Devotions for Dieters

Malachi 3:6
For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

God was such a big help when Gwen began her diet, but He didn't seem to care much anymore. Lately, Gwen's diet had become almost intolerable. She began to wonder if God knew what she was going through. She had prayed daily when she started her diet, and it had gotten so easy that she really didn't need to pray all the time. Then, it started getting harder. Why did God let that happen? Poor Gwen never realized that God hadn't changed, but she had. She included God all the time at first, then she left Him out more and more. God will help us just as much as we allow Him to. Often we are our own, and God's, worst enemy when we take our lives out of God's hands and put them into our own.

Today's thought: God and I are dieting together!
Copyright © 2008, Crosswalk.com. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/fordieters/

Never Give Up!

Proverbs 22-24, 2 Corinthians 8
Key Verse: Proverbs 24:10

He was a paunchy, stern looking, cigar chewing Englishman, an unlikely candidate to stand against the tyranny of Nazism. But Winston Churchill will be forever remembered for his motivational one-liner: "Never give up!"

That's good advice for the Christian. Our verse for today counsels us, "If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!" Translation: never give up.

Let's face it. Anybody can have strong faith when not being tested. It's when the storms of life come, when the report from the doctor is not good, when the voice on the other end of the line bears tragic news, that we need strong faith in God. That’s not a given. In fact, it's not even likely, unless we are convinced of God's righteous character in the good times of life. It's the knowledge of who God is and how He works in our behalf that gives us strength in the day of adversity.

What has God put on your plate today? Is something too difficult to bear? Is it some unexplainable disaster? Is life getting tougher for you instead of sweeter? If so, remember the paunchy Englishman. Better still, remember the advice of King Solomon: "Don't give up when tough times come. God will help you through them. Trust Him. You'll see brighter days if you never give up."

"Lord, help me to face the increasingly difficulties of life with your grace. Help me to hang in there when others hang it up. Give me the courage to do my best and look beyond the difficulty of today to the victory of tomorrow."

Numbers 14:28-30

Faithfulness Rewarded

It was a stormy night in Birmingham, England, and Hudson Taylor was to speak at a meeting at the Severn Street schoolroom. His hostess assured him that nobody would attend on such a stormy night, but Taylor insisted on going. "I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper." Fewer than a dozen people showed up, but the meeting was marked with unusual spiritual power. Half of those present either became missionaries or gave their children as missionaries; and the rest were faithful supporters of the China Inland Mission for years to come. Taylor was faithful and God rewarded him.

Faithfulness always has it rewards, both in heaven and on earth. Joshua stood faithful to God's promises. When the ten spies brought back discouraging reports about the land of Canaan, Joshua and his partner, Caleb, stood firm on God's assurance of victory. When the people threatened to stone him, he refused to back down from his convictions. It's no wonder, therefore, that Joshua and Caleb were given the privilege of entering the Promised Land when everyone else was condemned to die in the wilderness.

Being faithful often puts you on the wrong side of popular opinion. Standing steadfast on the Word of God can make you the object of ridicule, if not hatred. Being firm about your beliefs sometimes causes people to think of you as narrow-minded, unenlightened or even worse. But be faithful to what you know is right. Ultimately your faithfulness will be rewarded.

Don't be discouraged by what others say or do. Be faithful to God's Word and His work. God promises He will make it all worthwhile.

Considering Creation

After surveying God's work in creation, the psalmist wrote: "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions" (v. 24). This verse shows us important traits of God.

First, creation reveals God's wisdom. We ought to take time to admire His wisdom in creation. I've read that if the proportion of gases in the air were changed ever so slightly, all of us would die. The way God tilted the earth, the way He arranged the seasons, the way He put creation together is a revelation of His great wisdom. It's logical that the God who is wise enough to run creation is wise enough to run our lives. If He can keep the stars and the planets and the seasons and all these things going as they should, can He not put our lives together and make them what they ought to be?

Second, creation contains God's wealth. "The earth is full of Your possessions" (v. 24). Without His wealth, we could not exist. Not only are gold and silver and other precious stones measures of His wealth, but so are ore and rock, fruit and grain.

Third, creation makes possible man's work. "Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening" (v. 23). Even Adam had work to do in the Garden of Eden. Work is a blessing, not a burden, if we're doing it for the Lord.

