Psalms 3:3

(Editor’s Note: Christiaan is writing the devotions for today and tomorrow. Hopefully, William will be able to return to writing on Wednesday from the hospital. We’re bringing him his laptop tomorrow, and we should have an update published soon).

Verse of the Day Devotion – Psalms 3:3 (ESV)

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. – Psalms 3:3 (ESV

If you missed last weeks study on Psalm 3:4 please check it out, you’ll learn a lot about the historical and contextual setting for this chapter. In short, David is in hiding from his Absalom (his son who murdered his other son, took the throne, and is hunting David down to murder him). The net is closing around him. As he’s hiding he hears people telling him that no god (neither God or any other deity) will come to rescue him.

Think about it.

David is the King of Israel. He’s been elevated from farm boy to king.. He’s lead the armies of the Lord to fulfill the promise given to Moses. This is the heyday of Israel. It has never been better than it was now and (honestly, probably never will be again until Jesus returns). David has thousands of servants, concubines, and armies so large that by the end of this current situation over twenty thousand people died in a single battle between the armies of israel lead by Absalom and David’s resistance fighters.

But where do we find David?

Alone.

In a cave.

So reviled and with such little authority that at one point he was recognized and an individual who openly cursed him… like old school “a pox upon you and your family” style cursing.

When I think about where David is at this point versus where he was, I think about that line from A Christmas Story when Ralphie has “soap poisoning” and his dad asks him, “What has brought you to this lowly state?” The answer is that we live in a fallen world. It was completely outside of David’s control. It wasn’t punishment for Bathsheba. It wasn’t because God ceased to have David in his favor. It was because there were people doing evil things.

I think that a lot of times we get put in situations completely outside of our control and it’s up to us to decide how we respond to it. In a previous verse of the day I did I looked at the verse about how there’s a season for everything from Ecclesiastes 3:1 (I seem to like the third chapter in books!) Last time we looked at how David cried out to God and God answered him. But today, we look at what he KNEW about God.

God is his shield around David. But Christiaan, you may ask. How is God a shield around David, if God allowed Absalom to murder his brother, pull of a successful military coop-d’etat, and force God’s chosen king into a cave hiding away from the world? The answer is that we live in a fallen world. But David doesn’t lose faith. He doesn’t lose Hope. He knows that God hears the cries of his people. He knows that God is ultimately in control over the situation. He knows that whatever is happening it’s going through God first.

Maybe that medical condition that brought you into the hospital that you thought was the worst thing that could happen, really ended up saving your life. Because they discovered something infinitely worse than anything you could have imagined.

Maybe that job loss that had you eat through your savings, and put you in what seemed to be a hopelessly impossible financial situation leads you to finding your dream job, that may not fully get you out of the financial straits you found yourself in, but you’re in a significantly better place, and you never realized how toxic and draining your other job was.

Who knows, and most of the time we don’t see the positives until they’ve happened to us. We know that as Paul told us in Romans 8:28 that “God causes everything to work together for the Good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (NLT) and David’s words reinforce that.

David doesn’t just testify that God is his shield, but also that God is his glory. This word in a transliterated hebrew is kabodi which means, reputation, honor, splendor, distinction – in short, his identity all the things that make him who he is and special. David knows that regardless of what happens to him and what people say about him that ultimately his identity is in God. And regardless if he’s a brilliant military commander (as they say of him in 2nd Samuel – in fact they say he’s worth ten thousand men in battle) if he’s the king of Israel, or if he’s a beleaguered man in a cave hiding from his murderous son… his identity is given to him by God.

The verse finishes at a crescendo of David’s affirmation of God’s role in his life, that God is “the lifter of my head” or in the NLT it says, “the one who holds my head high.” David doesn’t have to be ashamed of these situations that happened. He doesn’t have to sulk in the darkness afraid to be who God created him to be and the role God called him to walk in. The two translations beside each other paint a beautiful picture of our God who lifts our face from being downcast, and then holds it up.

So, may you come to realize that no matter what happens in your life, how scary it is, or how unexpected it is God is your shield, protecting you in some way. May you search for the good things in the midst of the trauma and focus on them. May you find your identity in Christ and not let that shake your confidence in who you were made to be. And finally, may you not struggle against the God whose lifts your head, and helps you to hold you head high!

Psalms 3:4

(Editor’s Note: Christiaan here still, William is in the hospital still, and your continued prayers for his speedy and complete recovery are appreciated).

