Category Archives: Devotional

God’s Selective Memory

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Here’s a little encouragement from the book of Hebrews. 

On the one hand, the Lord remembers all of your faithful service:

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. ” – Hebrews 6:10 (NKJV)

On the other hand, He has decided to forget all of your sins:

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” – Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV)

And just in case you happen to forget that last fact after reading it once, the same truth (quoted from Jeremiah 31:34) gets repeated just two chapters later.

Then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'” – Hebrews 10:17 (NKJV)

Let’s give the Lord this day much in the way of ministry to remember and nothing in the way of sin to forget!

Every Trial Has Its Limits

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This evening at Horizon Central in our series 66 Books, we’re looking at the book of Job.  Going through the book verse-by-verse can be a long, arduous process – almost a verbal version of Job’s actual trials.  It is also, however, a book with the happiest of all endings and that’s where the big lesson is.  James sums it up well for us in the New Testament:

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” – James 5:11 (NKJV)

Every trial has its limits.  Every temptation has its way out.  Every difficulty has an “end intended by the Lord,” through which He will reveal His very compassionate and merciful character.

No temptation [trial, test] has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted [tested, tried] beyond what you are able, but with the temptation [trial, test] will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

Job also gives us an insight into the character and nature of Satan – which is just the opposite of God’s.  He was only interested in destroying Job.  His goal was to harm him, hurt him, make his life miserable, so that Job would give up, give in and ultimately reject God Himself.

This same cosmic struggle is played out each time we face a trial or temptation.  Every such moment is a moment of truth, in which we have the chance to succumb to the enemy’s wishes or trust God with all of our heart.  In submitting to the Lord’s will and waiting upon Him, we actually hand the devil one more crushing defeat.

The God Who Answers Prayer

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What sense would it make to call upon the Lord if we couldn’t do so in the midst of trouble?  What good would prayer ever be if we never expected God to answer?  

In the midst of his many difficulties, David remained confident.  He did so, not because he was a happy-go-lucky guy who just knew things would somehow work out.  He did so because he knew he could rely upon the Lord. 

You and I can have the same confidence that David had.  David’s God is still there and hasn’t changed a bit.  Let this prayer build your confidence in the God who answers in the day of trouble.

Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy. 

Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!

Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.

                                                – Psalm 86:1-7 (NKJV)

Repeated Requests

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For reasons that I don’t fully understand, the Lord sometimes allows us to experience great need and then He doesn’t answer until we have prayed “enough”.  It’s probably not so important that we know why this is true, but it’s very important that we know that it is true.  If we didn’t catch on, we might quit praying too early, falsely believing that God was simply unresponsive to our need.  One example of this kind of repeated request that received a remarkable answer is found in John 4. 

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.'”

Christ’s response might have discouraged a less determined person from asking – but this man was desperate.

The nobleman said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies!’

Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your son lives.’ So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, ‘Your son lives!’

Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’ So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives.’ And he himself believed, and his whole household.”   – John 4:46-53 (NKJV)

So the lesson we learn is: Keep asking!