Month: June 2013

1 Samuel 19:17
“And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?”

There are two stories with the same invaluable lesson for your marriage. The first story I want to point out is the story from the verse above. David is the son-in-law to King Saul. Michal, David’s wife, loved her husband dearly to the degree that she put her life on the line for him. Saul put Michal in a bad position when he sent his men to kill David, for he was forcing her to choose between him, her father, and her husband. As much as she loved her father, she made the wise choice in choosing her husband over her father.

The second story in found in 1 Samuel 25. Abigail was faced with a hard choice to defend her husband who was not a good man over David. David came to her husband and asked for food, but her husband answered him roughly even though he and his men had taken care of her husband’s servants. When she received word that David was going to kill her husband and his servants, she quickly found a way to appease David. Though Abigail’s husband was not what he was supposed to be, she still chose him in spite of his bad behavior.

In these stories you will find one of the most important lessons for a happy marriage. In both stories these ladies chose their husband over everyone else. They understood their role as a spouse. They understood that you always choose your spouse over family and others.

One of the greatest causes of marital problems is family. No matter how you look at it, you are going to have to deal with family in your marriage. It may be that your family are the one’s who are trying to cause division, or it could be your in-laws who are trying to cause the division in your marriage. In either case, it is important that you always choose your spouse over your family.

When you married your spouse, you vowed to choose them above all others. The exact phrase you said was, “…forsaking all others.” This phrase was not just talking about forsaking the opposite sex, but it was also talking about your family. This phrase gets its authority from Genesis 2:24 when it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” You will notice that you are commanded to “cleave” unto your spouse. In other words, you should get so close to your spouse that nothing comes between you.

You are going to have to choose your spouse over all others if you are going to have a happy marriage. You must choose your spouse over your parents and siblings. You must choose your spouse over your own children. If you are forced to choose one of these over your spouse, you simply tell them that if they are going to force you to choose between the two, that you will choose your spouse every day of the week.

When your spouse knows that you will choose them over your parents, siblings and children, then that choice will instill a security in your marriage like nothing else can. Don’t ever let anything come between you and your spouse. Always remember that your spouse should be chosen above all else. When married couples get this settled, then they will discover the happiness that marriage can bring.

1 Samuel 12:2
“And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.”

One of the privileges of my lifetime has been to be around some great people in their senior years. I don’t know why the LORD has allowed this other than the opportunity to glean wisdom from them. There is no doubt in my mind that one of the greatest reasons God has blessed my ministry is because of the wisdom these men entrusted me with.

I had the privilege of being around Frank Melbourne, a missionary to Spain for over fifty years. As a young teenage boy I spent time with him on a weekly basis learning things about the ministry. I had the privilege of being around Dr. Lee Roberson in his senior years. The valuable truths I learned from him about the Sunday school were priceless. I had the privilege of being around Dr. Jack Hyles in the latter years of his life. The principles I learned from him about the ministry and life in general were invaluable. Even now I’ve had the privilege to be around Dr. Bob Gray Sr. and glean wisdom about soul winning and the ministry. I determined a long time ago that I would not waste the opportunities the LORD gives me to glean from older saints.

One of the greatest mistakes made in the verse above is that the people had the wisdom of Samuel at their fingertips, and yet they wasted all the years of wisdom. Instead, they were too interested in being trendy. They wanted to be like every other nation and have a king. While they were so busy trying to be like every other nation, they wasted the years of a man whom God used in a great way. They wasted the opportunity to ask him questions while he was still alive. If they had only put as much effort in gleaning from Samuel as they did in trying to be like the other nations, maybe they would have saved themselves from much heartache.

Just like I’ve had the opportunity to be around great people in their senior years, all around you are people from whom you could glean wisdom if you would spend time with them. These people will not clamor for your attention, but they would love to be able to spend time with you.

One of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in my lifetime was how Dr. Lee Roberson was treated in his senior years. I had a group of young men with me in the Chattanooga area, and we went over so I could introduce them to him. While the men were there, they wanted to see the buildings God used Dr. Roberson to build. While they were looking around the buildings, someone asked them why they were in the area. They told this person that they were there to visit Dr. Lee Roberson. This person attended the church Dr. Roberson used to pastor and was a student in the college he started, but they didn’t know who he was. All they knew him as was the “old man in the front office.” What an inditement to that place! To have wisdom just a few steps away, and not even spend time gleaning that wisdom was a travesty.

