All posts by 5Q

The Law of Life

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“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law [the Ten Commandments] was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”1

As a kid there were times when I did some dumb things—really dumb. For one thing, I wanted to know what electricity felt like. My mother would have had a heart attack if she knew what I was about to do. I took the cover plate off an electric light switch … fortunately I knew not to put my finger directly on the connection, so I swiped my hand past the connection as fast as I could. Trust me, I never did it again … and I never told my mother. And where I grew up the home power supply was 240 volts, not 110 as it is in the U.S. It’s fortunate that I am here to write about it.

There are lots of things in life that can be deadly. Most of us, though not all, are smart enough not to do these things. What many are not aware of or ignore, however, is another of God’s laws—the law of sin and death.

Electric shock can cause instant death. The law of sin and death is far more deadly even though its effects aren’t seen instantly. The death it causes is spiritual (soul) death. Without accepting God’s cure, it means that in life after death one is eternally separated from God, the author of all love and life, in the place God’s Word calls hell—whatever and wherever that may be. Of one thing we can be sure, it will be hell!

And what is the cure from the consequences of the law of sin and death? It is adhering to God’s “law of the Spirit of life.” That is, admitting that I am a sinner, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins, asking God for His forgiveness, and accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.

Whatever you do in this life be sure to apply God’s “law of the Spirit of life” so you will not have to suffer the dreadful and eternal consequences of the “law of death.” This is God’s special gift for you. For help, click on http://tinyurl.com/8glq9 or on the Know God link below.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You for Your great love in giving your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, and in so doing, you provided the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ to save me from the unthinkable consequences of the ‘law of sin and death.’ Please help me to be sure that I have followed Your ‘law of life’ and received Your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Romans 8:1-3 (NIV).

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Health Laws

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”1

“The Bible has changed the lives of more persons than any other book,” said W. Clement Stone. “It has helped countless thousands to develop physical, mental and moral health.”

In his book, None of These Diseases, Dr. S.I. McMillen said, “When God led the Israelites out of afflicted Egypt, He promised them that if they would obey His statutes [laws], He would put ‘none of these diseases’ upon them [diseases that afflicted the Egyptians]. God guaranteed a freedom from disease that modern medicine cannot duplicate.”2

Every rule, every law, and every principle in the Bible is there, not because God is a killjoy, but for our total physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

For instance, the ancient Jews were told by God not to eat certain animal meats, including that of pigs (pork). Was this for any kind of religious ritual? No. It was because those particular animals carried diseases that caused serious sickness—such as were common in Egypt.

Still today, God’s Word gives us many instructions that are for mental and physical, as well as for spiritual, health reasons. We are instructed not to be jealous, bitter, hateful, resentful, unforgiving, and so on. The greatest physician who ever lived, Jesus Christ, pointed out 2,000 years ago the importance of forgiveness. When He encouraged us to “forgive seventy times seven,” He was thinking of our emotional and physical wellbeing as much as our spiritual wellbeing. Dr. McMillen also pointed out that a forgiving spirit could save us from “ulcerative colitis, toxic goiters, high blood pressure, and scores of other diseases”—all possible effects of resentment.

We disregard Gods laws to our peril. This also applies to his moral laws. For one example, think about STDs and AIDS. The reality is that we can no more break Gods moral laws than we can break the law of gravity. When we try to, we only break ourselves. God also has a law of sin and death …. We also defy this to our eternal peril. We will discuss this law in tomorrow’s Daily Encounter.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You for Your moral laws which You have given in Your Word, the Bible, for my protection and well being. Give me the wisdom to understand them, the faith to believe them, and the good sense and strength to obey them. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 119:105 (NIV).

2. Dr. S.I. McMillen, None of These Diseases, p. 7.

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Why Does God Allow Suffering?

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“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me [Joshua] and my household, we will serve the LORD.”1

I doubt if any sincere person in the world today doesn’t struggle with the problem of suffering. Why does God allow the “Hitlers” and the “Stalins” of the world to rise to such power and cause so much inhuman suffering and killings? Why does God allow wars, terrorism, and children to be raped and murdered?

Could it be the same reason he allows millions of mothers to kill their unborn babies? Is it not because there is evil in the world. As a child once said, “Evil is ‘live’ backwards!” And frankly, the more I see of evil in today’s world, the more I believe in God and the forces of evil.

God has allowed evil because he gave the angels and mankind the freedom to say, “No,” without which our “Yeses,” would be meaningless.

He could have created us as puppets on a string but that’s all he would have had. Instead, he created us with a free will and the capacity to decide for ourselves whether or not we would choose to go God’s way or our own way—or even go the way of evil if we are so inclined.

Remember, “It is choice, not chance, that determines our destiny”—for this life and the next! What will your choice be? And as Joshua said to the ancient Israelites, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

For help to choose God go to: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, with Your help I choose to love and serve You. Please deliver me from all evil and grant that my life will be an influence for You and for good in the world in which I live. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Joshua 24:15 (NIV).

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Is Atheism an Intellectual or a Moral Issue?