Verse of the Day Devotion – Psalms 3:4 (Alter)

“With my voice I cry out to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain. (Selah) – Psalms 3:4 (Alter)

The third psalm holds a unique place in biblical literature. It’s the first psalm with a title, and one of only a few that gives us a setting for the psalm. While we will, more than likely, never be in his exact situation, we can learn a lot from David’s response in his unique situation. The title of the psalm is, A David psalm, when he fled from Absalom his son. Absalom murdered his brother (David’s other son), rallied the armies of Israel against David, so much so that David had to flee the palace with his servants and his personal bodyguard. An emissary from the nation of Gath had a group of six hundred men that accompanied David. Absalom wasn’t content with the throne, he wanted his father, David, dead and to those ends he mobilized the entire army of Israel to hunt David down.

On the run David cries out to God, telling him of the sheer number of enemies he has (in the final battle between David and Absalom twenty thousand soldiers died) and how they taunt him telling him that “God will never rescue him” And David affirms the truth of our verses of the day. In Robert Alter’s translation and commentary, he paints the picture, “The palpable strength of this psalm resides in its sheer simplicity and directness. The speaker, a man beleaguered by bitter foes, is first mocked by them when they tell him no god will rescue him. Ignoring the mockery, he cries out to the Lord for help sure he will be answered. Surrounded by enemies, he can sleep undisturbed.”

We will probably never have our children murder their sibling and then hunt us down to murder us. But there are times in our lives where we will feel overwhelmed with what’s going on in our lives. People will tell us that God can’t help us, or we’ll think that our problem is too small or not important enough for God to help us. Health issues, job issues, family issues, whatever issues pop up, David is testifying that when he cried out to God, God moved.

Kinda like with my But God verse of the day eight months ago, I want to look at how God responds to our cries.

God moves when we cry out to him.
He proved it throughout the old testament.

When the Israelites cried out to God:
He gave them Moses and liberated them.
He raised judges to liberate them.
He turned the tide in battle for them.

Throughout the psalms David continually reminds us that when we cry out, God acts here are just two examples:

In Psalm 61, David cries out to God, again, for help. He tells God that his heart is overwhelmed, this could also be translated to become weak or sickly. His prayer is that God will, “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” and mentions that God is a strong tower and refuge to him.

In Psalm 34, David tells those who are helpless (the Hebrew word Anaw means to be suffering, oppressed, emaciated or tormented) to “take heart… let us exalt his name together [for when] I prayed to the Lord… he freed me from all my fears… in my desperation (same Anaw word) he saved me from all my troubles.” He continues later on in the psalm, “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.”

God is unique to every other deity in all of time and space.
At his core is the fact that God always hears the cries of his people.

Often times however we don’t know how to pray. We don’t know what to ask for. Sometimes we may not even know that we’re oppressed or in need, but as believers we have Holy Spirit living inside us. Paul writes in Romans 8, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness…. the spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words… the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

While Holy Spirit does pray on our behalf, it’s important for us to continue to cry out to God ourselves as and when we’re able. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the Parable of the Persistent Widow, she keeps asking an unjust judge for justice eventually because of her persistence the unjust judge grants her cries for justice. Jesus ends the parable by saying, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

So, may you not feel ashamed or concerned in crying out to God. May you be attentive to Holy Spirit’s intercessions, and may you find freedom from your fears, and rescue from your troubles that only God can give.

Psalm 39:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 39:7  

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” – Psalm 39:7 

This is another psalm of David.  He starts in verse one by saying he will watch out how he speaks to his enemies.  “I said, I will guard my ways That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence. I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, And my sorrow grew worse.” Psalm 39:1-2.  He chooses to be careful in what he says to his enemies.  Not necessarily because of their reactions, but because he did not want to sin because of his words and actions.  Then in verse three he alludes to the feelings of anger and intense excitement of his emotions that came upon him.  “My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue” Psalm 39:3.  His emotions were rising within him, endeavoring to come out. 

In this situation, it seems David wearied of his life.  In verses 4-6, he is looking at the brevity, or shortness of life here on earth.  First, he asks God how long must he stay here. “LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am.” Psalm 39:4.  Then he says that our lives are short, which is the idea of handbreadth, speaking of the short span when our four fingers are spread apart.  God is eternal, and his short life is nothing in comparison.  Then he adds that compared to eternity our lives are like a single breath.  “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.”  Psalm 39:6.  And because of this, our lives are vain as we amass riches and wealth, but in a short time we die and have it no more.”

