Devotions for Dieters

Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Betty liked having people around. When others watched her, she was more likely to behave herself and stay on her diet. She felt guilty if anyone caught her cheating. A little guilt was a good thing for someone trying to lose weight. When she was alone, she didn't feel nearly as guilty. If she was ever going to lose weight, she was going to have to make sure there were people around. We ought to remember that no matter what we do, God is watching. He can help us on to victory if we will keep in mind that He is ever with us, to act as our conscience when we need Him to.

Today's thought: I hope my conscience is stronger than my appetite!

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I've met, and gotten to know, a lot of people in my life so far. Some remind me of others I know, but all of them are unique. That's never more evident than when comparing personalities. I tend toward the introverted side of the spectrum. I enjoy working with others but have a hard time just socializing. Other people I know are different and opposite and mostly the same and partially alike.

But whatever our personalities, I've learned that we can miss some golden opportunities to grow in our faith when we make our personality our excuse.

What Does God Say?

Philip, one of the twelve disciples passed on a wonderful opportunity to introduce some Gentiles from Greece to Jesus. We can read about it in John 12. "Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, 'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.' Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus" (vv. 20-22, ESV).

It's hard to find fault with Philip here. It's easy to read these verses without noticing that something went wrong because, really, nothing did go wrong. Philip wasn't wrong for talking to Andrew. For all we know, Philip had a perfectly legitimate reason for going to Andrew first. But it makes you wonder, Did Philip miss an opportunity to grow in his faith?

For some people, it's easier to work in the background, away from the spotlight. For others, the spotlight is all they know and stepping out is the hard thing to do. But some of the best opportunities to grow in faith occur when we allow God to pull us out of our comfort zones--when we trust in Him and not ourselves.

Yes, your personality is a defining aspect of who you are. But don't let it become the excuse that holds you back from knowing more fully the love and provision of God.

My Thoughts

As you read through the story of Philip's encounter with the Greeks, think about the following questions:

1. How would you have responded in Philip's situation?

2. How might Philip had grown in his faith if he had gone straight to Jesus?

3. What opportunities has God placed in your life for you to grow?

My Part

Try to remember the last time you had to do something that you weren't comfortable doing. Spend some time writing about how you felt; write down some of the arguments you may have directed at God. And then ask God to show you how He used that opportunity to grow you. Praise God for the work He's done in your life.

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Together Forever

Ezekiel 47-48, 1 John 3
Key Verse: Ezekiel 48:35

Weddings are special events filled with hope, commitment and happiness. The day finally has come when the bride and groom are no longer separated; from now on the two are one. Being together is one of the great blessings of marriage. No more saying "good-bye" at the end of the day because husband and wife are home together. Times of separation due to travel may come-but they also go.

The Book of Ezekiel concludes with a great and decisive declaration. This final prophecy is about the reuniting of the scattered people of Israel with their God. A day will come when God’s people will never again be separated from Him through judgment. Forever they will live as God's people and He will be their God.

To drive home this joyous truth, Ezekiel announces that the name of the city will be "THE LORD IS THERE." Some see in the Hebrew phrase a wordplay on the name "Jerusalem." There is a similar sound. Either way it is a name of great encouragement, to be where God is-forever.

It is good for us to remember that the blessings of salvation include eternity with God. We live in a sin-sick, sin-cursed world. One day this world will be past and eternity will be our eternal present. Then the promise will be fulfilled that we will always be with God, He will be our God, and we will be His people.

"I praise You, God, for the promise of eternity with You. Help me keep my eyes fixed on what is to come!"

1 Kings 1:40

The Joy of the Lord

A middle-aged schoolteacher invested her life savings in a business enterprise that turned out to be a swindle. When her investment disappeared and the wonderful dream was shattered, she went to the local office of the Better Business Bureau. "Why on earth didn't you come to us first?" they asked. "Didn't you know about the Better Business Bureau?" "Oh, yes," the teacher said sadly, "I've always known about you. But I didn't come because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it."

That's the attitude many people have toward God. They know that He's there, but they're afraid to come to Him because He might throw a wet blanket on their plans. They know He'll tell them the truth; they just don't want to hear it.

When Solomon, God's choice for Israel's king, proceeded to be crowned, the hearts of the people were filled with joy. The procession down to Gihon, where Solomon was officially declared king, was filled with the sound of music and celebration. This is the way it should be with us too. Obeying the will of the Lord is always a cause for rejoicing, not a cause for mourning.

Satan would have us believe that God is a killjoy. He lies to us and tells us that the farther we stay away from what God wants, the greater our chances to be truly happy. But countless people have been ruined by Satan's lies. Only the Lord is able to give true, lasting joy. The closer we walk with Him, the more cause we have to rejoice.

Discover for yourself what a joy it is to walk in God's will. You will learn that there is a direct relationship between obedience to God and joy from God. Let the joy of the Lord fill your heart. Ask Him to remove anything that is preventing you from fully experiencing His joy. Then discover the delight of obeying Jesus.