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“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.”1

I recently watched the DVD, “Journey Toward Creation … Travel Back to When Light First Sprang from Darkness,” narrated by astronomer and author, Dr. Hugh Ross. Because of modern technology we are now able to view vast areas of the universe going back millions of light years. The incredible vastness of the universe and its formation is staggering. To accept all of this as happening by chance would take a mountain more of faith than to believe it all happened by intelligent design by a divine creator. And still the atheist says there is no God.

If I say there is no God, I make myself the final voice of authority and therein usurp the role of God in my life. I become a god unto myself. Furthermore, the more we learn about life and the more educated we become the more we realize how little we know about this world, let alone about the vast expanse of the universe. As Thomas A. Edison said, “Until man duplicates a blade of grass, Nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge … it is obvious that we don’t understand one millionth of one percent about anything.”2

Undoubtedly there are many factors as to why we believe what we do. For many, much is shaped by their upbringing and what they were taught in their formative years. One’s belief system is also affected by how personally honest or dishonest he/she is with his/her inner truth. For instance, if I have unresolved supercharged repressed negative emotions, the defenses I have developed to protect myself from being in touch with these painful emotions give me warped lenses through which I view life’s events and end up with a distorted world view. As Cecil Osborne said, “Every unshed tear [and buried emotion] is a prism through which all of life’s hurts are distorted.”

In the end we ultimately believe what we choose to believe—often what is the most convenient for us. For instance, if I choose to believe in God, I know I am morally responsible. On the other hand, if I chose not to believe in God, I delude myself into thinking I am not morally responsible and can live as I please. For example, “Philosopher Mortimer Adler, one of the great intellectuals of the twentieth century, believed Christianity was true, but refused to accept it because it would interfere with his lifestyle. In time, he overcame that objection and became a Christian, which, given the evidence, was the only rational thing to do.”3 I would dare to suggest that maybe, just maybe, his honesty led him in his choice to make a commitment of his life to God and become a Christian.

So is atheism an intellectual or a moral problem? As Bill O’Reilly would say, “We report—you decide.”

Note: If you have never made a commitment of your life to God and would like to do so today, be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be personally honest so that I will not have a distorted world view and a distorted view of reality. Please lead me on the path to truth so that I will clearly see all truth including the truth about You, the universe and all creation. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 19:1-3 (NIV).

2. Quote DB, http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/3508
3. Chuck Colson, BreakPoint, October 11, 2007

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The Devil’s Future

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“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”1

A friend shared with me her way of handling the deceiver-tempter: “When Satan comes to remind me about my past, I remind him about his future.”

One thing Satan does is continually accuse us before God.2 Knowing that he does this, we can remind him not only about his future in hell but also that Christ shed his blood on the cross and gave his life to pay for our sins and has washed them all away. So what’s there to accuse us of if we have confessed our sins to Christ and asked for and accepted his forgiveness?

Furthermore, because Christ died for us and cleansed us from our sins, we can, in Jesus’ name resist the devil and, as James said, he will flee from us. Satan hates the name of Jesus. Be sure to mention it when he comes to tempt you.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that You forgive all who confess their sins and ask for Your forgiveness. Help me always to resist the devil in Jesus’ name, knowing that he will flee from me and has no power over me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. James 4:7.
2. Rev. 12:10.

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The Race

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“The race is not to the swift.”1

Some time ago Our Daily Bread asked the question, “Do you remember the tortoise and the hare in Aesop’s Fables? The hare boasted that he was the swiftest animal in the forest. When he challenged the others to a race, only the tortoise dared to try. To the hare, it seemed an unfair contest, since he would win easily.

“But off they started, with the tortoise soon trailing far behind. On the way, the hare decided there was time for a nap, but the tortoise kept plodding along. When the hare awoke, he couldn’t see the tortoise anywhere, so he laughed and said, ‘He still hasn’t caught up with me!’ But as he ran toward the finish line, he saw the tortoise crossing it. Slowly and steadily, the tortoise had won!”

In the Christian life it can be easy to start well or to “keep the faith” when all is going well. But to keep hanging in through the bad times as well as the good, and be there or the long haul takes a genuine commitment that is based on a deep belief that, no matter what happens, Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, and that my life is in his hands. As Job so aptly expressed his feelings in the midst of his despair, “Though he [God] slay me, yet will I trust him.”2

“The race is not to the swift but to those who keep on running!”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be like the persistent ‘tortoise’ in my faith and give me the courage, like Paul, to ‘strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.’3 Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 9:11.

2. Job 13:15.

3. Philippians 3:14 (TLB).

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Quarreling and Strife

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“Then Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we are kindred.’”1

There is a legend from Greek mythology that the god Hercules was once walking along a narrow road when a strange-looking creature appeared threateningly in front of him. Hercules struck this creature with his club and passed on, but soon afterwards was surprised to be confronted by this same creature, only now three times as large. Hercules struck it again and again and each time it grew in size until finally it completely blocked the road. Then the goddess Pallas Athena appeared to Hercules and told him to stop. “The monster is called Strife,” she said. “Let it alone, and it will soon become as small as it was at first.”

