Devotions for Dieters

Isaiah 43:5
'Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west.'

It didn't look like it was going to work out. Becky wanted to lose a few pounds before the dance. It wasn't any big deal, but that made it worse. She'd had almost six weeks, and in that time she hadn't lost any weight at all. She kept telling herself she had plenty of time, but time had slipped away. Now it was too late, and she felt terrible. Why had she been so stupid? Why hadn't she taken it more seriously? Not only did she feel bad because she was overweight, but she also felt guilty and hopeless. Somehow she had to learn to knuckle down and stick to what she needed to do. With God's help, maybe she could.

Today's thought: Today I lose weight; tomorrow's too late

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Tranquility

Isaiah 26-27, Philippians 2
Key Verse: Isaiah 26:3

There is something peaceful about the sound of the word tranquility. Life typically is lived on the edge-the ragged edge. Peace, an overused word, is reduced to a slogan, something known but not experienced. But since we have not overused the word tranquility, it sounds so appealing, so peaceful.

God makes tranquility available to us. When He promises us "perfect peace," that is tranquility. It is important to note that perfect peace is not a product that He offers but a result. It is the result of a steadfast mind, one that trusts God.

The better we focus our mind on God, the better we trust, the more we will experience the perfect peace that comes from God alone. This peace, or tranquility, passes all understanding.

Sounds nice, doesn't it? It is such a contrast to the noise and congestion of traffic, the interrupting ring of the phone, the beep of the answering machine letting you know that you have messages, or the sound of children's voices clamoring for attention.

Perfect peace is not the result of God removing all of these, along with the other sights, sounds and smells of a stress-filled life. Instead, it is the result of a mind that is focused solely on Him.

Upon what is your mind focused? Determine today to keep God at the front of your thoughts, viewing everything through a God-conscious grid. Ask Him to help you know His perfect peace.

Genesis 13:1-2

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

Blessed Promises

William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could have as much of their land as he could encompass on foot in a single day. So early the next morning, he started out and walked until late that night. When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised, for they didn’t think he would take them seriously. But they kept their promise and gave him a large tract of land. Today that area is Philadelphia.

God also made a promise to Abraham: "I will bless you" (Gen. 12:2-3). Even though Abraham made mistakes and sometimes failed to trust the Lord fully, God never went back on His promise. He blessed Abraham materially until he was "very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold." More important, He blessed Abraham spiritually. God declared in Genesis 22:17-18, "In blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Through Abraham's descendants came the Messiah, who brought the blessing of salvation to all nations.

God continues to bless today just as He has promised. Though we quickly forget them, God's blessings are all around us. He allows some of us to be the stewards of His material blessings, but He gives all of us the opportunity to enjoy His spiritual blessings. His salvation, forgiveness and lovingkindness are promised blessings that God will never forget.

Rejoice today in your blessings. Rest confidently in the truth that what God has promised, He will never take away.

Enjoy the riches that are yours because you are His.

Praise in Persecution

When David wrote this psalm he was being sorely persecuted by his enemies. He was praying for them; they were preying on him. Yet throughout this psalm he expresses some rather vehement thoughts. He calls upon God to bring judgment upon them because of the way they lived. Again, keep in mind that David was not seeking personal revenge. He was above that. Instead, he was praying as God's anointed king, concerned about the needs of his people.

I like the way Psalm 109 ends: "I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those who condemn him" (vv. 30,31). Even though he sees all these enemies around him, even though they are persecuting the poor and needy, even though they love cursing, David says, "I'm going to praise God. I'm not going to look at them and walk by sight. I'm going to walk by faith and praise God." Praise can change a negative situation. It helps us see more clearly and lifts our hearts to the Lord when the world around us seems so difficult.

David not only praises God, he also witnesses. "I will praise Him among the multitude" (v. 30). In other words, "I'm going to tell others about what God has done for me. Instead of focusing on the enemy, I'm going to go out and share the Word of God with others." That's a good way to get victory. Instead of thinking constantly about the problems in life, let's go out and tell others about the One who solves them.

Then he makes a third resolution. He says, "I'm going to trust my Advocate in heaven." God is standing at our right hand (v. 31). At the right hand of God is Jesus Christ, our heavenly High Priest, our Advocate. So let's not be afraid. Let's not be bitter. Let's praise the Lord and realize that He is at our right hand, and we dare not trust anyone or anything but Him.

