Devotions for Dieters

2 Thessalonians 3:5
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Nancy sat in the warm glow of the firelight, looking at the sparkle of the Christmas tree. What was it like that very first Christmas morn? What must Mary and Joseph have been feeling? Imagine the anticipation and wonder. Nancy's mind wandered to the fact that she had lost so much weight through the year. Suddenly, she was embarrassed by a thought. She had thought her diet was so important; she had been so impatient trying to lose weight. Compared with the magic and wonder of this night, and all that it meant, her diet seemed pretty insignificant. She owed everything she had and everything she was to Jesus Christ. It was a joy to welcome Him into her heart once again this blessed Christmas Eve.

Today's thought: The day-to-day gifts of God pale in comparison with His greatest gift: His Son, Jesus the Christ!

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Warm and cheering words, such as joy, peace, glory, praise and light normally accompany the Christmas season. The apostle John, who describes Jesus' first advent in a unique way, says in John 1:14 (ESV): "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Earlier, in John 1:4-5 (ESV), he said of Jesus: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Do you see how the mere mention of "light" brings "darkness" to mind? And, in the same way, the thought of "life" carries with it the specter of death. John the Baptist's father said his son's task would be to announce the coming of the "sunrise...from on high," who would "give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79, ESV).

From the moment Satan rebelled against God, he has attempted by every means possible to seize his Creator's power and kingdom for himself. Throughout history, the Old Serpent tried to destroy the line of the Promised Savior. After Christ's birth, Satan tried to kill Him; to tempt Him to turn over His kingdom; and finally, to defeat Him at the cross. But God's prophecy to Satan in the Garden of Eden stood the test of ages (Genesis 3:15): Jesus' heel was bruised, but Satan's head was crushed. Jesus suffered death but conquered it; Satan will suffer ultimate defeat and eternal death in the lake of fire.

What Does God Say?

The coming of the holy Child to the town of Bethlehem is a wonderful, joyous, life-giving, light-revealing message; but Satan did his best to put a dark and gruesomely horrid end to it all. God foretold through the prophet Jeremiah what would happen (Matthew 2:17-18; Jeremiah 31:15).

Read Matthew 2:1-18. What pleasing things do you see? What dark and evil plot do you detect in those verses? What was Herod afraid of? How was Herod's fear of the Christ-child similar to the fear Satan had? Who suffered most from Herod's Satan-inspired action?

The slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem and its surroundings shows how desperate Satan is to thwart God's plan. It also shows you Satan's hatred for anything that God stands for. In our day, we see his hatred more and more as worldwide opposition grows to God's absolute moral values and message of salvation.

My Thoughts

What instructions does God give you, as a Christian, about this darkness that Satan wants to cast over God's light? Look up the following Bible references and answer the questions.

1. In Acts 26:18, what did God say Paul's missionary task was?

2. Ephesians 6:12. What is the Christian's battle in this life?

3. Colossians 1:13. When you believed, what kingdom did Christ take you from? Into what kingdom did He put you?

4. 1 Peter 2:9. What is your task as one who has been moved out of darkness into light?

5. 1 John 2:8. What is happening to Satan's dark realm? What is replacing it?

My Part

Christmas will be a time of blessing if you focus on the fact that Jesus' birth was all about bringing the light and joy of God into a world darkened by Satan's lies and hatred. In a time of economic meltdown, wars, poverty, moral and spiritual deterioration, anti-God movements, persecution and every other form of darkness, what should you do? The Bible tells you:

Second Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) says: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

The light always shines brightest in the dark. Let your light shine today for Jesus.

God Is Good, All the Time

Habakkuk 1-3, Revelation 15
Key Verse: Habakkuk 3:19

We need to remind ourselves that God is good all the time, with special emphasis on "all the time." When things are going well, it's easy to say, "God is good." But in difficult times those words can be hard to say. At any time we should be able to join Habakkuk in saying, "The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (3:19).

Notice the verses immediately before that one. Habakkuk is writing about difficult times. In particular he points to crop failure and the absence of livestock. Those are indications of economic ruin, financial disaster and food shortage. It is not a pleasant picture-no buds on the fig trees or grapes on the vines. The olive crop has failed and there is no food in the fields. Even the sheep pens and cattle stalls are empty. "Yet," he writes, "I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior" (v.18). Habakkuk understood both that God is good and that He is good all the time.

How clearly do you understand that? If things are going well for you today, it is easy to say, "God is good." But what will happen when your situation changes? It is then you should read Habakkuk 3 again to be reminded that God is good-all the time.

Pause right now to thank God for His goodness. Make this a daily prayer.

1 Kings 11:36

A Special Place

My responsibilities in ministry require that I travel a lot, so I have been to many beautiful and exotic places. But there's one place that's extra special. No matter where I go, this place is not far from my heart or mind--it's called home. No other place can match it. Where else can I enjoy my family, visit with my friends and just put my feet up and relax? That's what makes it so special.

God also has a special place--it's called Jerusalem. David conquered this city, originally occupied by the Jebusites, soon after he was anointed king over all of Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-10). Here, David built his palace and governed the nation. And here, Solomon built God's house. The Ark of the Covenant (the symbol of God's presence) was placed in the Holy of Holies, and thousands flocked to worship God in His holy temple. And through all the centuries since, Jerusalem has remained a special city to Jews, Christians, Muslims and, most of all, to God, who chose to put His name there.

When Christ died on the cross, however, God established another special place'not of stone and mortar, but the heart of anyone who believes in Him. What was promised in the Old Testament (Ezek. 11:19-20) was fulfilled through Christ (1 Cor. 3:16). God has literally placed His name upon us, and we are called "Christians."

