Devotions for Dieters

1 Peter 3:13
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

Kim's mother felt so sorry for her. She remembered what it was like to be overweight. All the other children were so cruel. She could still feel the sting of all the nicknames people had put on her. Now, Kim was suffering the same indignities. Her mother hoped she could get Kim on a diet, if for no other reason than to keep Kim's classmates from taunting her so mercilessly. Just taking steps to correct the problem made it easier to take. The insults didn't hurt so much after the problem was taken care of. Together, they would lose the weight. With God's help, time would heal the wounds of unkind words.

Today's thought: I will put all my excess weight behind me!

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Bible Study

Have you ever heard someone say: "He's so heavenly minded, He's no earthly good"? It means that someone is so focused on spiritual things that he or she doesn't get anything practical done and sometimes doesn't even remember the everyday details of life. But when it comes to the heavenly reward of crowns, there's no way to be too focused, especially when it comes to one particular crown. That crown is often called the "soul-winner's crown" or the "crown of boasting." Paul talked about it in 1 Thessalonians.

What Does God Say?

"After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!" (1 Thessalonians 2:19, NLT).

Others places in the Bible speak glowingly about the work represented by this crown:

"Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20, ESV).

"Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:3, NLT).

"They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin" (Malachi 2:6, NLT).

There are three promises in the above verses. What are they?

Who can earn this crown?

How can it be earned?

Which promise appeals most to you?

My Thoughts

Everyone who knows the Lord has a message to share. Are you committed to receiving this "soul-winner's crown" or "crown of boasting"--a crown that is going to allow you to boast about what God has done through you to take the message of the Gospel to other people? You can earn this crown if you will seek opportunities to share your faith with other people. Paul tells us that's what he did.

"To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings" (1 Corinthians 9:20-23, ESV).

My Part

Witnessing isn't all that difficult; all we have to do is tell our story. But some people are better at it than others, have you noticed that? Make a commitment today that you will one day receive this crown--becoming so heavenly minded that you do the greatest good that can be done on earth--winning others to Christ.

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Endless Loop

Jeremiah 32-33, Hebrews 1
Key Verse: Jeremiah 32:40

Sunrise, sunset. The two words go together, like tick and tock. Sometimes when we hear pairs of words like these, we repeat them. They roll off the tongue naturally, easily repeated, communicating endlessness: sunrise is followed by sunset, which is followed by sunrise ... and so on.

There is a loop of sorts that God promises will one day come, just as sure as sunrise will follow sunset. It is a loop of two parts, one His and one His people's.

For God's part, He will "'never stop doing good to them'" (32:40). That is His promise, contained in this prophecy uttered by Jeremiah. A day will come when God's everlasting covenant will be established, and without fail He will do good for His people.

The other part of the loop will be the faithfulness of God's people. Jeremiah said that "'they will never turn away from'" God. As He does good to them, they will not forsake Him.

In between the two parts of the loop is another thing that God will do to insure the everlasting nature of this loop. He will "'inspire them to fear'" Him. This fear is not a terror of God but a reverential respect of Him. As His people have that fear in their hearts, they will stay faithful.

The day is coming when this endless loop of doing good and faithfulness will be in effect. But we should live that way today. In our hearts we should have a proper fear of God, one that affects the way that we live, that keeps us close to Him.

Do you fear God? The Bible speaks repeatedly of how fear is the beginning of wisdom and of knowledge. The fear of God should affect the way we live. Do you truly have this reverential respect of Him?

Inventory Time

Let's take time for a spiritual inventory and ask three simple questions: What do you hate? Where are you hiding? In what do you hope? The best answers to those questions are found in verses 113 and 114. "I hate the double-minded, but I love Your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word."

What do you hate? The psalmist hated vain thoughts (Ps. 119:37). Vanity means that which is empty, false and temporary. Thoughts are important, because what you think is what you become. "As he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). Thinking leads to doing, and doing leads to being. Sow a thought and you reap an action. Sow an action and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny. If we love God's Law, we will hate the things that are contrary to His will.

Where are you hiding? "You are my hiding place and my shield." Are you hiding in the Lord? Is He your Shield? Christians have enemies who want to rob us of the blessing of God. Maybe you are hurting today. Run and hide in Jesus Christ.

In what do you hope? "I hope in Your word." If your hope is anywhere other than in God, your future is hopeless. But if you are hoping in the Word of God, the future is secure, because God is preparing the way for you. What a glory it is to be able to hope in the Word of God.

* * *

Spiritual inventories force you to see if you are aligning with God's will and Word. Today, ponder the three questions found in these verses. Stay aligned to God's Word.

1 Samuel 16:18

Are You Lacking?

