Devotions for Dieters

Romans 4:21
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Jesus Christ turned water to wine, He walked on the water, and calmed the sea. He cured many diseases and cast out demons. He conquered death for His friend Lazarus and for Himself. He promises that He will be with us and that His power is ours as we try to be the people God created us to be. How, then, can we doubt that He will help us when we need to lose weight? Are not the pounds of our flesh within His scope of power? Cannot the chosen Son of God do such a small miracle in our lives as to give us the determination we need to conquer fat? This He can and will do, and much more, if we will but believe.

Today's thought: 'More' brought about my distress; help me, Lord, to live by 'less'!

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Hope Makes the Difference

Isaiah 47-49, 1 Thessalonians 4
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 4:13

We all have times of grief, times of mourning the loss of a family member, neighbor or close friend. There is a sadness that comes with death, a sadness intensified by the finality of it. For some, their mourning is intensified by both finality and uncertainty. They do not know for certain what happens after death and find themselves facing an unsure future, one that looks hopeless.

When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he wanted, among other things, to clear up any misunderstandings they might have regarding death. His intent was to do more than just give them information. He wanted them to realize the certain hope of the Christian and to have that hope affect their mourning. Knowing that in Jesus we have eternal life and that those who die in Christ are forever with Him should keep us from grieving like those who have no hope. We will still miss those who have died, but we should not grieve like others might.

We have hope in Christ. When a Christian dies, he is with Jesus, eternally. The day will come when we will join those who have died before us, either through our own death or through Jesus coming to take us out of this world. Our time together here on earth is temporary, as is the separation when our loved ones join Jesus. When we are all with Jesus, that will be permanent. There will be no more separation.

Perhaps you are grieving a loss. The truth of these verses can help you through your grief. You have a certain hope in Jesus!

Genesis 16:1-2

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

Running Ahead of God

A friend went to visit the great preacher Phillips Brooks and found him pacing the floor like a caged lion. His friend asked, "What's the trouble, Dr. Brooks?" He replied, "The trouble is that I'm in a hurry but God isn’t."

Abraham could have identified with those feelings. God had promised him a son, but, from a human perspective, time was running out. In fact, with Abraham nearly 86 and Sarah 76 years old, most people would have said that time had already run out. Obviously God needed help. In the Ancient Near East, it was acceptable for a barren woman to give her maid as a substitute to bear children for her, so Sarah suggested Abraham take Hagar and let her bear his child. In his hurry, Abraham ran ahead of God and the consequences are still felt in the Middle East today. The Arab nations (descended from Ishmael, the son of the maid servant) and Israel (descended from Abraham's legitimate heir, Isaac) continue to be bitter enemies.

God not only has a divine will, He also has an eternal timetable. Just as the apostle Paul reminded Christians that in "the fullness of time" God sent His Son (Gal. 4:4) and "in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6), so God has a schedule for everything in our lives as well. We certainly don't want to lag behind God's agenda, but it's equally disastrous to run ahead of it.

As you seek God's will for your life, seek His timetable as well. Don't let your impatience carry you ahead of God. To do the right thing at the wrong time makes the right thing the wrong thing.

We need to keep in step with God's time as well as His will.

Short But Deep

Psalm 117 is the shortest of the psalms--only two verses. "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!" What a tremendous psalm of praise this is; it's short but deep.

We don't find too much difficulty in thanking people for what they have done for us. Even when we pay someone to work for us, we still say thank you. But sometimes we take advantage of the Lord and take for granted the things He has done for us--especially the "little" things. Do we thank Him for eyes to see, for ears to hear? Recognize and thank God for His numerous blessings.

The psalmist says, "Laud Him, all you peoples." But billions of people in this world don't praise the Lord because they don't know Him. They've never been told that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Unfortunately, many Christians for some reason are not concerned about this. How can all the nations praise Him until all the nations trust Him?

Praise the Lord for His merciful kindness and enduring truth. And make every effort to tell others about the One you praise.

* * *

Think of some of the blessings you can praise God for. It's easy to take His blessings for granted and overlook some of His greatest provisions. But though you praise the Lord, there are many who don't. Ask Him to use you today to reach someone who does not know Christ as Savior.

