I am sorry that I have been so late with the devotionals and the Bible Studies, but I have been battling allergies with meds that causes drownsiness, blurred vision and hard to keep from falling asleep. I hope you understand. GBU

Devotions for Dieters

CrossDaily.com. * Copyright 2008 Salem Web Network and its Content Providers. Crosswalk 111 Virginia St., Suite 500 Richmond, VA 23219 Devotions for Dieters. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/fordieters/

Paint-By-Numbers

Isaiah 28-29, Philippians 3
Key Verse: Isaiah 29:13

Remember paint-by-number sets? The pictures were divided into numbered sections, each number indicating the color to go into that portion. People could paint just by putting the right-numbered paint into the corresponding areas of the picture. When done, the person had a painting. Usually you could tell that it was a paint-by-numbers. It looked too much "by the numbers"!

Some people try to do worship "by the numbers." It's as if the worship of God could be printed out with spaces to fill in, the end result being a picture entitled, "Worship," but looking more like a painting done by filling in numbered spaces.

The difference between worship that is acceptable to God and that which He despises is the heart. Isaiah delivered God's rebuke when he said that the people's words may have sounded right but their hearts were wrong. God will always reject right words from wrong hearts. Worship by the numbers, or rules, is not what God desires.

So when we gather with others for worship, or spend time alone with God, we must not let ourselves be like these people, whom God strongly rebuked. Worship is not a matter of art but of the heart. We must look inward, determined that the words we offer in worship are ones that come from the heart. Keep your heart close to God and your worship will be pleasing to Him.

This week ask God to help you worship in a way that pleases Him. If you find that your worship is a paint-by-numbers approach, ask for forgiveness and for help to change.

Eavesdropping on Eternity

It is not usually polite to listen in on other people's conversations, but in Psalm 110 we can do that. We hear God the Father speaking to God the Son. "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"' (v. 1). This is quoted often in the New Testament. It talks about when our Lord Jesus Christ returned to heaven and was enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty.

What does this Father-Son conversation say to us? First, it speaks of our Lord's majesty. He has returned to heaven in glory. He had prayed, "Father, glorify me together with Yourself, with the glory I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5), and God did that. God the Father gave God the Son His majesty, and now He is the King-Priest in heaven. "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (v. 4). Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find a priest on a throne, but Jesus in His majesty is both our King and our Priest. As our King, He tells us what to do. As our Priest, He gives us the strength to do it.

Psalm 110 also speaks of victory--He has won the battle. "Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies Your footstool" (v. 1). That's about as low as you can get. Our Savior is victorious. He has won every battle. He is the Conqueror, the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is nothing for us to fear.

This psalm also speaks about His ministry. Most people on thrones have others serve them. Not so with Jesus. He serves us.

Finally, the psalmist speaks of our security. "He ever lives to make intercession" for us (Heb. 7:25). As long as He lives, we live--and that's forever.

* * *

Because Christ is the King of kings, He has won the victory. He has conquered sin and death. Because He is our High Priest, we have security, for He is interceding for us. Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Is He your King and High Priest?

Genesis 13:5-7

Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great. . . . And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

Someone Is Watching

Whether we know it or not, people are watching us. One day as a woman was crossing the street at London Station, an old man stopped her. He said, "Excuse me, Ma'am, but I want to thank you." She looked surprised and asked, "Thank me?" He replied, "Yes'm. I used to be a ticket collector, and whenever you went by you always gave me a cheerful smile and a good morning. I knew that smile must come from inside somewhere. Then one morning I saw a little Bible in your hand. So I bought one, too, and I found Jesus."

Abraham was also very conscious that he was being watched. Problems had developed between his nephew, Lot, and himself. They came to possess so many sheep and cattle between them that the land was not able to support them all. It reached the point where the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot began to quarrel over the best grazing lands. All the while, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, who lived in the land as well, were watching. Abraham knew that he represented Yahweh, the Lord God of heaven, before these pagan families. As a result, he immediately sought a way to bring peace to the situation.

Neither your church family nor your personal family are immune from problems. But how you choose to deal with those problems can encourage or hinder others who are watching. Your actions can even influence their eternal destiny. Always choose the way of peace. Let the God of peace rule not only in your heart but in all your relationships.

