Isaiah 5:20

Verse of the Day Devotion: Isaiah 5:20 

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – Isaiah 5:20      

This verse speaks as heavily to the culture today as it did back in Isaiah’s day.  This is the fourth woe God declared through Isaiah to the Israel.  There were men in that day who declared what was considered good was evil and what was considered evil was good.  John Wesley in his commentary on Isaiah put it this way, “To them – That take away the difference between good and evil; that justify wicked men and things and condemn piety or righteous persons.”  They glossed over evil deeds and habits and accept them as acceptable, while they look down upon those who cling to God and His works.

Isaiah goes on to add the following. “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:21.  This is how they concluded what was right and wrong.  By how they viewed the works as apposed to how God declared them.  They felt they knew better than the prophet and therefore rejected his warnings.  And in doing so, rejected God’s words in the process.  Because of this, the remainder of chapter five, verses 24-30 is the declaring the judgements upon those who sinned in this manner.  Here are verses 24-25 which gives an indication of the judgements declared by God through Isaiah.  “Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.” Isaiah 5:24-25.  

Today, we need to ensure that we do not fall into the same sin as our focus verse declares, those who call evil good and good evil.  There is much of this going on in our culture today.  Leaders in some of today’s churches affirming abortions as a good thing and acceptable to God.  Churches where transgenderism is taught to our children either in story times, or in church services themselves as was done in a church in Cincinnati, OH.  There are teachings heard in some church’s that are against what the scriptures teach and leads to causing members to go astray and believe false teachings. 

If we hear anything that falls into the sins of our focus verse; calling things that are good, evil and things that are evil, good, it is important that we raise this with the church leadership and have them deal with it.  We should address those who have taught it and help those who heard it to understand that this is wrong.  This is not easy to do, but to ignore and not address these issues will have the same result as accepting it.  We must stand against these things.  God did declare this woe to the people of Isaiah’s time, and I believe He will declare the same judgement to those today who do the same.  Let us be careful and study His word so we will know when others confound the distinctions of right and wrong, and we do not fall into this error ourselves. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Deuteronomy 30:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Deuteronomy 30:15 

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;” – Deuteronomy 30:15       

This is a great verse that shows the free will of mankind.  Moses is speaking to Israel informing them that he will not be crossing the Jordan river into the promised land.  “So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them,  I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, You shall not cross this Jordan.” Deuteronomy 32:2.  He then  tells them that Joshua will lead them over the Jordan. 

He also has reminded them what the Lord had done for them in Egypt and during their forty years in the wilderness.  He reminds them of the covenant God established with them, that they would be His people here on the earth.  He reminds them of the nations they encountered and what happened to them on account of their sins and abominations.   He then brings forth this promise. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.” Deuteronomy 30:9-10 

He then adds that this commandment is not difficult.  “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.” Deuteronomy 30:11.  It is not impossible to keep His commands.  It is not even that difficult.  The reason for this is, at the end of verse ten above, ‘if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.’ If they did this, then they would naturally keep His commands.  If they did not, then they would not keep them.    

So, based on the above, Israel was given a choice and we read this in our focus verse and the next.  “if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.” Deuteronomy 30:15-16.  The choice was either life and prosperity or death and adversity.  Life and prosperity if they follow His ways, or death and adversity if they do not. 

Today, we have, in essence, the same choice.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16.  And also, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5  We can either love God with all we have and because of this love obey Him in all ways and receive eternal life, or we can choose not to love Him with everything we have and because of this not obey Him and receive eternal damnation.  He loves us so much He gave us this choice.  And this is the message we must tell the world just as Moses told the Israelites.  Our eternal future depends on how we respond to this choice.   

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ecclesiastes 3:1 

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1    

The traditional belief is that this book was written by Solomon.  According to Temper Longman III in his commentary on Ecclesiastes, this is an old and repentant Solomon looking back over his life.  What Solomon is saying in this verse is that everything in life has an appointed time.  Nothing happens outside of these appointed times.  Now, it is important to understand that as we look at the following verses, these are descriptive statements of happenings, and not moral statements.  For example, Solomon is not saying there is a time for man to kill someone, only there is a time when killing takes place.

He gives a list of appointed happenings.  “A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:2-8.  These are things that happen under the heaven, in other words, here on earth.  Again, these are not moral statements, but descriptive.  And notice that there are opposites shown here as well.  There are times for birth and times for death; the beginning and the end of life.  A time to kill such as in war, and a time to heal.  To laugh, and to weep. To mourn, and to rejoice in dancing.  To gather stones, and to throw stones.  To embrace, and not to embrace. To search, and to give up assuming loss.  To keep things, and to throw away things.  Time to tear apart and a time to put together.  To speak and keep silent.  A time to love and hate, to wage war and bring about peace. 