Balanced-and Blessed!

Philippians 2:12-14; Jeremiah 6:9-15

Every Christian needs to work out his salvation with a tender conscience and a watchfulness against temptations, trials or testings, shrinking from whatever might offend God or discredit His name.

Each of us needs to seriously consider whether or not there is something in our lives that is discrediting the name and Person of Christ. When we realize what He has done for us, we ought to tremble as we stand in the presence of a holy, righteous, almighty God.

Not only do we stand in His presence now, but we will also stand in His presence when we give account at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

When others view our lives today, what do they see? What do they talk about? We should be constantly apprehensive of the deceitfulness of the flesh.

Jeremiah 17:9,10 says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds" (NASB).

We need to develop a watchfulness in regard to the power in our corruption.

In all of this a perfect balance is kept--God gives the divine enablement; we provide the human responsibility. We are not to be totally passive, for after God works in us, we are to work it out through our lives.

"And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16).

Walls of Water

And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians.

Everyone is aware of what can happen to the best laid plans of mice and men. But when the plans of men are in conflict with the purposes of God, they are destined for defeat. More than once the pages of Scripture record that God reversed an evil plan designed to destroy His people (cf. Esther 7:10; Daniel 3:22; 6:24).

The ancient Egyptians had been subjected to the ten most torturous plagues in history. The last of these plagues brought death to the firstborn of every Egyptian family, including the family of Pharaoh. The king called for Moses and Aaron and commanded them to get out of his land. Soon, however, because his heart was bitterly hardened, Pharaoh regretted letting his Israelite slaves go, and he quickly assembled the Egyptian armies, including an elite corps of 600 chosen chariots. The troops mustered, Pharaoh pursued the Israelites and overtook them at Pi-hahiroth. God's chosen people were trapped. With the wilderness to Israel's side, the vast Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian armies closing in, a wretched grin must have crossed Pharaoh's face. There was no way out for Israel, and the Egyptian king knew it.

Yet God had warned Moses not to fear but to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. At nightfall, without warning, the angel of God removed the pillar of the cloud from before the Israelites and placed it between their camp and the Egyptian armies. From this vantage point the cloud lighted the breadth of the sea for the Israelites but at the same time obscured the view of the Egyptians, causing them to grope in the inky darkness. As Moses stretched forth his hand, the Lord caused an east wind to howl with such force that it pushed back the waters of the Red Sea. The children of Israel, 600,000 men, plus women and children, crossed the sea on dry land between the walls of water. All night long the crossing proceeded. Finally the Egyptian charioteers apprehensively pursued God's people into the midst of the sea.

"In the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians" (Exodus 14:24). The Lord caused the wheels of the heavy Egyptian chariots to clog with mud and soon they began to break off. Panic-stricken and exhausted, they began to flee from the Israelites. But it was too late. The Lord commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand over the sea. When the first light of day appeared, the walls of water thundered together and not one Egyptian soldier was left. The bodies of Pharaoh's men washed ashore as a visible reminder to Israel of God's salvation.

Once a public school teacher, who was prejudiced against the Bible, was explaining to her class that the Jews' crossing the Red Sea was no miracle. "The water was only six inches deep," explained the godless teacher. "The Jews had nothing to worry about." From the back of the room came a little boy's shout, "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah."

"No, Johnny, you didn't hear me correctly. I said the water was only six inches deep where the Jews crossed the Red Sea. It was no miracle."

Johnny replied, "Oh, that's not what I was praising the Lord for. I was praising Him for the miracle that Pharaoh's army could drown in just six inches of water."

Once again Israel's situation was completely reversed by God. That which was to be the downfall of the children of God proved to be their salvation. The Red Sea became a great symbol of victory instead of a story of defeat. Israel was now rejoicing in the Lord on the other side of a miracle.

MORNING HYMN
Safe is my refuge, sweet is my rest,
Ill cannot harm me, nor foes e'er molest
Jesus my spirit so tenderly calms,
Holding me close in His mighty arms.