Christian, don’t ever be guilty of wasting the gray hairs around you. You would be wise to find whom God has currently placed in your life, and do what you can to spend time with them. God’s placed them in your life so you can glean wisdom from them to pass on to future generations. Don’t be so busy with your life that you miss these great opportunities. Don’t be so wrapped up in younger personalities that you miss the greatness of the gray hairs in your church. No, they may not know about the newest technologies, but they do know about life, and God’s placed them in your life to help you. Decide right now that you are going to get to know the gray hairs in your life and use the time you have with them to glean every bit of wisdom they can give you.

Judges 21:3
“And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?”

Have you ever watched a sporting event where someone got injured? I can think of a handful of times when I watched players with gruesome injuries. The networks rewind the play over and over again to show how the injury occurred. Though rewinding the play can’t change what happened, it can certainly help those who make rules that protect players know how it happened.

The story from the verse above is a very sad story. The children of Israel asked God, “…why is this come to pass in Israel…?” To find the answer to this question, one most rewind the story to the beginning. When you rewind the story to the beginning, you find there was one thing that led to one tribe missing in Israel. That one thing that happened was one person made a bad decision. That bad decision led to many people losing their lives.

The bad decision was made by a woman who left her husband to commit adulterous affairs. Her husband decided to go find her and bring her back home. In the process of bringing her home, he stayed at her father’s house who lived in a wicked city. The men of the city ended up taking her and abusing her throughout the night, and their abuse finally took her life. That incident led to her husband cutting up her body and sending it to the leaders of Israel. War broke out because of this event, and many lost their lives in this war. All of this happened because one person made a bad decision. It can never be stressed enough how one decision affects many others.

Years ago when I was a young child, my father started a church in Pueblo, Colorado. God seemed to bless this church from the beginning. Souls were saved and lives were changed because of this work. Sadly, one man became jealous and sowed discord among these young Christians. This discord led to a church split and many young Christians being disillusioned with Christianity. Today, the stories of most of the people who attended this church are sad. Lives were broken because of sin. Marriages ended in divorce. Children and grandchildren are living their lives in sin. When you rewind the story, you find it all started with one bad decision. One bad decision hurt many other lives.

If you were to rewind heartbreaking stories of broken lives, you will always find that it started with one bad decision. The drug addicted life started with one bad decision. The alcoholic life started with one bad decision. The broken marriage started with one bad decision. The life of crime started with one bad decision. The troubled life of sin started with one bad decision. Every bad result starts with one bad decision.

Friend, what decision have you made that is going to lead to heartbreak for many others? I know, you think yours won’t be like the stories above, but sin always ends up like these stories. You cannot make foolish decisions and it not affect the lives of others. Be very careful with all of your decisions. You never know the life-wrenching affects of each decision. Make your decisions prayerfully and carefully. Understand that each decision will influence many others. Make your decisions ones that will influence others for good. Instead of letting others rewind the bad, let them rewind the good and trace it back to you making good decisions.

Judges 5:7
“The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.”

In the current times in which we live, it seems that the role of an at-home mother has been attacked. The feminists groups have attacked this role. The poor economy has forced ladies to work to help pay the bills. Sadly, the feminization of men has also attacked the at-home mother.

When I think of my mother, I have many wonderful thoughts. My mother was always at home when I was home. Though she taught in the Christian school I attended, she was always at home rearing her children whenever they were home.

My wife has been a great mother to my daughter. When my wife and I got married, we determined that she would not have an outside job so that she could stay at home and rear our children. God blessed us with one child, and though at times we had to tighten our belts financially so my wife could stay at home with our daughter, it has been well worth it. There have been several women who have questioned my wife’s decision to be an at-home mother, but I appreciate her stand and how she has had a great influence on our daughter.

The story of Deborah is a story about an at-home mother. What is interesting about this story is that you can see the strength that comes from a mother. When many consider being an at-home mother a weakness, the Scriptures show us that it is a strength. You will find in the story of Deborah several strengths that an at-home mother can give.