Fourth, creation motivates us to worship the Lord. "O Lord, how manifold are Your works!" We don't worship creation--that's idolatry. We worship the God of creation. We recognize that He gives every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). 0 let us adore Him, our great Creator, our great Savior.

* * *

Creation shows God's wisdom, so rejoice! Creation contains His wealth, so use it for His glory. Creation provides work for man, so view work as a blessing. But greatest of all, creation should move you to worship the Lord.

Don't Minimize God's Grace!

Galatians 1:1-10

The basic error the Apostle Paul was dealing with was the mingling of Law with grace. There are three grave errors that arise out of this.

First there is what we call "legalism." This is the teaching that people are saved by works or human effort. That, in this case, would include the keeping of the Law and observing the rituals and ceremonies found in the Old Testament covenant God made with Israel.

This same error is reflected today when someone claims to have done his best to keep the Ten Commandments. This to him is the way of salvation.

The second error that can undermine true faith in Jesus Christ is what we may call "false liberty."

The Christian is called unto liberty, but that liberty is defined for us in the Scriptures and not left to our imagination. Yet there are those who teach that because they are saved by grace, it makes no difference how they live or behave.

This Satanic error is answered in the Book of James. He wrote: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (2:17). In other words, a faith that does not produce works is not real faith.

The third error is the one Paul deals with in his Letter to the Galatians. In fact, the error itself is often named "Galatianism." This false doctrine teaches that we are saved by grace but are kept saved by the Law.

In reality this makes salvation dependent on our works. Our works of righteousness are to be a supplement to our faith for ultimate salvation. One must endure to the end by keeping the works of the Law if he is going to be saved.

This is the error of Galatianism, the error that Paul combats in this brief letter.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

Standing Tall

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

The ability to meet affliction with an uncompromising endurance and an unflinching respect for God is one of the marks of true Christian character. Certainly Job is the classic example of a man who met affliction in such a way.

The author begins the book of Job by describing a beautiful pastoral scene in which Job, a respected and honored oriental sheik, or prince, was residing in the land of Uz. Job was a man of extreme wealth, possessing a flock of 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, large tracts of land and an affectionate family of seven sons and three daughters.

But more than this, Job was a man of extreme piety. The first verse of the book describes him as "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." So concerned was this man about keeping himself and his family right before his God that he "rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually" (Job 1:5). Day after day he met God early, bringing sacrifices to the Almighty in the event that he or any of his family had secretly sinned against God.

The rest of this chapter's verses, comprising scene two in the first act of Job's life, read like a horror story. Here Satan entered this beautiful country scene and disrupted the simple pastoral life of Job and his family. Notice these features of scene two.

1. Satan's report (verse 6). The day came when the sons of God, presumably the angels, were to bring a report of their activities to Jehovah. Satan also came among them.

2. Satan's activity (verse 7). When Jehovah asked Satan why he had come and from where he had come, Lucifer answered the Lord, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Satan's activity was a never-ending search for opportunities to disrupt the program of God.

3. Satan's problem (verse 8). It was Jehovah who suggested to Satan, "Hast thou considered My servant Job?" Here Satan would encounter a man who was perfect and upright, one who hated every kind of evil that Satan had placed in his path.

4. Satan's accusation (verses 10-11). The devil had a ready answer for why Job had remained upright. God had put a hedge around him so that everything Job did prospered. Surely if God would remove that hedge, Satan reasoned, Job certainly would curse God to His face.

5. Satan's restriction (verse 12). Jehovah permitted Lucifer to touch all that Job possessed but placed one restriction upon him, "Only upon himself put not forth shine hand." Although God does not always make this temporal restriction with regard to us today, he certainly makes it an eternal restriction.

6. Satan's attacks (verses 13-19). The devil came to menace Job. Like waves of enemy soldiers the reports kept coming to Job until he learned that he had lost all.

7. Satan's failure (verses 20-22). Job arose and reacted with characteristic remorse. And yet, rather than sin and foolishly charge God, Job stood tall and simply stated, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

Do not be discouraged when you face the attacks of the wicked one. These attacks are only temporal, and our loving God will have the final word. You may not always understand the ways of God, but you must always trust them, as did Job.

MORNING HYMN
Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for Heav'n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.