Devotions for Dieters

Job 17:9
The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.

Mort juggled his folder of papers, his coffee, and his sweet roll. It seemed as though Mort couldn't go anywhere without his hands full of food. Even now, as he rushed toward an important meeting, he fed his face. As he rounded the corner, a great gust of wind took him by surprise, ripping the folder from his hands. The sheets of his report flew off in many directions as he watched helplessly, sweet roll in hand. Looking at the messy roll clutched in his fingers, he silently swore to cut out all the snacks. Not only were they ruining his body, but now they jeopardized his job. It just wasn't worth it.

Today's thought: I don't want my greatest skill to be my ability to eat!

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Did I Tell You about . . . ?

Isaiah 62�?4, 1 Timothy 1
Key Verse: Isaiah 62:1

Our family plays a game as we drive. Certain places along the road remind us of a past trip, so someone says, "That's where . . . ," and the rest of us remember. Part of the game is guessing what someone in the car will say in advance. It is our Ground Hog Day game--like the characters in that movie, we say the same thing over and over again every time we come to that point in the road.

We are good about telling some things over and over to anyone who will listen. We like to share what we have experienced and enjoyed. If only we were as persistent in telling people about God!

Isaiah had that kind of heart about God. He said, "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent" (62:1). Only one thing could get him to be quiet. He said that he would keep doing this "till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch."

A day will come when righteousness and salvation will not only pierce the darkness but drive it away forever. Until then, Isaiah would keep on talking, telling about the things of God.

What will you tell about today? Perhaps a bend in the road will spark the sharing of a remembrance. A phone call will get you talking about what you are doing today or what your plans are for tomorrow.

Isaiah wouldn't stop talking about God. Will you?

Decide that today you will share with someone else a blessing or a lesson you've learned from God. Decide to get God into your conversation. Now, go do it.

Genesis 17:10

"This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised."

Genesis 17:22-23

Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.

Instant Obedience

Supermarkets are filled with all kinds of instant products--instant pudding, instant coffee, instant soup, instant potatoes and so much more. We seem to want everything instantly these days. Unfortunately, no supermarket stocks instant obedience.

Throughout his years of walking with the Lord, Abraham learned that the best type of obedience was instant obedience. When God declared circumcision to be the sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, this desert potentate lost no time in seeing that every male in his household was circumcised. Nor did he exclude himself. It was not a matter of "I direct; you perform." At the age of 99, Abraham subjected himself to the same temporary discomfort as everyone else. Doing God's will knows no rank or privileges.

This same instant obedience should be a part of our walk today. To become a Christian is relatively simple; to live like one is another matter. We become a Christian by repentant faith; we live as a Christian only as we obey Christ's commands. The extent of that commitment is measured by the speed with which we obey. The Holy Spirit says through the writer of Hebrews, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness" (Heb. 3:7-8).

If the Lord has been speaking to you about a matter of obedience, stop delaying. The blessing you receive by doing God's will is directly proportional to the speed with which you begin to do it.

Salvation is through faith; maturity is through obedience.

Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Psalm 119:9-16

Keeping Clean

How does a person keep clean in this dirty world? The psalmist asks this question in verse 9: "How can a young man cleanse his way?" The answer: "By taking heed according to Your word." Of course this doesn't apply only to a young man. The same is true for a young woman, a child or an older person. We are living in a dirty world, and because of the pollution around us, we have to walk in the Word of God. The psalmist gives us several instructions to follow to keep us spiritually clean.

First, heed the Word. We first have to read and study the Word so we know it. And if we know it, we should obey it.

Second, hide the Word. "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (v. 11). G. Campbell Morgan used to say of this verse, "It tells us about the best book--'Thy Word'--in the best place--'my heart'--for the best purpose--'that I might not sin' against God." Are you obeying the Word of God? Are you treasuring it in your heart?

Third, herald the Word by sharing it with others. "With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth" (v. 13). If we have Scripture in our hearts, it has to come out through our lips, because "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34).

Finally, honor the Word. "I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways" (v. 15). In other words, "I will honor God's Word. I will respect what He wants me to do. My Father is telling me what to do, and I am going to obey Him."

