God Our Refuge - Closet Reflections

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 7:7, Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

The Israelites gathered at Mizpah in repentance for their sinful ways and sins against the Lord, and were ready to serve the Lord only. It was in the process of their turning back to Him that the enemy launched their attack. This, dear brothers and sisters, is a pattern that will play out time and time again when we decide to get right with our Lord. The last thing our enemy wants if for any of us to repent, confess, and get back to praying and studying God’s Word. 1 Peter 5:8-9 warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” The Philistines felt threatened by Israel’s gathering and decided that this would be the best time to launch their attack. There is nothing that makes the devils more apprehensive than when they see Christians doing all they can to get right with the Lord. The Apostle Peter told us that along with being sober and vigilant, we are to resist the devil. How do we resist Satan and his demons? Peter gave us the answer in the previous verses. 1 Peter 5:6-7 say, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” We, in and of ourselves, do not have the strength or wisdom to engage the devils directly, and quite frankly, it is not our place. The battle belongs to the Lord, and that is the reason we are told to humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God”. I cringe when I hear Christians “rebuking” the devil. How is it that we are so arrogant to think that we can rebuke Satan, when the Arc Angel Michael, his equal, would not rebuke him? People who teach this falsehood are spoken of by Jude. Verses 9-10 of the Book of Jude clearly tell us, “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.” James confirms what Peter says in James 4:7-10, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” The devils are not intimidated by us, but will launch their attacks against us when they see us drawing near to our God, because they know that repentant, prayed up, students and practitioners of God’s Word are dangerous opponents. It is Christ they fear, and the best defense we have in times of the devils’ attacks is to draw as near to Christ as possible. Note that even though Israel was genuinely seeking God, He did not stop the Philistines’ advances toward them. Why would God allow this? Why would He allow the devils to attack us when we are drawing near to Him? The simple answer is that He uses their attacks as an opportunity to show us His power and might. God did exactly that when He led Israel to the edge of the Red Sea when Pharaoh pursued them. It was at the Red Sea that God demonstrated His great, unmatched, power. We read in verses 10-14 of this chapter, that God subdued the Philistines. He confused their advances and Israel saw victory. Jesus promised that we too will overcome, in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The path to victory will not always look the way we think it should, because God will not always stop the devils’ attacks, but rest assured that in Christ we will always have the victory and the Lord will always be glorified.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Actions Speak Louder

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 7:4-6, So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. 5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

Israel’s response to Samuel rebuke is a good example of what true repentance looks like. Israel was struck to the core of their being in their conviction. However, experiencing conviction is not repentance. We can feel a certain way, and those feelings can lead us to confession, but confession is not repentance. Israel lamented after the Lord (v. 2), but it was the actions that followed that proved their repentance. The fact that they served the Lord only was evidence of a heart change, at least for the time being. The fact of the matter is that this process of conviction, repentance and confession is one that we will repeat time and time again because of our sin nature. Praise to the Lord that He is patient and merciful. Nonetheless, we see that Israel is now ready to submit to God’s and Samuel, God’s prophet’s, authority. As we come to true repentance, it becomes evident by our willingness to submit to God’s authority. In the process of returning to the Lord, there was a key action that took place…prayer. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing”. Communicating with the Lord is most important, in our relationship and return to Him. Our time in God’s Word, and all we do in the Name of the Lord, will often lack power if we are not going before the Lord to find out what He desires of us. This is the reason it is so important to combine prayer with our study of God’s Word. The drawing and pouring out of water before the Lord was an expression of their surrender to the Lord. Lamentations 2:19 reads, “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.” Psalm 62:8 also says, Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” This signified a pouring out of self that was intended to be complete without pulling back. How often do we give something over to the Lord, or we commit to giving of ourselves, but there is still a string attached that we later use to pull it back to ourselves, or to pull back on what we promised. True repentance calls for complete surrender and a complete turn from whatever is causing a hindrance between us and the Lord. Israel fasted, an outward sign of their willingness to deny self and submit to the Lord, and made a public confession of their sinfulness. What are we holding onto today that needs to be brought to before the Lord and left at His feet? What pet sin are we still playing with, thinking that God is deceived by our fake confessions that are driven by superficial emotions? Galatians 6:7 clearly tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” What sin are we still struggling with, simply because we have not been willing to truly pour out our hearts, and ourselves, before the Lord? What will it take for the Lord to bring us to our knees, and cause us to lament after Him? Would it not be best if we avoided such pain and simply returned to Him, not just with our empty words, but bearing fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8)?