Dr. John Broadus, a distinguished professor and gifted preacher, was asked by a student to write in his autograph book. The young man was known as an outstanding scholar, but Dr. Broadus knew he was not a Christian. So the professor wrote in his book three Greek words that meant, "One thing thou lackest." Years later Dr. Broadus received a letter from an eminent medical doctor in Texas. In the letter the physician said that he had never been able to forget those words in his book and that now he had the one thing he formerly lacked. He had Christ.

David was a very gifted man as well. He was a talented musician whose psalms are still set to music today. He was a valiant warrior. The women of Israel sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Sam. 18:7). He was a wise counselor and a handsome person. But more important than all these was this fact: the Lord was with him. All David's giftedness would have been for nothing had he lacked that one essential element--God's presence.

People often look at others and admire them for their various abilities. They may wish they could play an instrument like their favorite musician, or that they could be as intellectually astute as their college professor. Rarely, however, do we ask ourselves, Does this person have God's presence in his or her life? Would we really want to trade places with even the most talented person if he didn't know the Lord?

If you feel left out in the giftedness department, remember that you can have the most important gift of all--Christ's presence in your life. There are no auditions, no IQ tests, no talent contests required. All you need is an open heart to receive the Savior. Do it today.

Beware of False Peace!

Colossians 3:13-17

We must beware of false peace. Some who do wrong may have a peace about it, but it does not come from God. As someone has said, "Peace of heart alone is not always the peace of God."

A significant test to apply to determine the origin of the peace is this: If I have peace in my heart about a matter, do I also have peace with others in the Body of Christ concerning it?

Understandably, not everyone will agree on any single issue, but if only the person himself thinks he is right, he has reason to question his decision. If we are out of the will of God, we will bring discord and disharmony to the Body of true believers.

I realize the difficulty in assessing who is a true believer, especially in a group situation. Sometimes those who are part of the group do not evidence salvation themselves.

Other times, some may clearly evidence salvation but give little evidence of mature judgment in things related to the Christian life.

One of the best safeguards against a false peace is simply making sure that you have the desire to please Jesus Christ in all that you do.

If it is your concern "that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18), you can trust Him to bring conviction and a lack of peace when your life is not honoring to Him.

"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them" (Ps. 119:165).

A Long Day

And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

Bible students find many parallels between what they read in the Word of God and what they see in the animal kingdom. Many of God's creatures have been singled out as examples of various kinds of activities. We are all familiar with the expression, "Busy as a bee." Although perhaps not as noticeable, the activity of others of God's creatures is just as great as that of the bee. For example, the thrush gets up at 2:30 every morning, begins work at once and does not stop until 9:30 at night. That's a whole nineteen-hour day. During that period of time this bird feeds its hungry fledglings about two hundred times. While the busyness of the bee is more noticeable, the activity of the thrush is equally as productive.

Astounding parallels can be drawn between the life of the apostle Paul and the busy activity of the bees and the long days of the thrush. When Paul was saved on the road to Damascus, the Bible says, "Straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God" (Acts 9:20). Paul may have said something like this to God at his salvation, "Lord, if you save me, the world will never hear the end of it!" It never did.

In this last chapter of Acts the apostle completes his tortuous journey to Rome and arrives to be placed under house arrest until his hearing before Caesar. It would have been a time for rest, recuperation from the rigors of the voyage, and restoration. No one would have criticized Paul for a lack of activity. He could have rationalized that to preach Christ in this situation would have jeopardized his case before Caesar and perhaps ultimately cut short his ministry. Still, "There came many to him into his lodgings; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning till evening" (Acts 28:23).

He had just spent two years in prison at Caesarea. Since he was a Roman citizen, his final appeal was always to Caesar. While en route to Rome, a tempestuous wind arose. The ship was tossed to and fro for 14 days and finally ran aground. With the others Paul had to swim to shore, clinging to broken pieces of the ship. As if that were not enough, on shore he was bitten by a viper, but he did not die. After three months they continued their journey, finally arriving at Rome. All this occurred just before Acts 28:23. From early in the morning until late at night he continued his preaching and teaching activity. No one asked him to put in such a long day, especially after the trials of the preceding months. Paul did it as a volunteer in the service of the Lord.

More importantly, the busyness of his activity was not in defense of his apostleship or in spinning yarns of his shipwreck. His activity was entirely a witness to the grace of God. He expounded and testified of the kingdom of God and persuaded them of the messiahship of Jesus. He had the right method; he preached unto them. He had the right message; he preached Jesus unto them. He had the right manner; he preached Jesus unto them from morning until evening.

Even toward the end of his recorded ministry the apostle Paul put in a long day of activity for the Lord. You and I have the same responsibility, the same opportunity, the same message as did the apostle. We must be as busy as a bee and put in a day like the thrush, with the message which stirred the heart of the apostle, if we are to rest at the end of this day fully satisfied of our service to the Lord God. Let's make sure we're satisfied tonight.

MORNING HYMN

Give of your best to the Master,
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service,
Consecrate ev'ry part.