A family at peace is the best witness to the Lord of Peace.

Working Together

So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

It was not until the year 539 B.C. that the Persian king Cyrus decreed that Jews and other captives could return to their homelands after a long Babylonian captivity. Wave after wave of expatriates made the journey back to a beleaguered land of promise. While yet captive, however, the news came to Nehemiah that the wall of Jerusalem had never been repaired since its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. Brigands and robbers could attack the city at will. Nehemiah was distressed and became terribly burdened for his home town. He secured the necessary papers from Artaxerxes, the Persian king at that time, to return to his homeland and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

In 444 B.C. Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and soon afterwards went by night on an inspection tour of the city walls. He elicited help to rebuild the ruined fortification both from residents and returnees. Volunteers quickly came to his side, but so did villains. Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard that Nehemiah had come to rebuild the walls and "it grieved them exceedingly that there was a man come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel" (Nehemiah 2:10).

At first Sanballat and Tobiah had only scorned the idea that these feeble Jews would fortify their city. But now they had become seriously alarmed. A conspiracy was formed of the Arabians, Ammonites, and Philistines of Ashdod. The enemies of Nehemiah were ready to attack Jerusalem before the fortifications could be completed.

When Nehemiah heard the news of this conspiracy, he made proper response. Nehemiah 4:9 says, "Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them." Nehemiah immediately turned to God in prayer but just as immediately made preparations to defend himself. This is the delicate balance between faith and works which is needed in each of our lives. With a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other the workmen continued to rebuild the walls. They would both watch and pray. The end result was summed up in Nehemiah’s words, "So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared" (Nehemiah 4:21). With each one doing his part, the task was finished in record time to the glory of the Lord.

The story could have been much different if, for example, those who worked complained that those who watched were not doing their fair share. Nehemiah’s workmen had to recognize they were all laborers together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9), as we must today if we are going to accomplish anything for God.

The following parable illustrates this principle. A carpenter’s tools were having a conference. Brother Hammer was presiding, but the others informed him that he’d have to leave because he was too noisy. "All right," he said, "I’ll go, but Brother Plane must withdraw too. There’s no depth to his work. It’s always on the surface." Brother Plane responded, "Well, Brother Rule will also have to go. He’s constantly measuring people as if he were the only one who’s right." Brother Rule complained about Brother Sandpaper, saying, "He’s always rubbing people the wrong way." In the midst of the discussion the Carpenter of Nazareth entered. He went to His workbench to make a pulpit from which He would preach the gospel. He used the hammer, the plane, the rule and the sandpaper. All were important in their own way.

If Christians criticize one another, insult one another, and refuse to work together for God, the task of gleaning the whitened harvest fields will never be completed for His glory. Though differences remain between believers, let us always recognize who the true enemy really is. It is Satan. Each of us possesses different gifts and abilities, but none of us is unimportant in the work of the Lord. Let’s defeat our common enemy this day.

MORNING HYMN
To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.

What to Do With Anger

Ephesians 4:17-27

It is apparent that we should be angry with sin and come to hate that which would separate us from God or cause loss of fellowship.

This means there will be times when we will hate what others do because it goes contrary to the Word of God. Such anger may be referred to as "righteous indignation."

However, when self becomes projected into the matter, it is possible for a believer to sin, at least in his attitude toward others.

In Ephesians 4:26 Paul was warning against permitting smoldering fires of resentment to remain in anyone's heart: "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."

We should make it our practice never to retire without first being sure that we have confessed known sin of actions and attitudes, "for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (James 1:20).

Jesus was angry with those who withstood God. He called the Pharisees and Sadducees a "generation of vipers" (Matt. 3:7). The scribes and Pharisees He called "hypocrites" (23:14).

On another occasion He made a whip of small ropes and drove the money changers from the temple (John 2:13-16).

Although the Lord Jesus Christ was able to be angry without sinning, it is difficult for us. That is why Paul gave the command as he did in Ephesians 4:26.

Our anger should be stirred when God's name is taken in vain or when He is blasphemed, but we must be careful that we do not sin in the way we react to these incidents. If we speak unkind words or are embittered toward others, we have sinned and it needs to be confessed to the Lord.

"Every one must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:19,20, NASB).