And so, because life is short, we come to our focus verse.  “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” Psalm 39:7.  He in essence is saying, in this life, I will place my reliance in you and what you bring about and make happen.  It is not the world he must rely on, or his own means, for it is not in his power to solve the mysteries in this life, and in reality he knows he does not have the wisdom or knowledge to make a positive difference.  And neither do we.  The theologian Albert Barnes in his commentary on psalms puts it this way.  “it is in the God that made all, the Ruler over all, that can control all, and that can accomplish His own great purposes in connection even with these moving shadows, and that can confer on man thus vain in himself and in his pursuits that which will be valuable and permanent.” We can do nothing; we must rely on God to do everything.  We must not contemplate on what the world can do to meet our needs, desires, or in bringing of peace to us.  We must rely on God in all things.  For only then can we find ourselves content, for He alone can bring it to us and help us through.  The world can only fail in this goal and exacerbate the issue.  God loves us, He is always with us.  And He will help us.  “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace  Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3.

I encourage everyone reading this to trust completely in God who can do everything and loves us with an unending love.  We may feel helpless, however, we have nothing to be concerned about, because, He has this.

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

Proverbs 1:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 1:7  

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. ” – Proverbs 1:7

This is an interesting verse because many do not understand what Solomon is trying to say.  This is especially true of unbelievers.  This is mostly because of their lack of understanding regarding the use of the word ‘fear’ within the scriptures.  When we look in most dictionaries, we see these pretty much as the  basic idea. 

“A very unpleasant or disturbing feeling caused by the presence or imminence of danger.” 

“A reason for dread or extreme apprehension”

“To be afraid or frightened of something or someone.

If someone only sees these definitions for the word fear, they will see God as scary which may prevent them from pursuing Him.  Now, this will be the fear those who never accept the grace and mercy of God through the work of Christ on the cross, will experience when the end comes.  The writer of Hebrews writes this regarding those who keep on sinning.  “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?. For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” Hebrews 10:26-30. “And regarding those who denied Christ, Hebrews finishes with “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31. 

But for us as Christians, the word fear has a different idea.  For us, the fear of God does not refer to scared, but to reverence and awe of God.  We are not scared of Him, but we revere Him.  We leave sin and seek after righteousness. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” Proverbs 8:13.  Solomon in Ecclesiastes wrote the following, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Ecclesiastes 12:13.  And again, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7.  

To fear the Lord is not to be scared, but to obey Him, following in His ways, and to turn away from evil.  “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13  This is a good fear, one that is pleasing to God and shows our devotion to Him who loves us and saved us so we can be with Him for all eternity.

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

Psalm 32:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 32:5  

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” – Psalm 32:5      

This verse can be an incredible comfort to us whenever we sin.  In earlier verses, we see how blessed the person is who God has forgiven.  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; Whose sin is covered!”  Psalm 32:1.  We who are Christians and have truly repented and committed our lives completely to Christ have been forgiven.  We could not do anything on our behalf, all we could do was accept the work He did on the cross.  And David next goes further in that our sin is not even charged against us.  “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” Psalm 32:2 He has pardoned us completely, we are no longer charged as guilty.

David then speaks about what it was like to attempt to keep silent.  “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.” Psalm 32:3-4.  There was no peace in his life when he kept it all in him.  He speaks of God’s work in bringing him to the place where He finally brings it all out.  Note the wording, “my body wasted away tthrough my groaning all day long.” And also, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me,”  We do not know the specific circumstances that brought him to this point, however, it is easy to see that it was heavy on him. 

However, he finally chooses to bring it to God and not try to hide it anymore.  We see this in our focus verse.  “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.  He admitted to himself that he could no longer keep silent about this, so he confessed it to God.  And what did God do? He forgave him.  And you can tell from the verses that follow David was at peace with God again. 

I have found that in my life, if I slip up and fall into sin, it is so much better to admit to having done it, confessing it to God, and then working with Him to not fail Him again.  Unfortunately, I am still not perfect, I will not lie.  However, I know my heart yearns for His ways and immensely desires to please Him in all I do.  I have learned that it is better to acknowledge my failure to Him and ask for His abounding forgiveness.  He knows everything anyway, so it is impossible for me to hide it from Him, so I might as well confess it.  Sometimes I simply confess it with all honesty, and sometimes I weep in the process.  But after I call on Him, a peace comes upon me, and I then move on, for I know He has, in the words of David, He forgave the guilt of my sin.

I want to encourage everyone that when you recognize you have sinned, just bring it before God.  Do not try to keep it a secret, for God already knows.  And the fact He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), He knew you would do it and He will forgive. So, come clean, confess the transgression to God.  And He will forgive you and remove the guilt from you.  Believe me, it will bring much peace into your life. 