* * *

To trust God when you are surrounded by enemies requires that you walk by faith, not sight. Perhaps you are in a similar situation today. By a courageous act of your will, get your eyes off your enemies and begin praising God. It can change your situation.

Spiritual Unity Is Not Automatic

Ephesians 4:3-7

The unity referred to in Scripture is a spiritual unity of everyone within the Body of Christ; that is, all who have received Him as personal Saviour.

This means that our unity must always be based on the truth of the Scriptures, which tell who Christ is and what we are in Him. Any unity that compromises the teaching of the Scriptures regarding Jesus Christ is not a unity that has God's approval.

However, the ecumenism of our day seems far more concerned about unity for unity's sake, than it does about adhering to the truth of the Scriptures.

In fact, the teaching of the Scriptures is sometimes de-emphasized so much that for the sake of unity some groups do not even have doctrinal statements.

Such groups tend to emphasize God's love and the need of working in harmony with those with whom we disagree. It is naive, however, to emphasize love at the expense of truth--to emphasize God's love but not His holy standards and justice.

Organizational unity is not necessarily wrong if only believers are involved. However, it is wrong--no matter how good the cause may be--for believers to compromise their message in order to work with unbelievers.

When Paul said we are to be "endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit," the word he used for "endeavouring" was a word that originally meant "to make haste" and then came to mean "to be zealous or eager, to give diligence."

Each believer is to give his utmost attention to see that harmony is preserved within the Body of Christ. It is a spiritual unity, or oneness, that exists among all who know Christ as Saviour, but it can be maintained only as we walk in fellowship with Him.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1).

A Father's Failure

The Bible is filled with remarkable contrasts between people. For example, consider Samuel and the sons of Eli. Samuel, who was not Eli's son but was nurtured in the Lord by Eli, was a young man who found favor in the eyes of God. Hophni and Phinehas, who were Eli's sons but were not nurtured in the Lord by Eli, found nothing but shame in the eyes of God.

Born in answer to prayer and dedicated at birth by his mother to the service of the Lord, Samuel was trained at Shiloh by Eli the priest. His heart was tender toward the Lord and his ears were open to hear God's voice. Eli's sons were "sons of Belial" and instead of being content with that portion of the sacrifices allotted to them by law, they devised devious means of obtaining greater portions of the sacrifice. Moreover, they profaned the Tabernacle with their licentious practices at the very door of the house of God.

1 Samuel 3:13 correctly describes the attitude which led to the downfall of Hophni and Phinehas. Speaking of Eli's sons the Bible says, "His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not." Here is a classic case of a man so involved in his ministry that he neglected his family. Someone has said, perhaps with tongue in cheek, that if a man sees his sons going down the wrong track, probably it's because he did not switch them soon enough. Eli certainly failed to "switch" his sons and keep them on track for God.

During those days of crisis God had been strangely silent. "The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision." But God decided to speak face to face with Samuel and in the middle of the night called out to him. The young child's immediate response was, "Here am I." Samuel ran to the bedside of Eli, assuming the voice was his. The priest sent him back to bed, perhaps thinking that the young lad was only dreaming. Twice again this strange phenomenon occurred, and finally Eli recognized this to be the voice of God. His advice to Samuel was that the next time the voice called he should answer, "Speak LORD; for thy servant heareth." The boy returned to bed.

When the Lord called him again, Samuel answered as Eli had instructed, "And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle." Jehovah was about to judge Eli and his family for their failure to heed His word and for the sons' unrighteousness at the temple door. Being the bearer of such information to one who had been both his mentor and friend would not be an easy task for Samuel. He lay until the morning awaiting God's courage (1 Samuel 3:15). When asked by Eli in the morning what the Lord spoke to him through the night, Samuel reluctantly imparted that information to the priest.

In the contrast between Samuel and Hophni and Phinehas it is worthy to note that while Hophni and Phinehas were born into their service, there is no evidence that they ever appreciated their position before the Lord. Samuel, on the other hand, was born outside of the service of God but was dedicated to it at birth. Had Eli "switched" his sons more often and instilled in them a reverence for the Lord, as he did with Samuel, the ears of Israel would have had no occasion to tingle at the tragic deaths of Eli and his wicked sons (see 1 Samuel 4:10-22). Fathers, take care that you don't "gain the whole world but lose your own family."

MORNING HYMN
Take the world, but give me Jesus
All its joys are but a name;
But His love abideth ever
Through eternal years the same.