All quarreling and strife will certainly return to manageable proportions and ultimately cease if one of the quarrelers lets it alone. One is either a peacemaker or one is a “stirrer”—determined to keep the argument going for the sake of personal gain or satisfaction.

Take Abraham. His herdsmen quarreled, and he and Lot might have quarreled too, had not Abraham taken the wise course and ended it. “Lot,” he said, “this won’t do. Let there be no strife between you and me or between my herdsmen and yours, for we are all brothers.” And then he became the generous mediator and told Lot that he could have the best land in the east, if that was what he wanted. It was wise to separate the two groups and it was generous of Abraham to give Lot first choice. As an elder he could have dictated the terms but he was above meanness and was blessed as a result.

Abraham was above personal gain, he did not seek after flocks and herds, silver and gold, servants or the best land. God was sought first; other things were added. Lot, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his eyes off the fertile plain of Sodom. He wanted it; then he wanted more; he got it; then lost it all.

NOTE: Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Ron Clark of Tasmania, Australia.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me not to be greedy for personal gain and material possessions but always seek to put You first and be a peacemaker rather than a strife-maker. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Genesis 13:8 (RSV).

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God’s Guardian Angels

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“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”1

As told by Pastor Gunderson of First Baptist Church of Pomona, California: A missionary who was serving in a remote area of Africa made a monthly journey to a city two days bike ride away to pick up supplies and medicine.

On one of his many journeys he came across two men who were fighting, one of whom was severely injured. The missionary stopped to help the injured man. After treating him, he continued on his way.

Sometime later in the village a man came to him and said, “You probably don’t remember me but I was one of the men who was fighting when you stopped to help.

The missionary said he remembered the incident and the man told him. “We were going to rob you on one of your trips. We knew you always carried cash and medicine and were unarmed. When we came to rob you, I had three friends with me. We saw where you camped and put your bike down, but you had 26 armed guard all around you so we weren’t able to robe you.

The missionary said, “That’s impossible. I always travel alone and have no armed guards of any kind.” The man said, “Oh yes, my friends and I each counted 26 men, heavily armed standing around you while you slept.”

When the missionary visited his home church back in Michigan, he related this story to the church family. A man in the congregation stood up and asked, “What time and what day did this happen?” The missionary told him the date and that it was a Saturday night.

The man said, “It was night there but it was Saturday morning here. I was loading my golf clubs in my car. I was on my way to the golf course and the Holy Spirit impressed on me so heavily that I needed to pray for you that I took my clubs out of my car and called men from church and we came together and earnestly prayed for you. He then said, “I would like to ask each one of these men who prayed with me that Saturday morning to stand up. As they stood, each one in the church counted 26 men standing!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation—those who are true followers of Jesus. May I always be mindful of and extremely thankful for this God-given ministry and blessing. And thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

Hebrews 1:14 (NIV).

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The Affliction to Give Advice

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“Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.”1

In much younger and far less experienced days, I recall how a psychologist friend described some people as being “cursed with the affliction to give advice.” At that time I had no idea what he meant.

Today, however, perhaps a “nicer” way to describe these people is that they can be very officious. According to Google, being officious basically means to be intrusive in a meddling or offensive way, marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted [or unsolicited] services or advice to others. It means generally … sticking your nose in places where it’s not wanted.”

The Australians have an interesting saying for people who stick their nose into other people’s business and that is, they are being “sticky beaks!”

Certainly the Bible doesn’t use slang terms, but it does make it clear that we are not to meddle in other people’s business. This doesn’t mean that we are not to give help where help is needed and requested, but it does mean we are not to give unsolicited advice or help when such is not wanted. Actually, for me to give you unsolicited and unwanted advice is basically a “put down” in that I am implying that I know more about your situation than you know, and that I know better about what you need to do than you know. This is rather presumptuous to put it mildly.

Furthermore, it is important that we don’t do for others what they are quite capable of and need to for themselves. Doing this for others keeps them over-dependent on us and both of us immature. Be assured too, that neither will God do for us what he has already equipped us to do for ourselves.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me not to be a ‘sticky-beak’ by meddling in other peoples’ business but just to be available if my help is requested and genuinely needed. In all such situations, please help me to be ‘as Jesus’ to the person in need. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 2 Thessalonians 3:11 (NLT).

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In the Broken Places

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”1

I believe it was Ernest Hemingway who coined the phrase “growing strong in the broken places.” When a bone is broken, for example, the calcium buildup that “welds” the bone together makes that the strongest part of the bone.

When our life is committed to God and we bring our broken parts to him for healing, we, too, become strong in the broken places.

Another aspect on being broken is in the words of Vance Havner who said, “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume . . . it is Peter, weeping bitterly [after his failure of denying Jesus], who returns to greater power than ever.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage to face every ‘broken part’ in my life and bring these to You for Your healing and lead me to the help I need for full recovery. Grant that I, too, will grow strong in the broken places and be used by You to be a blessing and encouragement to others. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Luke 4:18).

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