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

Psalm 112:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 112:7  

“He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” – Psalm 112:7      

One of the things we need to always remember, as Christians, is that we have nothing to fear when we trust in the Lord.  Lets look at the verses prior to this to fully understand the context by which our focus verse is written.  For if we understand and apply its message, we can live in peace no matter our circumstances. 

The author starts with, “Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.” Psalm 112:1-3.  He is saying here that blessed, or happy, is the one who fears the Lord, who love to obey His commandments and delights in His ways.  We see this same idea in psalm one, where the writer states, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2.  Those who fear God and follow His ways are blessed of the Lord. 

Next, we read, “Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever.”  Psalm 112:4-6.  When hard times come, which they will, God will save him through the difficult times, not necessarily from them.  The righteous may still get sick or be bereaved by the loss of someone close.  Or they may lose property either by  theft or legal issues.  However, all will work out to those who trust in the Lord.  Paul put it this way in his letter to the Romans.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.  And also, the righteous will be gracious and helpful whenever needed, with God providing the means of the assistance he will provide.

And because of all this, if we delight in Him and His laws and commands, the fact is we are blessed by God almighty, He will be with us and protect us no matter what happens.  And even though things do not look good, we must go beyond how we perceive our situation and trust God has it under control.  As our focus verse states, “He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” Psalm 112:7.  We have no reason to fear evil that comes our way because God has this.  Our hearts should be steadfast in the reality that we can trust Him that He is taking care of us, no matter what it looks like.  We should do as the writer of Proverbs put it.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

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

Malachi 3:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Malachi 3:6 

“For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” – Malachi 3:6      

One of the most comforting things for me regarding God is the fact that is stated in this focus verse: that being God does not change.  He declared this to Israel (the sons of Jacob) because they had disobeyed Him, and He had not consumed or destroyed them.  His plan for mankind was from before the beginning, and He was going to complete this plan.  “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” Revelation 13:8.  He knew those who would accept Him, and He also knew those who would not.  And He was/is consistent in this plan.  He will not change His mind.  “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.

Here are a couple of the many scriptures that speak of God as unchangeable.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 3:8.  From eternity past through eternity future, God has not nor will He ever change.  He shall never question anything that He has done.  “But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel. As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 1 Samuel 15:26-29.  And finally, James puts it this way.  “Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17.

Because of His immutability we have confidence that everything spoken or written by God is still true and can be depended on.  We can therefore trust everything we read in His word.  Remember, in Genesis 3 where He declared the coming of the Messiah.  “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15.  And as stated above in Revelation 13:8, Jesus’ crucifixion for our sins was declared before the world was created. 

Every prophetic declaration in the scriptures was or will be fulfilled as promised.  We should have no doubts about this.  And those of us who are true Christians should rejoice, because our future as told to us is a beautiful eternal existence in the presence of God.  And also, every word in the Holy Scriptures are still to be adhered to because He is unchangeable.  It is important that we spend time every day studying His Word and make what He has said the way we live.  It can be easy sometimes to fall into errant beliefs, which is why it is important to spend time everyday in prayer and study of the scriptures.  I have found it more than beneficial in my life. 

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

Proverbs 18:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 18:10 

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” – Proverbs 18:10  

Today’s culture is a mess.  There is so much fear in this world, it is a sad state we find ourselves in.  However, my goal today is not to increase you fear, but to lessen it by looking to the one who can help us through these times.  In times of distress, people will look around for a place the deem as safe.  Some find their safety in entertainment.  They figure if they can take their minds off their situation, they can put this stress out of their mind.  Some will turn to alcohol and drugs to just numb their brain so they will not think about them.  Too often, we simply look for ways to refocus our attention to other things.  However, there is a much better way to handle this.  It is to face it while giving it to God.

Our focus verse tells us that we are to run to Him, and we will be safe.   He is a strong tower, a fortress,  that we can go to and know we are in a good place.  He is a refuge in time of need.  I like the way Adam Clarke puts it.  “What a strong tower is to the besieged, the like is God to His persecuted, tempted and afflicted followers.” Think of families in a town where the enemy is attacking and overtaking them.  When they finally get into the tower and the doors are shut and locked, they can now relax and take a rest.  This is how we can be when we go to God for safety and protection in our trials. 

This idea is found throughout the scriptures.  In Joshua, we read, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9.  He promised Israel that He would always be with them, so they had nothing to fear.  The writer of Hebrews put it this way to the followers of Christ.  “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.  So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6.  There is nothing that man can do to us that God cannot and will not defend us from.  And I will add that there nothing that anything can do to us that God cannot defend or protect us from. 