This list encompasses most of what happens in our lives.  These things happen, whether we like them or not.  We may not want to die or see someone else die, but it will happen.  There are time when people will embrace us, and there are times when they will not.  We must understand these things happen in an imperfect world and though we may mourn it’s happening, that does not stop it from occurring. 

Since we know these things will occur, what should be our response to all this?  “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.  We cannot change these things.  Good and bad things will happen, and we need to accept this as reality.  However, knowing God is in control, we can trust and fear Him, knowing that He will be with us throughout and will guide us in the way we need to go.  Those who are saved and keep His commandments will be blessed and protected, those who do not will face judgment.  In this truth we can rest and be contented and at peace.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 27:4

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 27:4 

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.” – Psalm 27:4    

David here is speaking about what he considers most important in his life.  Remember as we go through this verse that he is king over Judah, essentially having access to anything he desires.  However, as we go through these verses, we see what his focus truly is.  First, let us look at the three verses prior to our focus verse.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” Psalm 27:1.  He starts here by saying that the Lord is the source of his light and his salvation.  The Word of the Lord is his light, it is what helps him understand and be at peace.  He is also the source of his salvation and deliverance.  And because of this, he does not afraid of anyone or anything.  God is the one who goes before him and protects him. 

Then he declares, “When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.” Psalm 27:2-3.  He has confidence that whoever or whatever comes against him, it will fail.  His adversaries will stumble and be defeated by the God who protects him.  And though an army would come against him, attacking him in order to defeat him, he has complete confidence that God is on his side and will fight the battles for him.  His confidence is in God.  He trusts Him completely such that he can stay at peace. 

And because of the above, he desires to be where God is at all times.  He seeks this by asking God to allow him to always remain in His presence.  This is the great desire of David’s heart.  First, that he would always be where God is, that God would never leave or forsake him, and that he would be in a place where he would hear His words, that his mind and thoughts would ever be on the Lord.  But also, that he could behold the beauty of the Lord.  This is not necessarily speaking of seeing Him.  The idea of beauty in this verse is referring to pleasantness and splendor, then His grace and favor; essentially His beautiful attributes that describe and show how truly wonderful He is.  Then, after he leaves this life, David desires to live for eternity in His presence there as well, to enjoy the favor and beauty of God.  From the moment where he is, David desires to, going forward,  be where God is, to enjoy and be in fellowship with Him that never ends. 

After looking at this verse more closely, this is how I feel.  I never want to experience being where God is not.  I want to be in constant fellowship with Him, and to enjoy His beauty and splendor forever; both here and in the life to come.  I pray this is your desire as well.  For there is nothing better than being in the presence of God no matter what. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 133:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 133:1

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1   

David here is declaring that it is a very good thing that we live together in unity.  Throughout history, unity is a pleasant and beautiful thing.  That we are in unity with our brothers and sisters brings peace and satisfaction.  For through unity we have peace and contentment.  It is good in itself, not just bringing about good results.  It is pleasing to God and consistent with His will for us.  Notice that it is both good and pleasant.  Joseph Benson in his commentary on the psalms has the following observation.  “Many things are good which are not pleasant, and many pleasant which are not good. But unity among brethren, whether civil or religious, is productive both of profit and pleasure.”  I believe we can all think of situations that are either one or the other, but not both.  However, it is living together in unity that brings both good and pleasant conditions which is a wonderful way of life.

So, who are the brethren?  In the time of David it was Israel, for they were all descendants of Abraham.   And I believe that the proselytes, those who were not Abraham’s descendants but became followers of God and the law by denying their former lives along with their gods, are included in this as well.  For, in essence they were adopted into Judaism.  Today, it is the corporate Church, the Body of Christ.  It is all the people of God, all the followers of Christ our Redeemer, for we are all a part of the Body of Christ and have the same Father.  We should all be unified in God’s Word.  What He has spoken to us, we all should live by, and not attempt to put our own interpretation based on modern culture.  Paul appealed to the church in Corinth regarding this.  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10.  Paul understood that though we may not exactly agree on every subject, but we must strive to present a unified message.  We may disagree on some minor points, but we should not allow these differences to create divisions within the body. 

And this is accomplished by us loving each other at all times.  “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:12-14.  Notice the last part.  We must all put on love, because love perfectly bonds us together in unity.  Lack of love can be a recipe for arguments and division.  And there is a very specific reason why this is so important, especially in this modern age. 

