October 2011

31 Oct Devotional Thought – Rest And Revelation

"Then he went up from there to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night..." Genesis 26:23-24 Moses says that Isaac went up from the Valley of Gerar to Beersheba, and it was on that very first night that the Lord appeared to him with a wonderful revelation of future blessing. Was this an accident? Was the timing of this divine appearance simply coincidence? Could the Lord have appeared to him the night before he left the Valley of Gerar for Beersheba? No, the timing of the appearance of the Almighty to Isaac not only came when it should, but when it could. The reason is that this was the night that Isaac finally reached his place of rest. Before this night there had been a series of struggles, a succession of quarrels, over the possession of wells that he and his men had dug.

26 Oct Devotional Thought – When We Need His Armor The Most

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:13  This seems to be a very odd ending to such a blatant battle cry. Normally the soldier is told to gear up, get ready, for the battle by putting on his armor, but here he's told to gear up to do nothing more than stay back in the camp. This seems to be a very strange statement. One would naturally consider the hard part of the Christian life to be the day of battle, the hour of the conflict. Paul, however, takes a different view. He see the difficult day, the time of testing to be that which comes after the fight has ended.

19 Oct Devotional Thought – The Sabbath’s Blessing

"Thus says the LORD: "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day..." Jeremiah 17:21 Have you ever stopped to really consider why God forbade the Jews to work on the Sabbath? You might think it to be some sort of a punishment - an act of penance that was just a part of their ritualistic religion. However, I think it was for just the opposite reason. I don't think that this command was intended to associate the seventh day with a dead ritual. Rather, I believe that it was designed to connect the Sabbath with the brightness of God's presence and the rest of His pleasure. That's why the Lord said that they were to "bear no burden on the Sabbath day." This command wasn't meant to be a punishment. It was intended to be a privilege - a sort of sacred holiday for His special people.

17 Oct Devotional Thought – Why God Hides His Face

"He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it." Job 26:9 What a startling statement. God Himself hides His sovereignty. Now, I can understand why God would hide His beauty, because any picture is made up of both light strokes and dark strokes. It even makes sense that He would hide His plans and purposes because in our finite, ignorant minds we might not understand the benefit found in them. But what sense is to be found in the hiding of His sovereignty?