Have you made your heart a special place to God? You can, by inviting Jesus Christ to be your Savior. Sincerely surrender your life to Him, accept His forgiveness for your sins, and let Him put His name upon you. The Lord has set aside a special people, and you can be one of them.

God is Near

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" (v. 18). Isn't that a great promise? It's one you can put to work today. Let's look at it more closely.

First, God is near to those who are stumbling. "The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down" (v. 14). You may have stumbled and fallen. Perhaps you just didn't do what you should have. Maybe you stumbled in your job, and you are embarrassed and worried about it. Perhaps you have stumbled into sin.

Second, God is near to those who carry burdens. Those who are bowed down with the weight of care can find rest if they will call upon Him.

Third, God is near to those who are hungry. "The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season" (v. 15). Verse 16 shows how simple it is for God to answer prayer: "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." All God has to do is open His hand to meet our needs today. The problem is, we often don't open our hearts and cry out to Him.

Fourth, God is near to those who call upon Him. We have this great promise: He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them" (v. 19).

Finally, God is near to those who love Him. "The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy" (v. 20). Follow the advice of James: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).

* * *

God is not far from you. He's waiting for you to take that first step, to cry out to Him and say, "Lord, I want to draw close to You. Here I am." Have you stumbled? Are you carrying a burden, or are you needy? He promises to be near to all those who call upon Him.

Fellowship First, Then Labor

Revelation 2:1-7

Christ said to Ephesus that there was some love for Him, but the first love was gone.

He appreciated their labors and the fact that they had kept their house doctrinally clean. He commended them for their good works, but He could not in faithfulness to them overlook their neglect.

It is possible for us to labor for our Lord to the place where we have no time for fellowship with Him. And the charge He made to His people in Ephesus was not that they had lost their first love but that they had "left" it.

We can sometimes lose something we don't want to lose, but to leave something could mean a deliberate choice to leave it. We might say that these early Christians had abandoned their first love because they had become so occupied with service.

What is this first love that is sometimes called the "foremost" love? It is complete devotion to Christ, not merely religious duty. It is heart devotion that has no thought for self

How much time do we spend with Him in the morning? Fifteen minutes? Is that the measure of our love for Him? We must ever remember that Christian activity alone robs us of our personal fellowship with Christ, robs us of spiritual usefulness.

If we really love Christ, we will keep His commandments. It will not be a matter of we "ought" to keep His commandments, but we "will" keep them. Fellowship with Him produces the right kind of spiritual activity.

"And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:19).

Persistence

Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

We have all heard the adage "Persistence pays." There is one striking example in Scripture, however, when persistence did more than pay. In the case of Daniel persistence prospered.

The golden years of the Persian Empire were those of Darius the Great. Darius extended the empire from India to the Danube River, even to Greece itself. He also commanded his governors to aid in the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 6:1-12). In his desire to rule well his kingdom, Darius set one hundred twenty princes over the whole kingdom as vice-regents. Over these were three presidents, of whom Daniel was the first. Daniel's prosperity as first president evoked the jealousy of the other presidents, who sought to destroy him. So godly was this man that the only way he could be destroyed was through wretched trickery.

The presidents knew that Daniel would not forsake the law of his God and therefore they proposed an unalterable decree that no one should pray to any person other than the king for a period of thirty days. Unaware of their vicious intent, King Darius signed the decree.

Although Daniel knew that the law had been signed, nonetheless he continued his practice of kneeling before a window opened toward Jerusalem and giving thanks to the Lord three times a day. His envious colleagues laid in wait to catch Daniel forsaking the unalterable law of the Medes and Persians. When they advised the king that Daniel had disregarded his decree, the king was greatly distressed, for he thought highly of Daniel. Nevertheless, he followed through on the punishment for disobeying his decree and cast Daniel into the den of lions. A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den so Daniel could not escape. His death was inevitable.

Throughout the night the king could not sleep, nor could his mind be soothed with music. He arose very early in the morning and went quickly to the den of lions (Daniel 6:19). Much to his amazement, Jehovah God had spared the life of Daniel and shut the lions' mouths. The king was glad to receive Daniel out of the lions' den safe and sound. After punishing those who had accused Daniel, Darius wrote a decree to all nations that the God of Daniel should be revered and respected as the living God.

The persistent prayer of Daniel may be viewed as a foolish practice, given the law of the Medes and the Persians. But persistence in godliness is never persistence in foolishness. In fact, persistence in doing what is right always leads to prosperity.

A South Carolina man passing out tracts once stopped at a house and rang the bell. He heard noises inside and knew that someone was in there, but no one came to the door. He rang the bell persistently. Finally a man appeared, grabbed the tract from his hand, and rudely slammed the door in his face.

A week later the Christian returned to that door and this time the man received him immediately. After he entered the house, the man took him to the attic to see a rope dangling from the rafters with a box beneath it. The man of the house said, "Friend, when you rang my doorbell last week, my head was in that noose, and I was ready to jump! But you were so persistent that I decided to go down and see who it was. While reading your tract God spoke to me. Instead of jumping off that box, I knelt beside it and gave my heart to the Lord."

Like Daniel of old, who was persistent in doing what is right, this Christian's persistence in ringing that doorbell led to another man's salvation. Regardless of what men may think, persistence in doing what is right always brings the prosperity of God.

MORNING HYMN
Truehearted, wholehearted, faithful and loyal,
King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be;
Under the standard exalted and royal,
Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee.