A Christian Devotional

[Shammu]

Be an encourager!

1 Cor 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

A survey asked mothers to keep track of how many times they made both negative and posetive comments to their children. The surveyed mothers admitted that they criticized at least ten times for every one time they said something favorable. Another survey taken in one city’s schools found that the teachers were negative seventy five per cent of the time. This study concluded that it takes four positive statements to a child from a parent or teacher to offset the effects of one negative statement. Wow, when I think about how many times I've said negative things to people in my lifetime, I have some posetive paying back to do!

Many times we justify our criticizing, hurtful words and actions by thinking we're right in a matter. But, in fact, the only one who's all right is the Lord! And He has called us to be the encouragers of the world! We have the gift of God residing within us, and we are ambassors of the His love. We need to constantly remind ourselves to operate under that love in every circumstance - even the most difficult!

When we find ourselves getting ready to criticize, let's strive to stop in our tracks and say something encouraging instead --- not only to the world around us but to ourselves!

[Shammu]

Take up your shield!

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Did you know that most snakes have no sense of hearing?  They can sense vibrations, but for the most part they have no ears.  In the natural realm, serpents are just another creature but in the spiritual realm they represent the rulers of darkness.   In the spiritual realm, faith is linked to hearing!  Since these serpents have no real ears to hear, the enemy cannot and does not live by faith.  The powers of darkness cannot handle faith.  When the enemy attacks, he attacks our faith.  He wants us to be deaf to God, to doubt God's goodness, His faithfulness, His provision -- he wants us to be faithless.  Why does he want this?? Simply because when we doubt God, the next to follow are discouragment, anger, frustration, anxiety, and the tendency to sin!

Let's defeat the enemy by exercising our faith today!  When the flaming arrows of doubt come your way, extinguish them by raising your shield of faith!  Trust His Word.  Hold to His love.  Declare His mercy and goodness.

[Shammu]

Be still!

Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

In one passage in John, Mary and Martha come running to Jesus, asking Him to heal Lazarus, who was critically ill. Since Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus, I’m sure they were expecting that Jesus would come immediately to his aid. The scripture says, however, that Jesus stayed two more days in the place where He was. It was in those two days that Lazarus died.

It’s so hard to understand why it is that God waits to do the things we ask of Him. It’s good for us to remember, though, that He has His purposes for waiting. God was about to teach everyone involved a much deeper lesson here. As Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He made sure they all understood that He is the resurrection and the life for all who believe.

God has His perfect timing for everything under heaven. You may be waiting for God to intervene in some area of your life. You may have been begging and pleading with God for years on that particular thing. But we can relax and know that God’s timing is perfect. We never know what God is doing behind the scenes, in order that our joy would be made full. Remember that He knows best what would bless us most and He is working all things for those of us who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Relax. God is in control. He has greater things for you than what you could ask or think!

[Shammu]

Enter into His rest!

Hebrews 4:3-5 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

In Israel, Shabbat (the Sabbath) is an extraordinary day. People spend much effort to get everything perfectly prepared for this special season that lasts from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. For those of you who have ever visited Israel, you’d know that Friday morning is the time that everyone here is rushing around doing errands before everything closes. The shook (outdoor market) is packed, the buses are full, everyone is doing last minute shopping, cleaning, cooking and preparing for sundown, when all will be closed, the streets will be empty, the shops will be shut down and there is nothing to do for the next 24 hours but rest.

There is a Shabbat for the people of God and we must also labor to enter into it. We do not labor to be justified, for our justification is only in Messiah and in Him all the work for our salvation has already been accomplished. But it does take some labor to enter in. We must spend time preparing ourselves in worship and prayer and meditation on His word! But praise God! He has given us the ability to enter into His Shabbat rest, peace, joy and all the fullness of His blessings every day of the week if we will only prepare ourselved to receive it!

Let’s prepare to enter into His perfect peace today. Shabbat Shalom!

[Shammu]

learn to lead!

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

We came across this interesting story, written by Steve Brown of Key Biscayne Florida.

“In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king." "I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you." "Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient.”

We are kings and priests! Furthermore, the Bible says that one day we will rule with Him! We need to get ourselves ready!

re you weary of parenting, ministering, praying or whatever other assignments the Lord has given you for this season of your life? Please, be encouraged! God expects us to be faithful where he puts us, even in the small things. Stay strong in the Lord! God is preparing us for great things -- and our efforts for Him will not go unnoticed!

[Shammu]

Learn to lead!

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

We came across this interesting story, written by Steve Brown of Key Biscayne Florida.

“In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king." "I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you." "Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient.”

We are kings and priests! Furthermore, the Bible says that one day we will rule with Him! We need to get ourselves ready!

Are you weary of parenting, ministering, praying or whatever other assignments the Lord has given you for this season of your life? Please, be encouraged! God expects us to be faithful where he puts us, even in the small things. Stay strong in the Lord! God is preparing us for great things -- and our efforts for Him will not go unnoticed!

[Shammu]

Don't allow the crows to persuade you!

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived together in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. Each did his work faithfully and contentedly.

One day, while the hen was out in the forest looking for wood, a nosy crow approached her and asked what she was doing. When he heard, the crow began caw, “That’s not fair! You’re doing the hardest part of the work! That rabbit and mouse are taking advantage of you!

The chicken continued about her work, but try as she would, she could not stop thinking about what the crow said. These feelings festered and festered, and by the time she got home, she was so upset that she burst out in tears, screaming, “It’s not fair! I do the hardest work of the three of us! That’s it! I’m not going to gather this heavy firewood anymore!”

Discontent spreads, as you know, and immediately the rabbit and mouse also began to argue that they had been doing the hardest work and that they were not going to do their jobs anymore either. The three argued until they were tired and finally decided to switch jobs – from now on the rabbit would gather the firewood, the hen would bring the water and the mouse would cook.

As the rabbit hopped into the forest for wood, a fox trailed him, caught him, and ate him. The chicken put the pail into the creek, but the current pulled the pail down under and the chicken with it. The mouse, while sitting on the edge of the big pot of soup, lost his balance and fell in.

Discontentment not only destroyed their happiness but their very lives.

We all have a job to do here. No job is greater than the next -- no person is greater than the next, no matter what those crows might tell you. We are all working for the same King and we can worship Him even while gathering firewood, if that’s what He’s called us to do!

[Shammu]

Access the power from on high!

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Have you ever thought about how much power God releasing in our midst right now? Is it 20%... 50%... 100% of His great power?? I would venture to say that God is not even releasing a fraction of 1% of His power today. That might sound crazy to you, but think about it. If He were to release all His power on this earth, don't you think that sin would be completely destroyed and righteousness and holiness would abound?

God is an all-powerful, all-encompassing God, and there is no limit to what He can do. He chooses to release His power through His saints -- through sinners that have been washed by the blood of the Lamb! We have access to amazing power from on high -- but we have to be open vessels, allowing the anointing of God to flow through us!

The power to tread upon serpents, scorpions and every power of darkness has been given to us! Let's pray like we've never prayed before! And allow the Lord to use us as vessels through which His power can be released!

[Shammu]

Haven't you forgotten something?

Psalms 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

A farmer was showing his visiting citydwelling friend around his farm. "Watch this!" he said. He gave a whistle and his little dog came running from the house, herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that’s some dog -- what’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought for a minute and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

Funny how we forget things, isn't it? But I'm not so sure God finds it all that funny! When we read about the children of Israel and their journeys through the wilderness for forty years, we see how God provided wonderful miracles for them, feeding them daily with manna, guiding them by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, parting the Red Sea!

How is it, then, that they became so very hard hearted toward Him? Over time, I think those miracles just became commonplace and they began to take them for granted!

But then again when I look back on my life, I can't really blame them. It happens to the best of us! God has done miracles in our lives and I'm sure he's done many in each of yours as well! But we still get anxious when things aren't going quite the way we hoped, don't we?

Recall a miracle of God in your life. Remember the joy you felt? We need to relive that joy today! The miracle of God's new birth in us and the many other miracles God has done are not one to be celebrated and quickly forgotten. We need to relive them daily!

We never want to become cold toward God! Let's spend some time remembering the miracles He has done in our lives and strive to trust Him for the trials we face today!

[Shammu]

It’s My way or the highway!

1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

My wife tells a story about an interesting experience she had as a new believer. She was still single at the time and wasn’t happy with her living situation. She was renting a room from a family in her congregation and wanted to get out and rent her own apartment. The only problem was that she was rebelling against a feeling she had that God wanted her to stay there for a season, to get grounded in the Lord and to be a blessing to this family. Still, she convinced herself that getting her own apartment would be a good thing.

After much searching, she found what she was looking for. Although it needed some work and the rent was rather high, she managed to bargain her way into fixing up the place in lieu of three months rent.

Six weeks went by and all the work was done. New tiling, carpeting, painting, curtains, it looked just fabulous and it was time to move in. As she finished unpacking and putting on all the finishing touches, she sat down and marveled at all her hard work. Yet she still battled this little still small voice saying “This is not My will.”

The next day she went to work. About midday, Rivka received a phone call from her new next door neighbor. “Water is gushing out of your front door,” she said, “You might want to get over here and check it out.” A sick feeling arose from the pit of her stomach as she picked up her things and dashed out the office door.