A Perfect Purpose

"The Lord will perfect that which concerns me" (v. 8). God has a purpose for each of our lives. We are not numbers in a computer; He knows our names. In fact, He has numbered all the hairs on our heads (Matt 10:30). God knows our needs today. We are His personal concern, the work of His hands.

When does God perfect that which concerns us? When can we expect Him to work in our lives? First, when we praise Him. Verse 1 says, "I will praise You with my whole heart." Verse 2 reads, "I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name." When we take time to worship and praise God, He can perfect that which concerns us. But if we go our own way, we lose that special blessing from God.

God also perfects that which concerns us when we pray to Him. "In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul" (v. 3). It doesn't say God changed the outside circumstances. Instead, He changed the psalmist on the inside. When we worship and cry out to the Lord, He can work on our behalf.

Finally, God perfects that which concerns us when we glorify Him. "All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord" (vv. 4,5). Praising Him to others should be a natural part of our conversations.

* * *

The God of the universe desires to work personally in your life. When you worship the Lord by praying to Him, glorifying Him, witnessing for Him and submitting to Him, He works on your behalf. If you need a reviving blessing today, turn to Him. He will give it.

The Power to Love

1 John 4:7-21

The apostle did not say, "Try to create and produce love." He said, "Let us love." In other words, we are to release that love.

Some may protest and say they cannot love certain people. That is true from the natural standpoint, but we are not dealing with natural love. It is divine love, the love with which God loved us when we were unlovable and our sins had separated us from Him.

God, as to His nature, is love. And this love is shared with the believer. It has been shed abroad in the heart of each one (see Rom. 5:5).

This love of God will grow within us and flow through us in an unbroken stream if we will let it. The Christian life, which is the power of the Holy Spirit within, is a life of love. This love of God matures the Christian.

I have seen many of God's people grow older in the Lord and grow more Christlike as they walked with Him from day to day. They took more time to be with the Lord and had their hearts filled with Him. Through this, their love was perfected toward others.

This mature love expressed through God's people demonstrates to others that Christ lives in us.

"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3).

Hospitality and Inhospitality

And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

In the family life of the ancient Near East, two important and contrasting features stand out in bold relief. They are the hospitality of the common folk and the inhospitality of those who are evil and cruel. The story of Judges 19 portrays both these features.

According to the historical account a certain Levite who resided in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem-judah. Having proven unfaithful to him, the woman returned to her father's house in Bethlehem and there remained four months. After this separation the Levite decided to propose a reconciliation and thus traveled south to Bethlehem to speak with the woman and her father. Apparently the reconciliation was accomplished immediately, for the father was quite happy to see his son-in-law.

The house of the Bethlehem father-in-law is a prime example of hospitality in the ancient Near East. Three days the son-in-law remained in the house and there "they did eat and drink." It was now time to leave. On the fourth day they arose early in the morning in order to escape the punishing rays of the Palestinian sun (Judges 19:5). But the damsel's father invited his son-in-law to stay and have bread with him one more time. Soon the day had worn away and the invitation to tarry all night and wait for the morrow was given. Again the next day he arose early in the morning with the intent to leave, but the same thing happened (Judges 19:8). As the day wore on, the man received a second invitation to tarry throughout the night, but this time he refused. With his wife he left Bethlehem and began to journey, even though he knew he could not reach Mount Ephraim by nightfall.

Bypassing Jerusalem because the Jebusites lived there, the man chose to travel three miles further north to Gibeah, where he anticipated a more hospitable reception. He found none and thus made preparations to spend the night in the street. Finally he and his wife were taken in by a former resident of Ephraim who now lived in Gibeah.

At this point the story begins to sound like Sodom and Gomorrah all over again. Base men, sons of Satan, encircled the house and began to beat on the door, demanding that these men engage in a homosexual relationship with them. Perhaps taking his cue from Lot (cf. Genesis 19:1-11), unbelievably the master of the house offered his daughter and the Levite's concubine to the vicious mob in place of his house guest. This pacified the bisexual mob who abused the concubine all night long. When the Levite rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house, there he found the woman lying on the threshold (Judges 19:26-27).

Hospitality and inhospitality, both are seen here. What is it that causes one man to open his home in a gesture of hospitality and another man to beat down the door of a home to perform an act of homosexuality? What brings one man to do what is delightful in the eyes of God and another to do what is despicable in the eyes of God? Perhaps the answer is that we are made in the image of God and therefore have a desire to do good but have been marred by our own sin and have an innate bent toward evil. The Bethlehem father-in-law and the Ephraimite from Gibeah both sought to please others. The homosexual mob of Gibeah sought only to please themselves. Seeking one's own pleasure at the expense of all others arises out of a heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). There is no control over such a heart, only a cure found in the grace of salvation.

MORNING HYMN
Now incline me to repent,
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.