Devotions for Dieters

Luke 1:49
'For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.'

Carolyn felt good about herself. She was in her own apartment, working full-time at a job she loved, and she was looking better than ever before. God had been so good to her. She was afraid when she first set out on her own, but she knew He was looking after her. With God on her side, she felt she could accomplish anything. God had set her feet on a good road, and she was going to try her hardest to stick to it. She wanted everyone to know what God had done for her, and she planned to do nothing that would allow anyone to doubt. The power of God shone brightly through her life, and she was glad.

Today's thought: I want my diet to be a sign of God's grace!

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In order to develop a flourishing faith, we need to first understand what faith is. In some cases, the word faith is used as a synonym for religion when speaking of the Christian faith. In other cases, faith is used to describe a strong desire or expectation. But faith is much more than that. Let's look at Hebrews 11, one of the defining chapters of the Bible on the topic of faith.

What Does God Say?

Hebrews 11:1 is one of the most concise definitions of faith in the entire Bible. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (ESV). How often have you heard the words assurance and conviction used in relation to faith? Not often. Faith is often portrayed as standing against assurance and conviction--when you can't be sure of something or someone, you are told, "Have faith." That's not what the Bible says.

"For by it [faith], the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible" (11:2-3, ESV).

If all we had were other people to put our faith in, then, of course, we couldn't have much reason for confidence. Even the best of us break our promises on occasion. But when we put our faith in God, we put our faith in the eternal, unchanging Creator of the universe. God declared, "I the LORD do not change" (Malachi 3:6, ESV). And it's because of His unchanging nature that we can have confident assurance that He will keep His promises.

How do we know what God has promised? We read what He has promised us in the Bible. We get to know God and draw near to Him. We learn what pleases Him. And then, like Abel, we will know the right sacrifice to bring to God; like Enoch, we will know the way to walk with the Lord.

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6, ESV). A faith that is just a label you wear or is just a vague hope that things might get better is no faith at all. But a flourishing faith is a faith that takes God at His Word; a faith that knows God's Word.

My Thoughts

As you Hebrews 11:1-6 again, think about the following questions:

1. What was it that caused Abel and Enoch to be commended?

2. How did they express their faith in God?

3. Hebrews 11:6 says that we must believe that God "rewards those who seek him." Look up the word rewards in a Bible commentary and learn what kind of rewards you can look forward to.

My Part

One of the benefits of faith is certainly the assurance of the promises of God.How many promises could you list right now? Go ahead and try? As you study the Word this week, pay particular attention to God's promises. Try making another list in a week and again in a month. Ask God to help you always remember the promises He has for you.

Bible Study from Back to the Bible Copyright © 1996-2008 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.bibleminute.org/

The Following Devotionals are from: Back to the Bible Copyright © 1996-2008 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.backtothebible.org/

God's Nobody

Amos 1-3, Revelation 6
Key Verse: Amos 1:1

My hometown had only one building, which contained the train station, general store, gas station and post office. I used to say that it was "just five miles south of resume speed." There's something about coming from a small town that makes you feel insignificant.

I'm sure Amos was like that. He came from the tiny village of Tekoa. If you rode your donkey south out of Jerusalem you soon came to Bethlehem. If you rode six miles further, you came to Tekoa. And if you rode even further you came to nothing. Tekoa was a frontier town, on the edge of the harsh Judean wilderness.

There, Amos was a shepherd. He was not the mayor of the town; he was a sheep breeder. He was a nobody.

Still, God came to this nobody and called him to become His servant and spokesman. (Read Amos 7:14-15.) Amos wasn't eloquent nor was he educated. But he was available and he wholly obeyed the Lord. Eleven times in his tiny book Amos says, "Thus says the LORD . . . "

Maybe God has something special for you to do too. It doesn't matter what you are now; it only matters what He intends to make of you. Be available. Be clean. Be ready. You may be His next Amos.

"God, make me the kind of person who is clean and pure before You, so that if You have some special task for me to do, I will be ready, willing and able to do it."

1 Kings 8:33-34

No Other Way

In The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson, the cartoon character Calvin says to his tiger friend, Hobbes, "I feel bad that I called Susie names and hurt her feelings. I'm sorry I did it." "Maybe you should apologize to her," Hobbes suggests. Calvin ponders this for a moment and replies, "I keep hoping there's a less-obvious solution."

We're all like Calvin, aren't we? But sometimes there are no other solutions. The consequences of sin are serious. Wise King Solomon pointed out what Israel eventually would experience as a disobedient nation: defeat and enslavement to her enemies. The Northern Kingdom was taken into captivity in 722 B.C. The Southern Kingdom lasted a little longer, but sin brought about its defeat in 586 B.C. Yet when Israel sincerely confessed her sins before God, as Solomon promised, He restored the people to their land and to Himself.

Sin in a Christian's life also brings defeat. Satan needs only a small foothold in a believer's life, and he will use this advantage to hinder spiritual growth in every possible way. Continued, unconfessed sin ultimately will result in bondage. The only way out is the obvious solution. The apostle John says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

If you are experiencing spiritual defeat in your life, if you are in bondage to sin, you know what you must do. The solution is obvious. Repent of your sin, confess it to God, agree with Him that in thought, word or deed you have transgressed against Him, and receive His forgiveness. Let the blood of Christ cleanse and restore you.