And one final verse, of which I will quote the prophet Isaiah.  “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:10-13. 

No matter what this world brings our way, it has no chance of defeating us if we go to Him for safety.  We have nothing to fear, for as the writer of Hebrews said, “what can man do to me.”  If He is always with us, we have a definite and infinite advantage over anyone or anything that desires to cause us harm.  If we find ourselves in a dangerous situation, we can do what we can, but remember, He is with us at all times.  “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.  Whether we live or die, Christ is gain to us.  While we live we are His servant and Christ our portion.  If we die, we will gain infinitely because we will be saved from what troubles were waiting for us and are immediately in heaven, our eternal home.  Either way, we win.

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

Isaiah 55:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Isaiah 55:6

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” – Isaiah 55:6  

As I look at all that is going on today, it makes me think that our time here on earth is drawing to a close.  What with some leaders not desiring to open churches again for meetings, yet many others such as stores, and other businesses are encouraged to get back to normal.  In fact, I was reading where one governor says we should wait a year to open churches.  There are many who take a terribly negative view of Christianity while accepting the ideas of most other religions. 

Because of this, we should work even harder to spread the word of His coming.  “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15.  This is our calling, and we must take advantage of all opportunities we have to tell others of what Christ did for us.  For there will come a time when He will not be found.  And not only tell them but show them through our lives of obedience.  Many people are told the truth, but when they see the life of the one who told them, that it does not line up with their words, they struggle to accept it. 

According to our focus verse, we are called to go out and tell the world to reach out to Him while He may be found.  There is an old skit by the Christian comedy group Isaac Air Freight about someone who desired to continue living a worldly life until the last minute, then he would accept Christ.  Unfortunately for him, his time came sooner than expected. However, there are many who have chosen to do the same.  And we must reach out and tell them they must seek Him now, not waiting until a later time.

The next verse tells us what He desires us to do when seeking Him.  “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”  Isaiah 55:7.  We are called to forsake all wickedness and unrighteousness.  Whether in our deeds or our thoughts and desires, we must give them up.  Now, we may at times fall into some of these again, and we will need to repent and ask forgiveness. But it should never become a lifestyle where we go back to our old and wicked ways.  And when we forsake our old sinful ways and seek Him, He will have compassion on us and pardon us, through the shed blood of Christ. 

In closing, I believe there are two groups of people Isaiah is speaking about.  The first are those who do not believe and therefore are not saved, and the second are those who think they are saved but continue living as the world.  I want to encourage us to reach out to both when we, as Jesus said, go out into all the world.  There are some churches that do not teach the whole truth, and those under them may need to understand that there is more than what they are being taught.  This moves from evangelism to discipleship, and both are needed in this climate we live in today.  All must seek the Lord while He may be found, all must call on Him while He is near.  This should be a part of our truly devoted lifestyle we live with our loving and gracious God.

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

Exodus 34:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Exodus 34:6 

“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” – Exodus 34:6   

This verse describes events that occurred after Moses threw the first set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments down upon the rebellious Children of Israel.  Remember that when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai he was so angry that he threw the tablets down onto them.  Well, this chapter describes how the second set of tablets were given.

Here is the verses recording this event.  “The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” Exodus 34:1-3.  Moses here is given till the next morning to cut new tablets upon which God would put the Ten Commandments upon.  He then tells Moses to come to the mountain himself, not to bring anyone with him.

“So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.”  Exodus 34:4-5.  Therefore, Moses does what he is commanded and cuts two new tablets to replace the ones destroyed previously.  The next morning he awakens, takes the two new tablets, and presents them to God.  The next thing we read is that the Lord descended from Heaven in a cloud and, I love the way this is put, and stood with him there.  Now the Lord declares in our focus verse, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, Exodus 34:6.  And then continuing in verse 7, “keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:7. 

When He announced Himself to Moses the first time at the burning bush, he declared Himself as ‘self-existent’.  “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14.  This time He makes Himself known in the glory of His grace and goodness, using language that would be presented in the future to the church.  And because of what the Jews had done previously during the presentation of the first set of tablets, this shows His grace and mercy in presenting, once again, His law to His people, but also the grace and mercy He has in overlooking their sin.  And not just the sin of Israel, but all who has offended God in their ways.

This is the God we serve, one that has overlooked our sins once we cried out to Him for forgiveness, and then gave ourselves to Him to His service.  He loved us so much that He forgave us of everything and has declared us guiltless before Himself.  His abounding love and mercy goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine, and our future is with Him, in His kingdom forever.  What an amazing God we serve.

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