THE CHOICE

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. Deuteronomy 30:15

You’ve heard the infamous name of John Wilkes Booth. He assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. But have you heard about Edwin Booth, John’s eldest brother? Edwin, a well-known actor, was waiting at Jersey City train station when he saw someone slip and fall of the platform. Edwin quickly grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him to safety — rescuing him from serious injury or death. Who was the man he saved? Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert, a soldier in the Civil War.

How ironic that the man who saved Lincoln’s son had a brother who would soon kill the president. One saved a life; one took a life. One chose life; the other chose death.

The Lord gave His people a choice between life and death: They could love Him and obey His commands (Deuteronomy 30:16), or they could worship and serve other gods (verse 17). He told them, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life” (verse 19).

We too have a choice between life and death. We can receive Jesus as our Savior and live with Him forever, or we can reject Jesus and be in darkness forever without Him. The best choice is clear. Receive God’s gift of His Son Jesus. Choose life! —anne cetas

The choice we make determines our Eternal destination; one leads to everlasting life; the other, condemnation. —sper

The choice you make today will determine your tomorrow.

 

 

WHEN ALL LOOKS BRIGHT

Deuteronomy 6:10-19

Beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. —Deuteronomy 6:12

Life looks rosy to many people. Their work is fulfilling. The house or apartment doesn’t need repair. Their bank account shows a surplus. Family members are enjoying good health. Friends are loyal.

Good times, however, can be dangerous. The comforts and pleasures of this world can become so important that we give God little or no place in our thoughts. Prosperity can quickly lead to complacency.

God knew this would happen to His people when they entered the Promised Land. So He warned them not to forget the source of their blessings (Deuteronomy 6:12). He instructed them:

• Fear the Lord (verse 13).
• Serve Him (verse 13).
• Do not go after other gods (verse 14).
• Do not tempt the Lord (verse 16).
• Keep the commandments (verse 17).
• Do what is right and good (verse 18).

Historians tell us that religious fervor usually declines during prosperous times. But if we will learn from Israel’s experience and heed the Lord’s instruction, this need not happen to us.

Let’s be careful that we do not forget the Lord — especially when all looks bright! —herb vander lugt

Help us, O Lord, to ponder this: we  have no good apart from You; for we are prone to take our ease when all is bright and skies are blue. —d de haan

Prosperity may be a greater test of character than poverty.

WHAT’s IN YOUR MOUTH?

Psalm 126

They said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2

Communications experts tell us that the average person speaks enough to fill 20 single-spaced, type-written pages every day. This means our mouths crank out enough words to fill 2 books of 300 pages each month, 24 books each year, and 1,200 books in 50 years of speaking. Thanks to phones, voicemail, and face-to-face conversations, words comprise a large of part of our lives. So the kinds of words we use are important.

The psalmist’s mouth was filled with praise when he wrote Psalm 126. The Lord had done great things for him and his people. Even the nations around them noticed. Remembering God’s blessings, he said, “Our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing” (verse 2).

What words would you have used in verse 3 had you been writing this psalm? So often, our attitude may seem to be: “The Lord has done great things for me, and I —

. . .can’t recall any of them right now.”

. . .am wondering what He’ll do for me next.”

. . .need much more.”

Or can you finish it by saying, “And I am praising and thanking Him for His goodnenss”? As you recall God’s blessings today, express your words of praise to Him. —anne cetas

When my thoughts and the Word are in one accord, then the words of my mouth honor Christ my Lord. —hess

Let no thought linger in your mind that you would be ashamed to let out of your mouth.

DONE!

John 19:25-30

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” John 19:30

So many of our hopes and dreams remain unfulfilled. Composer Franz Schubert departed this world leaving behind his “Unfinished Symphony.” Similarly, prolific author Charles Dickens was unable to fully develop the plot of his novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

We too undoubtedly have aspirations that we will be unable to fulfill. But what a blessing to know that the work of our redemption was totally and perfectly accomplished by Jesus on the cross.

The last words of Jesus, “It is finished,” are actually a single word in the original language (John 19:30). But that word holds oceans of meaning. What Jesus gasped was “Completed!” or “Ended!” That cry from the cross announced that not only had His suffering come to an end but also His redemptive work was eternally accomplished. All that He had come to achieve in His human life was finished. Done!

We can do nothing to add to His sacrifice. Christ’s self-giving death was all-sufficient. We stretch out the empty hand of faith, and God in grace puts into it the gift of eternal life.

Have you stretched out your hand of faith to receive this gift? —vernon grounds

“It is finished,” Jesus cried, then on Calvary’s cross He died; Christ the Lord atonement made, and sin’s debt was fully paid. —hess

Christ’s sacrifice was what God desired and what our sin required.

A GRATITUDE VISIT

Romans 16:1-16

I commend to you Phoebe, . . .for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also. Romans 16:1-2

Counting your blessings promotes good physical health, according to a study by some US doctors. Volunteers who kept weekly gratitude journals reported fewer aches and pains than t hose who recorded daily hassles or neutral events.

A “gratitude visit” was developed by Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman to promote strong emotional health. He tells people to think of someone who has made an important difference in their lives. He asks them to write the story of how that person has helped them, and then to visit that person and read the story aloud. Tests show that a year later the people who had done so were happier and reported fewer episodes of depression. Even more important, think of what it must have done for those who were thanked!

The apostle Paul had a long list of people who had helped him and for whom he was grateful (Romans 16:1-16). he wrote that Phoebe had “been a helper.” Priscilla and Aquila had “risked their own necks” for his life, and Mary had “labored much” for him. And he took time to write his thanks in a letter to the church of Rome.

Who has helped to shape your life? Could you make a gratitude visit — for their sake, and for yours? —anne cetas

Consider what the Lord has done through those who’ve shown you love; then thank them for their faithful deeds, for blessings from above. —sper

Gratitude should not be an occasional incident but a continuous attitude.

GOD ABOVE THE STORM

Psalm 29

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Psalm 29:4

As a boy, I was fascinated by the sights and sounds of a storm. They always made me think of God. In the roar of the thunder, I imagined I was hearing His chariots rumbling through the sky. In the flashes of lightning, I felt a sense of awe mingled with fear and trust.

When I was a seminary student, my wife and I used to take a drive when we saw a storm approaching so that we could experience its wonder more vividly. I am less adventurous today,  but storms still make me think about God’s majesty and power.

Psalm 29 describes a violent storm as it sweeps in over the Mediterranean, swoops down the mountain ranges, rushes through the wilderness, and pours out its refreshing rain upon the land. Towering over the scene is God. The elements of the squall are described as the “voice of the Lord.”

The psalm closes by assuring us that the God who was in control when He sent the flood in judgment is also in control when the rain comes as a blessing. Through it all, He is working to give strength and peace to His people. The powerful, majestic God behind the storm has our eventual good in mind, and He will achieve His goal. Isn’t it comforting to know that this God loves and cares for us! —hvl

The lightning of a summer storm, it’s thunder roaring in reply, reveal to us an awesome God whose power we cannot deny. —sper

We experience peace —not panic— when we trust the power of God.

WHAT WILL YOU HARVEST?

Judges 1:1-7

As I have done, so God has repaid me. Judges 1:7

No one can escape the principle that we reap what we sow. I read about a troublemaker who rode his bike into an inner-city park, jumped onto a box, and told the people to ignore the law and steal because no one should be poor while others are rich. A few minutes later, he discovered that his bike was gone. Infuriated, he shouted, “Where’s the bum who stole my bicycle?” How true are the words of Job, “Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:8)

In today’s Bible reading, when Adoni-Bezek was captured and treated in the same manner he had treated others, he knew he was tasting the bitter fruits of the same kind of cruelties he had shown his enemies.

This reaping principle also applies when seeds of goodness are sown. I once visited a man in the hospital who was overwhelmed by the many get-well cards and plants he had received. I told him he was reaping what he had sown. He had always been kind and thoughtful to people, and now people were being kind and thoughtful to him.

Lord, help us to treat others the way we would like to be treated. May we live with the awareness that we will surely reap what we sow. —hvl

If you sow seeds of wickedness, sin’s harvest you will reap; but scattered seeds of rightousness yield blessings you can keep. —sper

Sow today what you want to reap tomorrow.

BLESSED TO BLESS

Genesis 12:1-7

I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. Genesis 12:2

While I was reading the 12th chapter of Genesis, the words of the second verse struck me with new meaning. Whenever I studied this particular passage of Scripture before, my mind was so occupied with the promises to Abraham and the nation of Israel that I overlooked a practical application for every Christian.

The Lord told Abraham: “I will bless you . . . and you shall be a blessing.” He was blessed to bless! What he received was not for his own selfish enjoyment, but for the welfare and betterment of others.

The same is true with believers today. The Lord has done a wonderful work of grace in our lives and wants us to share it with others. We who have trusted Jesus and have received the benefits of salvation have been saved to “save.” Although our relationship to Christ brings us personal satisfaction, He redeems us that we might go out and “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Likewise, God comforts us in our distresses “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4).

You have been blessed to bless! Let the Lord do His work through you. —rwd

Make me a channel of blessing today, make me a channel of blessing, I pray; my life possessing, my service blessing, make me a channel of blessing today. —smyth

God gives freely to us so that we may give liberally to others.

KNOWING GOD PERSONALLY

Psalm 103:1-18

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. —Psalm 103:7

Most Christians would prefer to see God perform mighty miracles rather than to have fellowship with Him and learn His ways.

Today’s text says that God made known His mighty acts to the people of Israel, but to Moses He “made known His ways.” Exodus 33 records a great crisis in which Moses humbly prayed, “If I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way.” He wanted to know God and His plans for His people more than to see another mighty miracle. No wonder the Lord conversed with him “as a man speaks to his friend” (verse 11).

Commenting on the difference between ways and acts, F. B. Meyer wrote, “Ways, or plans, are only made known to the inner circle of the saints; the ordinary congregation learns only His acts.”

A talented friend of mine, Jennifer, learned this difference after spending several years in a wheelchair. One day she tearfully prayed, “Lord, I could have done so much for You, if only I could have been healthy.” God’s response was inaudible but clear: “Many people work for Me, but very few are willing to be My friend.”

If you desire to know God personally more than you long to see His mighty miracles, you’ll be satisfied. —jey

Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord; once it was the feeling, now it is His Word; once His gift I wanted, now the Giver own; once I sought for healing, now Himself alone. —simpson

Knowing God is not only seeing His works but also learning His ways.

IS IT BLESSED TO RECEIVE?

Acts 20:28-38

It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

We admire people who take responsibility for their lives and try not to burden others. Such self-sufficiency is commendable. But if every needy person in the world — and that includes all of us at one time or another — refused to help, there would be no opportunity for anyone to give.

When we read Jesus’ statement in Acts 20:35 that “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” we tend to focus only on the virtue of giving. Our Lord did not say that it’s undesireable to accept a gift, but that by comparison our goal should be to give, not to get. Actually, both giving and receiving are commendable, enriching, and even necessary.

Perhaps it’s risky in a greedy age to extol receiving. Yet many sincere, well-meaning people hestitate when offered this lesser but equally valid blessing. They say, “Oh, I can’t take that!” or “You really shouldn’t!”

Why are we like this? Personally, I’ve concluded that it’s often because I don’t want to feel indebted to others, or I’m proud, or I want to have control. But these hidden attitudes are selfish and run contrary to the spirit of Him who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Perhaps we need to give others the blessing of giving by learning to be a gracious a receiver. —djd

I gave out of abundant pride and blessing took its leave, till humbly to the Lord I cried, and learned how to receive. —gustafson

Grateful receiving, like gracious giving, comes from the heart.