Confronting Evil

Many people are bothered by the problem of evil. They say, "If God is a loving and good God, why does He allow evil?" David did not ignore this problem, nor did he give in to it. Instead, he made a decision and took his stand with God. Only our God can permit evil and be able to overrule it to accomplish His purposes. As David confronted the problem of evil in the world, he did so in stages.

Stage one: He evaluated (v. 22). David looked at the wicked, violent, blasphemous, deceitful and rebellious crowd. He showed courage and honesty in taking his stand against them. When we start asking ourselves, Is it safe? or, Is it popular? we have moved away from biblical ethics and integrity.

Stage two: He grieved (v. 21). God the Father grieves (Gen. 6:6); God the Son grieves (Mark 3:5); and God the Holy Spirit grieves (Eph. 4:30) over sin. We also ought to grieve over sin. When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, he sat and wept (Neh. 1:4). Today, we need people who will sit down long enough to weep over sin.

Stage three: He hated (vv. 21,22). We could use a little more holy anger today. Christians sometimes are too bland, too complacent and too comfortable. Edmund Burke said, "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Love and hate are not contradictory when dealing with sin. Jesus showed both compassion toward sinners and hatred of sin.

Stage four: He decided (v. 19). David decided to separate himself from evil (Ps. 119:115). We need to stand among sinners as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but we need to have contact without contamination.

Stage five: He trusted (v. 19). We must leave vengeance with God; He will punish the wicked (Rom. 12:19). Our job is to give ourselves to Him and do the work He wants us to do.

* * *

If you fail to make a decision, the world will make it for you. Take your stand with God and use David's experience as a guide for confronting the problem of evil. Determine to live a holy life that honors the Lord.

Learning How to Pray

1 John 5:1-13

We need the Holy Spirit to help us pray. Our own prayers tend to be selfish. It is natural for us to concentrate our prayers only on our own desires and needs.

A large part of our praying is concerned with our families or our own personal needs. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray for God's work and for others.

The so-called Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 instructs us how to pray beyond our own desires. It begins, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (vv. 9,10).

The first three requests of this prayer center around God Himself. What motivates our usual praying? Do we seek the glory of God only? This is where the Spirit of God must help us.

We find also that our prayers often lack insight. We just do not know how to pray in the will of God. John told us in his first letter: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us" (5:14).

We need to learn what God's will is. But sometimes we do not know what we should pray for. And if we know what we should pray for, we do not always know how we should pray for it.

This is why we need the help of the Spirit. Our infirmities would make true prayer impossible were it not for the Spirit's enabling.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

Waiting on God

Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.

DURING OUR DARK MOMENTS frequently we become impatient and ask God to speak to us immediately. But sometimes God is silent, and we must be silent as well. When the tears of frustration stream down our cheeks, when defeat and despair hang around us like a shroud, when we don't know which way to turn, we must heed God's advice to the psalmist, "Be still, and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10).

Perhaps this divine stillness in the midst of the storm is best illustrated in the story of Ruth. A severe famine in Palestine drove Elimelech and Naomi, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, to Moab with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Here the sons married Moabite girls named Ruth and Orpah. After ten years the father and sons died leaving three childless widows. Naomi decided to return to her homeland. Realizing the lonely life ahead for her daughters-in-law in a foreign country, she entreated them to remain behind in Moab. After some persuasion Orpah returned but Ruth requested, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodges, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people and thy God my God"(Ruth 1:16). Hence, Ruth and Naomi traveled on together.

It was springtime during the barley harvest when Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem. Immediately Ruth went to glean in the field of a wealthy Ephrathite named Boaz, a relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. Boaz showed kindness to Ruth, allowing her to eat with the Jews, contrary to the Hebrew custom, and eventually came to love her. Full of gratitude to God, Naomi instructed Ruth to claim her rights under the levirate law of marriage. This law, similar to those of the Assyrians and the Hittites, permitted a childless widow to marry her husband's brother or nearest kinsman in order to perpetuate the dead husband's name.

That night, when Boaz went to sleep, Ruth softly came and laid at his feet. During the night Boaz awoke and was startled to see Ruth. She identified herself and asked him to perform the duties of the near kinsman. Apparently Boaz's interest in Ruth had blossomed. However, he knew there was a kinsman nearer than he who must first be given the opportunity to perform this custom. Thus Boaz instructed Ruth, "Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of the kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part; but if he will not do the part of the kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of the kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning"(Ruth 3:13).

In the morning Ruth arose, was given six measures of barley by Boaz, and returned to the house of Naomi. Filled with anxiety over her future, Naomi instructed Ruth in the lesson of quiet faith. She said, "Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall." Boaz kept his word. He called ten witnesses of the elders to take their seats in the gate of the city to ratify his negotiations with the nearest kinsman to Ruth. When the kinsman refused to redeem his possession, that transferred the right of redemption legally to Boaz. Boaz and Ruth were married; she bore a son named Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. Good things happen to us when we sit still and wait on God.

Like Ruth, we must learn that no one who trusts God is ever forgotten by our Saviour. He is ever praying for us (Hebrews 7:25). We may feel forsaken and forlorn, but our High Priest is always touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15-16). He catches the tears of our anxiety and anguish alike "in [His] bottle"(Psalm 56:8). He is fully aware of our situation. In the meantime, we must simply sit still until we see how the matter will fall and learn the glorious lesson that, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31).

MORNING HYMN
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.