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Devotional Audio Track: Turn Back Turn Away

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Turn Back Turn Away

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 7:3, Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

The Israelites, once again, have felt and experienced the desolation that comes from forsaking God. In verse 2 we are told that Israel “lamented after the Lord”. In other words, they cried out in anguish after the Lord. How often have we found ourselves in this position, after we have forsaken our prayer and study time? How often have we drifted away from the Lord, only to find ourselves in that place of emptiness and maybe even heartache over troubling times the Lord has allowed to arise in order to get our attention? What we often forget is that when we start down that slippery slope of dabbling in sin and doing things that we know we should not be doing, or we begin to make other things and people a priority over God, we begin to drift further and further away from God, until one day we find ourselves sitting in the midst of the broken pieces of our lives. We cry out to the Lord, and sometime wonders why we cannot feel His presence. Why is God ignoring us? Has He forsaken us as we have forsaken Him? The truth of the matter is that God never forsakes us. That is His promise to us in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Samuel, in speaking to the house of Israel, clearly instructed them in what they needed to do in order to restore their relationship to the Lord. Israel was to first return to the Lord with all their hearts. This was a call for complete submission and surrender to the Lord. This was not to be a half-hearted commitment. Far too many of us try to get away with this in our relationship with the Lord. We want to serve God, but only when it is convenient. We want to pray and study the Word, as long as it does not interfere with our plans for the day, and as long as it does not require sacrificing a little sleep, so that we can start our day a bit earlier in order to get that accomplished. We will serve God, as long as it does not take away from our hobby time, our game time, or our personal goals in getting ahead in this life. We will do whatever God wants us to, as long as we do not have to give of our material goods, time, or our money. In all of this, we constantly complain when our plans fall through, or our debt grows (that we created), or trials come to visit up close and personal. We then blame God for allowing these things to happen when we have been such “good Christians”. Yet, we fail to see that we have made for ourselves many gods that we are serving, and have forsaken the One True God. Jobs, material things, money, hobbies, entertainment, and other people have become our gods, and God has had to take a backseat to all of it in our lives. Samuel did not mince words when he told them to “put away the foreign gods”. What gods are we serving that we need to turn away from in order to truly turn back to God? Samuel made it clear that the only way God would deliver them from their desolation was to return to Him with all their hearts, put away their foreign gods, prepare their hearts, and serve Him only. As God’s children, we try too hard to divide our time and affections between God and the things we desire, even if we know that the things we desire are wrong. We set our earthly goals above all else. We will spend hours doing things to “get ahead” in this life, but cannot take time to sit quietly with God, reading His Word and praying. When the desolation comes, we act as if this is some strange thing that has happened, that we do not deserve to experience. If we are to truly return to God, we must do so wholeheartedly. We cannot come to the Lord with half-hearted commitments that we will break the moment He calls us out of our comfort zone. We must turn away from the things and people who have become more important than Him in our lives. There is a place in the priorities of life for everyone and everything, and God should always be first. We must surrender to serving God only, forsaking all the other gods in our lives. We must be ready to do whatever He calls us to and give whatever He calls us to give of our time and resources, which are His in the first place. We must prepare, or establish, our hearts, by making the choice to make God the only God in our lives. In short, we must repent and get back to what is truly important in this life, living for, serving, and glorifying God with our words, actions, and deeds. We must be the living sacrifices we are called to be for the glory of God (Romans 12:1-2).

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Devotional Audio Track: New Year No Worries

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New Year with No Worries

Verse of the day: Luke 12:22 And he said to his disciples, Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat; neither for the body, what you shall put on.

As God's children, what have we to worry about? What burden or need weighs heavy on our hearts as we begin a new year? Why do we worry about God's provision, when He has promised to meet our needs? Does He not know what we need, even before we ask (Lk 12:30)? I am sure that many of us can look back at 2018 and clearly see that God took care of all our needs and came through, as He does every year that He tarries. I would like to remind us of what God said to Moses, when he, and the Israelites, worried about how he was going to feed the six hundred thousand men with him, in Numbers 11:23? The Lord asked Moses, "Has the LORD'S arm been shortened?" The worry that resulted from their lack of trust angered the Lord, and they were struck with a great plague that killed many. We should be thankful that we live in this age of grace, and that the Lord does not deal with us in this same fashion when we lack trust, and we worry. Psalms 65:9ff reminds us that the Lord waters the earth, enriches it, provides grain, and flocks. In other words, He supplies what is needed. In this chapter, we are reminded that God provides for the ravens (who did not have much value amongst the people), and dresses the fields, neither of which labor for their provision or cover. Yet, we are more valuable to God. So why do we worry about the things God has promised to take care of? Ps 23 tell us that the Lord is our Shepherd, and that we shall not want (or go without). When we worry, we needlessly waste time being overly concerned about what God already has under His control. When we worry, we accomplish nothing, as we cannot add one minute to our life here on earth. If anything, we potentially shorten our lives with added sickness resulting from our unnecessary stress, and worry. When we worry, we live no better than those who do not know Jesus. The unsaved are continually mindful of the material things of this world, and often destroy their lives to obtain them. We, as born again believers, should be mindful of heavenly things, and living for the Lord. The bottom line is that, in this new year, we should be more focused on growing in our knowledge of the Lord, serving Him, and staying focused on what He is trying to do in our lives, for the sake of His Kingdom, and the Gospel. Remember, He wants us to cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for us (1 Pt 5:7).