and said to him "You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to; couldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" He then went on to hand the servant over to the tormentors. Jesus closes this parable by saying that this is how our Heavenly King will treat each of us unless we forgive our brother from our heart." Ugggh. Harsh words. But God will not put up with us desiring mercy for ourselves, while we lack forgiveness for others and desire judgment upon them.

In light of the situation where we are, in Israel, it's natural for us to desire judgment upon those who continually wrong us. But we, as believers, have to remember that judgment against others is God's privilege alone. We are not to judge or wish judgment upon others. We are to pray for God's mercy upon them in salvation.

Has someone offended or hurt you today? Let's choose to forgive and pray for their salvation. Blessed is the man who overlooks an offense!

[Shammu]

Whew! It's hot!

2 Corinthians 4:5-6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Charles Spurgeon was a minister often accused of being "controversial". One day a friend of Spurgeon's remarked, "So, I hear you are in hot water again."

"No, I'm not the one in hot water," Spurgeon answered. "The other fellows are. I'm the man who makes the water boil!"

We're living in amazing times. Wars are being waged. Prophecy is being fulfilled. And we. what are we doing exactly?

More than ever before, we should be focusing on the condition of our heart before the Lord and in prayer for God to open the eyes of the blind. We should be talking about the truth of Messiah daily with those who don't yet know Him. Who cares if people think it's controversial? This is not the time to care what people think of us! This is the time to get the water boiling!

What's your spiritual temperature today? Is it causing anybody to boil? Good!

[Shammu]

Do you have connections?

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Recently, we've been dealing with every internet problem you could imagine -- from router problems to problematic servers, to war-related electric and internet cable issues. Being that our livelihood, much of our ministry, our email and our telephone are all dependent upon the internet, we've been a bit disconnected from the world (no pun intended). We're not sure how long this will go on. Please pray for this situation to be resolved and forgive us for not being able to answer your emails and send our devotions regularly.

And speaking of being disconnected, one missionary tells of his experience about being assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering this problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

When a new missionary came to take over his station, he proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started. As he was talking, the young missionary picked up the hood only to find that the only trouble was a loose cable. He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.

For two years, needless trouble had become routine -- but the power was there all along.

Hmmm. How many of us have a loose connection today? I know I do. I think we need to check under our hoods and examine what's loose. Whatever our problems are today, the power is there for us to utilize. It's only a loose connection keeping us from putting that power to work! We need to be hungering and thirsting for that bond, that union, that connection with the Lord!

[Shammu]

Don’t miss out!

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

My wife had a realization the other day and wanted to share her thoughts with you in today’s devotion.

She says, “Being a perfectionist myself, I’ve spent much of my time and energy in this life making myself and my belongings appeal to the senses -- in other words, look perfect, sound perfect, feel, taste and smell perfect. I want my house to sparkle and smell fresh, my and my family’s clothing and hairstyles to be on the up and up, I want my words to sound intelligent and funny, my meals to be tasty and beautiful. I want my work in the ministry to be perfect too. And when I’m not busy making sure those things are all in place, I spend my time and energy wishing I had more time, energy and resources to make them so! I admit it is extreme and it’s a matter which I must daily submit to the Lord. But most of us have some element of perfectionism in our lives. What caused us to become that way is another story. But here is what I believe the Lord is showing me about the business of perfection. When we’re busy spending our time and energy “perfecting” ourselves and our earthly belongings, we miss out on a huge blessing. We miss out on gaining God’s perfection, not only for ourselves and our earthly belongings, but for our heart mind and soul. And when we miss out on that, we’re missing out on a piece of heaven.”

Charles Swindoll said “Business (busy-ness) rapes relationships. It substitutes shallow frenzy for deep friendship. It feeds the ego but starves the inner man.”

Let’s examine ourselves today. What are we busy doing? Let’s stop! God is standing by, just waiting for us. He has so much to show us and so much to tell us, if we would only stop giving our time and energy to earthly (and often fruitless) things and give Him a moment of it to Him!

[Shammu]

Call the exterminator!

Revelation 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

Since our move to the Negev Desert in Israel, we've had the privilege of meeting many fascinating and somewhat disturbing desert species, some of which have unfortunately had to meet the exterminator. One of these is the scorpion. Scorpions are commonplace here. They can often even be found in the house and they aren't easy to kill. These little creatures have a knack for survival. I just recently read that scorpions have survived nuclear weapon testing! But more interesting is their method of devouring prey.

Scorpions use their fast acting venom to kill or paralyze their prey so that it can be rendered useless and eventually eaten. However, since they can only can only digest food in a liquid form, scorpions use external digestion, that is they spit digestive fluids onto the remains of their prey, which causes the their flesh to turn to liquid so they are able to suck up the resulting soup. It sounds repulsive, I know. And you're thinking "these things can be found in the house?!" But I couldn't help but see an analogy here.

I think all of us have some scorpions in our house! This precisely how our enemy likes to operate. Satan and his demons come out of the cracks in our walls and lure us with subtle temptations which eventually establish a foothold. Then they go for the kill. They inject us with their fast acting venom to paralyze us. Then they secrete the poison of sin and self justification and turn us to mush until they can finally suck all the life out of us.

I think we need to call upon the Exterminator today! Let's ask him to eradicate every crevice of our being, every area we've allowed these scary creatures to come in and gain control! There is hope! And there's so much work to be done!!

[Shammu]

Ever had escargot?

1 John 2:16-17 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

There is a fable about a stork on the bank of an Indian river. One day he was busily hunting for slugs and snails when an exquisitely beautiful swan dropped down beside him. The stork was taken aback by her beauty. "Where did you come from?" he asked. "From heaven, far above the mountains," said the swan. "Really?” said he, “Is it a good place to live?" "Oh stork, it’s beautiful -- far beyond this." she replied. "Well, do they have any snails there?" the stork inquired. "No!” said the swan with an expression of disgust. "Oh well, I don't care to go there then. I'm looking for snails."