Sadly, it was true. The whole apartment had been flooded by a random break in the pipes outside of her basement apartment and much of her hard work and some of her belongings were damaged. When the landlords didn’t even want to pay for the clean up, Rivka decided to take them to small claims court for the cost of her labor and damages (not to mention the three months of rent she never received). Without any explanation, the judge ruled in favor of the landlords. Even more ridiculous was that they didn’t even show up that day!

Truly, Riv learned the hard way that the bad feeling she had throughout this whole ordeal was the conviction of the Holy Spirit urging her to be obedient. She would be very careful not ignore that leading again.

Are you trying to get your way with the Lord today? Take this as a warning! God will have His way one way or another. Give Him your heart again today. He has such great things planned -- and there’s so much work to be done!

[Shammu]

What’s that smell?

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

Our little Elianna, now almost three, loves flowers. Every time she sees one, she has to get down and take a whiff. It's so adorable.

Did you know that back in the days of the Roman Empire fragrances were all the rage? They would celebrate their victories with huge parades and burn incense on the altars, which would fill the entire city with its sweet-scented aroma. Even those who could not be part of the celebration would smell the incense from afar and know their army had been victorious!

This is the very effect we should have on the world around us. Our lives should be burning the sweet smell of righteousness, holiness, love, and victory! Our fragrance should be so strong that people can smell it from afar and know that we are victorious in every circumstance through the atoning work God has already done!

Let’s get on fire for Him again today! The world is hungry! Smelling that delicious aroma will get them motivated to grab a bite!

[Shammu]

The Lord has us covered!

2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

When Corrie Ten Boom (author of “The Hiding Place”) was a little girl in Holland, her first realization of death came after a visit to the home of a neighbor who had died. It suddenly impressed her that some day her parents could also die. When Corrie went to her father about her concern, he comforted her with these words of wisdom. "Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?" "Why, just before we get on the train," she replied. "Exactly," her father said, "and our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time."

Many of us don’t think about it but we, as humans have such a problem with fear -- fear that God won’t come through when we’re in need. We want insurance -- insurance for our cars, insurance for our houses, for our health and for our lives. We want to be insured that we’ll be okay if something happens. It has become our way of life in the western world.

Now, we’re not saying go and cancel all your insurance plans -- but at the same time, God wants us to trust in His provision in our time of need! In our time here in Israel, we have truly learned the meaning of “never early, never late”. Every single day since we have been here our faith has been tested and time and time again, God has provided for us in ways we could never conceive -- physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially and in every other way -- never early, never late -- always just when we need it.

We need not fear anything that is before us. God will give us the strength to endure anything that comes our way. He has our ticket!

[Shammu]

Gotta bite?

Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Tonight we were talking to good friend of ours in the States who loves to fish. Fishing is one of his favorite activities and he goes quite frequently. As we were talking, he happened to mentioned some disappointment about a friend canceling a fishing trip they were to enjoy today. I replied, “Bro, maybe the Lord wants you to go fishing for men today!”

He quickly answered that he’s much better at fishing for fish than he is at fishing for men. “At least the fish bite every now and then.” he said.

“Well,” I asked, “But how much practice have you really had in fishing for men?”

So many of us make excuses, reasoning that we’re just not good enough at sharing the gospel to do it regularly. But really -- how often do we practice? We can’t get good at something with out putting in the practice!

Let’s commit to sharing the Gospel on a regular basis. Yes, it can be really hard. But let's put our fears aside and determine to share God's love and truth! There’s so much work to be done!!

[Shammu]

You have Him, who is greater than your circumstances.

Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The Lord quotes this scripture in Matthew. It contains an important principle which believers sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if you're blessed, your life will be filled with material prosperity, and that if you are undergoing extreme trial, it must be because you have sinned or that you lack faith. The Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike.

A life of good circumstances does not mean that God is with us. And likewise, a life of trial and suffering does not mean that God is not with us! If we base our lives on our circumstances, we are no different than people without God. What makes us different is that we have something far greater than our circumstances! We have a relationship with the Living God!

There's nothing wrong with rejoicing in the good times but we need to rejoice in the bad as well! We have a greater treasure and a more amazing victory when our lives our centered upon Him.

[Shammu]

Think you could give me a hand?

1 Corinthians 12:14-18 For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Some of us like to lead. We like to be the ones to teach. We like to be the ones to lay down the law and believe we were born for it.

The fact is that no one is born to lead. You may have heard it said that leaders aren’t born, they’re made -- through many trials and testing, through much time and lot’s of experience. That is probably why Paul specifies that some will be pastors…etc.

Think of it this way. Picture a body, but maimed -- no arms or legs. With a neck … and several heads. Ewww. Not a pretty picture, is it? But that is what the body of believers would look like if we all tried to be the head. We couldn’t move forward – no legs! Couldn’t lend a helping hand - no hands!

We each have an equally important part in the body. Let’s seek the Lord about what exactly is ours. There’s so much work to be done!