From: November 24, 2024
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13 ESV).
The first impulse of sinful humanity, as displayed in Adam and Eve, is the desire to conceal sin. For after they transgressed God’s command and ate of the forbidden fruit, they immediately sought to hide themselves from God. Yet God knew they had sinned and went looking for them.
Attempting to conceal sin never really works. As the Bible says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). Eventually, your sin will be revealed. The longer we try and hide it, the more it negatively affects us.
Therefore let us keep short accounts. Be quick to confess and repent. For we have this promise from the Lord: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
PRAYER: Father, we confess our sins to You today. We know You have forgiven us in Christ Jesus. Not only that, but You have cleansed us of all unrighteousness and made us clean. Hallelujah! Strengthen us by Your Spirit to walk in the light today and to display Your glory to the world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 24, 2023
“LORD, you are mine!
I promise to obey your words!” (Psalm 119:57 NLT).
The psalmist declared that the Lord Himself was his portion, his reward. He sought not the Lord’s hands, but His face. While others seek blessing, he sought the Bestower of all true blessings.
Remember the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son? He said to his father, “Give me my portion” (Luke 15:12). So the father divided his goods and gave him his portion. Then the son took his portion and journeyed far away where he squandered all he had on wasteful living. When he had lost everything and hired himself out as a servant feeding pigs, he came to his senses. He said to himself, “I will arise and go to my father” (Luke 15:18). He no longer sought his portion. He sought his father.
Are you still seeking your portion? Striving to get what is yours out of life? Or have you learned, as the psalmist did, that the greatest reward, the greatest blessing is to have the Lord Himself? For if you have the Lord, you have everything.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we seek Your face and not Your hands today. We want to know You better. For You are our portion and our very great reward. We worship You and You only. We put away all worry and concern. For You are ours and we are Yours. We shall not fear. We shall not want. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 24, 2022
RISING UP TO GIVE THANKS
Psalm 119 was written as a tribute to God’s Word. Written as an acrostic poem based on the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist described the many ways he was thankful for God’s righteous law. His thoughts concerning God’s revealed Word were so wonderful that he arose at a time when most were asleep to give thanks to Him.
Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night and then couldn’t go back to sleep because your mind just wouldn’t turn off? You toss and turn, but sleep won’t come? Try getting out of the bed and reading God’s Word and praying. Sometimes the Lord wants to speak to us and the only way to get our full attention is to wake us up while everyone else is asleep.
Remember how God first spoke to the young prophet Samuel during the night? He was awakened by the Lord multiple times before he finally answered, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:10). And the Lord spoke to him, revealing His Word to Samuel. Remember also how the Lord Jesus rose up a great while before day, and went out into a solitary place and prayed (Mark 1:35); and on another occasion He continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12).
There’s something about seeking the Lord during the quiet of the night that really focuses the mind and the heart on Him. I guess that’s why He woke me up hours before sunrise this Thanksgiving Day morning. He wanted me up and giving thanks long before the busyness of the day could begin.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we give You thanks. Your blessings are too many to number. Your benefits too great to describe. Your salvation too wonderful to put into words. So we simply say thank You, Lord. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 24, 2017
The psalmist spoke not of the Lord, but directly to Him. Not, “He is my portion,” but “O Lord, You are my portion!” He had already made the determined choice to “keep” the Lord’s words. Now he recognized that his “portion,” his inheritance, for such a Word-committed-life was the Lord Himself. As Jesus told His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My Words” (John 14:15). Following the Lord’s Word, we are able to say, “I am the Lord’s and He is mine!” This is not seeking the Lord’s hands, but rather seeking His face. We obey not out of fear, nor from a motivation of profit, but out of sincere love. As the lyrics to the old spiritual song declare, “Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.”
From: November 24, 2016
As exiles in this world, citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we have been set free from slavery to sin and the world’s system. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. Yet, this “freedom” is not a license to sin, but liberty to live for Christ. As Paul said, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Rom.6:14). So, we live as “servants of God,” freely submitting to the authorities ordained by God, not out of fear or duty, but out of the grace and love of Christ. We have been set free to serve God.
From: November 24, 2015
…Those who take it as mostly figurative, view the prophecies concerning Israel as now belonging to the Church. They believe that the Ezekiel temple is to be taken as being spiritually fulfilled in the Church. Those who view it as literal, believe that God still has unfulfilled promises for Israel and that Ezekiel’s temple will be built someday. I hold to this more literal view.With this in mind, I offer this list of “seven sanctuaries of Israel” (from Dr. Lamar Cooper’s commentary on Ezekiel) found in Scripture to help orient our placement of Ezekiel’s temple:
1) Solomon’s Temple. Read 1 Kings 6-8 for its construction. Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC.
2) Zerubabbel’s Temple. Built when the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity. Dedicated in 516 BC.
3) Herod’s Temple. Actually, an enlargement of the existing structure from Zerubabbel, Herod began the temple improvements in 19 BC. He had retaining walls built that greatly enlarged the temple mount area as well. The Western Wall, also known as the “wailing wall,” was built as a retaining structure during this time and still stands today.
4) The Present Temple. This is the Church, which is made up of Christ as the Chief Cornerstone, the apostles as the foundation, and believers as its holy stones (Eph. 2:20-22).
5) The Temple of Revelation 11. This is the temple that stands during the time of tribulation after the rapture. The Antichrist will set up world headquarters here.
6) Ezekiel’s Millennial Temple. Ezekiel 40-48 refers to the temple to be built in Jerusalem during the millennium for Israel’s use in worship commemorating the new covenant with Messiah.
7) The Eternal Temple. John records the end of the first heaven and the first earth (Rev. 21:1-3) and declares that God himself will dwell with his people and will be the temple of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21-22).