How many of us are in love with the low and sensual pleasures of this earth -- and prefer them even to the joys of a beautiful heaven? There are joys we haven't yet experienced available to us -- if we would only stop looking for snails!

[Shammu]

Take your enemy by surprise!

Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

People read this verse, and think God is telling them to be passive -- to overlook what happened.  That is not a bad thing -- but it isn't exactly what Jesus was saying.   Turning the other cheek is not about being passive.  It's about being active! So active that it actually confounds your enemy!  Turning the other cheek is about taking an action so revolutionary, so shocking, so out of the ordinary that it shocks everyone around.  It confounds the world -- and can also change it!

Do you truly want to overcome evil?  So stop sulking about it, stop dwelling on it and stop doing nothing about it!  Take a most unexpected action of surprising love -- because that is what Jesus did for us.....and it changed our lives, didn't it?

Has someone hurt you or sinned against you? Those things happen and they always will because of our sinful human nature. But now -- turn that into an action of love!

Let's make a habit of surprising those who hurt us! It may radically change lives, especially our own!

[Shammu]

Let the rivers flow!

Genesis 26:18-19 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

There are times in our lives that we are going through a spiritual valley and we want to get victory -- we want to have answers -- we want God’s power to flow through us again.

In this passage, Isaac found springing water after digging up the wells of his father Abraham again. In Hebrew, the phrase springing water is “mayim chayeem”. It literally means “living waters”.

Jesus made us a promise, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38

We, who are believers in Messiah, have those living waters within us -- but we must clear out the obstacles in our lives that prevent them from flowing! The Lord promises us rivers of living water -- not a puddle, not a pond, not a lake -- He said rivers! These waters are not meant to be stagnant and not meant to be dammed up! They need to be flowing -- unrestricted!

If you feel as if your spiritual walk has grown stagnant -- let's dig up the wells again! God has a great blessing to pour upon us!

[Shammu]

Emmanuel! (God with us!)

Joshua 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Moses was used mightily by the Lord, yet we all know he had his inadequacies and limitations too. Still he was the vessel through which God chose to work through as He carried out the plagues over Egypt, divided the Red Sea and miraculously led and fed the children of Israel for forty years. That's pretty big stuff. Can you imagine having to be Moses' successor after all that? That's exactly what Joshua had to do. I can't even begin to imagine what Joshua was thinking at the time -- How can I possibly live up to Moses? But the Lord comforts and reassures Joshua and says, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!"

Those words for Joshua are also for us today. You know why? All the men and women who have done great things for the Lord were just ordinary men and women --- with a great God. The same God who walked with Moses, Elijah, Daniel and all the great men and women of God -- is with us today! Not only is He with us, He is FOR us too!

Let's walk in confidence! God is with us! He will never leave us nor forsake us! In His presence and with His power, let's expect to do great things for the Kingdom today! God loves to show off his supernatural power through us ordinary people!

[Shammu]

Well, what are you waiting for?

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

We received several emails in response to Monday's devotion about re-digging the wells. Here are a few additional thoughts on that and how we can put it into play in our lives.

Wells are used to extract water from the ground below as we all know. Nowadays, there are built in filters to sift out unwanted particles that could clog the pipe that leads from the water source to the well. But back in Abraham’s time when these wells were built, I’m not so sure.

The reason those wells needed to be re-excavated was that over the years, dirt and debris had filled them and water and could no longer flow freely in.

I think some of us are ancient wells, built without filters. We have allowed all kinds of sin particles to pass through and linger until we have become dry and barren.

It's time to dig -- dig down as deep as we can go -- sort through all that dross -- till we find the Water source. And once we get there, we need to get our wells cleansed and purified, and build our filters so this doesn’t happen again. If we’re going to do this job right, unfortunately it won’t be easy -- digging is hard work! But it will be well worth it!

Let’s get away with the Lord today. That’s a number one priority. We need to get some time alone with Him. Fight for it if that’s what you need to do. But we need it!! He wants to help us do the digging. He wants to break the strongholds of sin upon us. He wants to get that living water flowing through us again!

[Shammu]

Ever given blood?

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Many of us have conflicts with people we love most. Husbands, wives, children, parents, friends -- we complain to the Lord about our suffering and beg for Him to touch and change the situation so that we can be one big happy family again.

Here’s a question. Have we cried out for that person's heart like the Lord has cried out for ours while we were yet sinners? Have we suffered and bled in tears and intercession? That is what the Lord did for us while we were nailing Him to the cross.

We need to have the same heart for those who trouble us as the Lord has for us daily. He bleeds and weeps over us and intercedes to no end. How much more should we be doing the same?

Lord, help us! Help us to get your heart on the matter! Help us see those who hurt us through your eyes of compassion and see ourselves for what we really are. Help us to weep. There's so much work to be done!

[Shammu]

Be broken!

Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

This is the touching story of how Jesus was anointed before His crucifixion. But there's one thing about this passaage that stood out to me as I read it again. Jesus was not anointed with ointment until the box of alabaster was broken! In the the same way, we must be broken before the Lord so that His anointing can be poured out upon us to touch others!

We should never be ashamed to be broken. God will not deny a broken heart and a contrite spirit! When we humble ourselves in His sight and place our pride on the altar of sacrifice, it is then that God’s anointing will be greatest upon us. It will pour out of us like the ointment from that box -- and we will be used greatly for His kingdom!

Let’s ask the Lord to break us where we need to be broken this weekend so that we might be anointed completely to do the great things He's called us to do!