* * *

God's Word has a cleansing effect. But you must get into the Word before it can become effective in your life. Obey God's Word, and He will keep you clean in this dirty world.

Considerate Christians

Philippians 4:1-7

The word "moderation" (Phil. 4:5) emphasizes pliability and agreeableness. It is a special consideration given to other people, and it is to be the additive that causes a believer to patiently forbear under injury without desiring revenge.

It is a spirit that is ready to forgive, and it possesses a gentleness of temper. It is also temperate in physical desires and demonstrates equity; that is, justice and impartiality in business.

Having moderation means a person will avoid extremes and will not be explosive. The peace of God is obviously not in a person's life if he has an explosive temper.

Nor can there be peace in a stubborn heart that refuses to yield to reason or to God. Nor is there the peace of God for the one living in physical excess; this only breeds greed and discontent.

It cannot be overemphasized that the "moderation" of which Paul spoke in Philippians 4:5 is related to the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fruit that is produced by Him in our lives.

That is why Paul used the word "let" in saying, "Let your moderation be known" (v. 5).

We cannot self-produce moderation any more than we can self-produce the mind of Christ. Since Christ indwells us, we are to "let this mind be in [us], which was also in Christ Jesus" (2:5).

So also, since the Holy Spirit indwells us, we are to let Him do His work in our lives to produce His fruit through us. And we are enabled to do this because "the Lord is at hand" (4:5).

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22,23).

Pleasing Worship

For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

Although little or nothing is known of the personal life of Malachi the prophet, nonetheless he has given us one of the most interesting books in the Bible. Not only is this the last book of the Old Testament, it is also the last stern rebuke of the people of God, the last call for them to repent, and the last promise of future blessing for Israel.

In Malachi's day the people had become increasingly indifferent to spiritual matters. Religion had lost its glow and many of the people had become skeptical, even cynical. The priests were unscrupulous, corrupt, and immoral. The people refused to pay their tithes and offerings to the Lord and their worship degenerated into empty formalism. While the people had strong male lambs in their flocks, they were bringing blind and lame animals to be offered on the altars of Jehovah. Malachi was commissioned by God to lash out against the laxity of the people of God.

This prophecy is unique for it is a continuous discourse. In fact, Malachi has been called "the Hebrew Socrates" because he uses a style which later rhetoricians call dialectic. The whole of this prophecy is a dialogue between God and the people in which the faithfulness of God is seen in contrast to the unfaithfulness of God's people. Thus Malachi is argumentative in style and unusually bold in his attacks on the priesthood, which had become corrupt.

The most blistering attack in the entire book comes in Jehovah's dispute with His priests. If anyone should have known better than to fall to idolatry and corruption, it ought to have been those who served at the Temple of God. Still, the priests had again and again polluted the bread of the altar of God; they had sacrificed spotted animals on that altar and thus had made the table of the Lord contemptible. In addition to this, the priests were involved in empty formalism. They went about their duties day after day in dull drudgery rather than in faith. This was not pleasing to Him and Jehovah told them so.

In contrast, Jehovah declared the kind of worship that is acceptable: "For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles" (Malachi 1:11). It is obvious this was not true in the days of Malachi, for the Gentiles had not yet come to praise the name of Jehovah. Nonetheless, Malachi is speaking prophetically and the day will come, the great millennial day, when all the nations of the earth will flock to the Temple in Jerusalem and there they will worship in sincerity the God of Israel. This worship will be carried on from the rising of the earliest sun to its setting hours later. All day long, service in that day will not be dull drudgery but will be a delightful duty.

What a contrast there is between the conclusion of the Old Testament and the conclusion of the New Testament. The Old Testament concludes with an invective against dead formalism in the church. The New Testament concludes with the bright and morning Star in the midst of the church. Thank God that prophecy does not end with the Old Testament but continues until the day that Jesus Christ will usher in an eternity with Him in Heaven. But let's not wait until then. Let's rise with the sun today and begin a day filled with praise to our God.

MORNING HYMN
O worship the King, all glorious above,
And gratefully sing His pow'r and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.