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:20-23.  Jesus is saying hear that we are to be one in Christ because He and the Father reside in us.  And because of this, we, being in unity with them can be in unity with each other.  And why is that important?  Note the last part of verse 23.  “so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” In essence, so that the world will see our unity and love, and thus believe themselves that this word must be true and accept it.  And is that not our calling in this world?

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 5:3

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 5:3 

“In the morning, O LORD, you will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” – Psalm 5:3  

Psalm 5 is a psalm of David.  As we proceed here, you will see this is considered a morning prayer, one that is used to start the day. David starts by asking God to hear his prayer.  “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning.” Psalm 5:1. He pleas with God to hear the words of his prayer, not simply the words from his mouth, but the meditations, the groanings of his heart. The word groanings refers to whispers, murmurings and musings; those things which are not necessarily said but felt. 

Next, “Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray.” Psalm 5:2. He is asking God to assist and help him.  He calls out to God to hear him, to attend to his cries for help, acknowledging the one who he is praying to as his king and his God. He is crying out only to Him and no one else.  For he understands that the true God who he serves is the one who hears him and answers his prayers.  He does not call out to any idol or false god, only to the true God and creator of all.

He then, in our focus verse, declares these prayers in the morning, as soon as he wakes up he calls out to God.  Notice that this is not so much a prayer of request but a prayer of resolution.  You will hear my voice.  I will direct my prayer to you.  And I will eagerly watch for your answer for I know it will come and I will rejoice over it. 

I believe this is a wonderful example of how we should communicate with God.  We should take the morning when we first wake up to spend this time with our King and our God.  We should cry out to Him with our words and open ourselves to present our hearts and minds to Him.  Often, we do not have words to express our feelings, our pain and disappointments, our failings and regrets.  However, we should not attempt to hide these for He does hear our words as well as our groanings and inward thoughts.  We must understand we cannot hide anything from Him.  He knows our requests, needs, hurts and failings long before we were even born, for He knows the end from the beginning. 

And as we look at our focus verse, we must declare to ourselves that He absolutely will hear our voice.  There can be no question regarding this.  And not only our words, but our feelings as well.  He will not close His ears to us.  John put it this way. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:13-15. 

Lets make the first thing we do when we wake up be going before God and spending concerted time in prayer. Let us lift up to Him our needs, fears, thoughts and feelings knowing that He hears us and loves us.  And then anxiously await His answer.  Do not only look for what we want or expect as His answer, but also what we may not expect.  He knows what is best, and we must take His answer and run with it, rejoicing as we go forward.  There is no better way to start the day.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Numbers 23:19

Verse of the Day Devotion: Numbers 23:19   

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” – Numbers 23:19   

This is part of the passage where Balak of Moab sees Israel and feared them.  “Then the sons of Israel journeyed and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho. Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. So, Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel.” Numbers 22:3.  And because of this he sends messengers to Balaam to request that he curse the Israelites.  “Moab said to the elders of Midian, now this horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Numbers 22:4-6. 

Now Balaam agrees to do so for a fee.  He was a Midianite, a non-Israelite prophet, otherwise known as a diviner.  Midian was on the east of the Jordan river and when Joshua led Israel to the promised land, He gave this land to the Reubenites  who chose to go back across the Jordan to settle there. “With the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD gave to them;” Joshua 13:8. And when Israel took the land of Midian, they killed Balaam the diviner. “The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain.” Joshua 13:22. Now, Balaam goes out to speak to the Lord to receive His words. “He said to them, Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the LORD may speak to me. And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam.” Numbers 22:8. Then Balaam hears from the Lord. “God said to Balaam, do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Numbers 22:12. He then goes back and tells Balak, adding, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.” Numbers 22:18b.

Balaam is then asked a second time by Balak to curse Israel and he returns with these words, “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?” Numbers 23:8. Then Balak asks a third time.  “Then Balak said to him, please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” Numbers 23:13. Therefore Balaam goes and returns with the words of our focus verse. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19. 

Those words God spoke to Balaam He also speaks to us.  What God says is what we should abide by and proclaim to others.  We should not go to Him thinking we can get another response, for He will never lie to us and He will never reverse or change His mind.  We may not always like, at that moment, what He says, but we must trust Him knowing what He says is absolute truth and will work for our good.  If we know what God has said, we must not be like Balaam and go back to see if He has changed.  We must profess His truth as seen in His word, and only if we need clarification do we go to Him, not if we want to hear something else. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.