First, an at-home mother will give security to her household. It was the act of Deborah that delivered Israel from bondage. A mother being at home will give security to a child that nothing else can. It’s always interesting that most children run to their mother when they have been hurt. Why? Because of the security a mother gives. A mother may not have the physical strength of a man, but she can give security to the home like no other.

Second, an at-home mother will keep the household spiritual. Deborah’s action brought Israel back to God. A spiritual mother will impact her children for right in a great way. Many of my good character traits were instilled in me because of my mother. Mothers who are at home will keep the children from getting caught up in bad things.

Third, at-home mothers will help cultivate a child’s talent. You will find in the story of Deborah that she knew how to sing, and she got others to sing with her. Mothers who are at-home have a better chance of honing the talents of their children.

Finally, an at-home mother will rally a home greater than anyone else can. It was Deborah who rallied the troops of Israel, and it is a mother who can get a home rallied for good causes. A mother who has the right spirit can rally the family for right.

This devotional is not here to belittle a lady who has to work to help pay bills, but it is written to praise the army of at-home mothers who help their home to be what it should be. It is also written to stir your memory about your mother. Today would be a good day to call your mother and thank her for all she did for you. Furthermore, today would be a good day for every husband to thank his wife for being a good mother to their children. You won’t always have your mother on Earth, so while you do have her, I encourage you to appreciate all that she does and regularly thank her for her influence on your life.

Joshua 19:9
“Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.”

Years ago when I was in high school, I worked for a small paper company that was family owned. At the end of the year, it was very common for the owner of the company to give a bonus to the employees for their hard work. Whenever he had extra money, he was sure to share it with those who helped him make money.

It’s interesting in the verse above that it says Judah’s land was “too much for them.” God had blessed Judah with more land than what they needed. So, instead of hoarding it all to themselves, they shared their inheritance with the children of Simeon. They understood that God’s blessings were not for them to keep to themselves, but to share with those who were without.

When you do right and obey God, you will always find that He will bless you with countless blessings. Luke 12:31 says, “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Notice, God says He will add unto you. Though life may not always be easy, if you do right God will bless it. The thing about God’s blessings is that He will always do more for you than what you do for Him. So, the more you give, the more God can bless you.

However, what do you do when your blessings become “too much?” I know, you may think that will never happen, but if you do right and God blesses you, you will be amazed at the amount of His blessings and how your outlook on what to do with those blessings will change. You will look at what God has given you and realize there are times when He gives “too much.”

When God gives “too much,” always remember that He didn’t give you that much for you to keep, but He gave you that much because He knew He could trust you to share it with others. This is where many people fail and quench God’s future blessings. God gave to you to share with others. There is only so much you can take for yourself. After that, you have too much. Let me encourage you to share your “too much” blessings with those who are without.

Furthermore, make it a rule of thumb in your life to share a little of all of your blessings with others. Don’t wait until you have “too much” to share, but share with all the blessings God gives to you. Remember Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you;…” If you share with what God blesses you with right now, then He will continue to bless you with more. The way to keep the faucet of God’s blessings open is to be a conduit from God to others. You don’t have to give all of what God has blessed you with to others, but you should make it a rule to give a percentage of what God has given you to others.

If you’re like me, I want God’s blessings on my life. I realize that I must earn God’s trust to keep those blessings coming, and the way to earn His trust is to share it with those who are without. The next time God blesses you with something, take a portion of that blessing and share it with someone else. You will find that doing so will cause God to give you more because of your attitude of sharing your blessings.

Deuteronomy 29:5
“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.”

One of the attributes of God’s leadership is how it leads to supply our needs. Throughout my life I am always amazed how the leadership of God led me to the daily provision I needed. Without following God’s leadership, I would have missed out on many blessings God had for me.

The children of Israel understood the providing leadership of God. For forty years they followed God’s leadership. Throughout those forty years, never one time did they have to purchase new clothing. For forty years they never went to a shoe store to purchase new shoes. For forty years they never worried from whence a meal would come. For forty years they had water to drink. As long as they followed God they had every need supplied.

God’s leadership is still in the providing business. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The promise of this verse is for you. It matters not what your need may be, as long as you follow the leadership of God, you will find that He will provide the provision for that need. There are some things you need to know to understand how to follow God’s providing leadership.

First, God always leads through His Word. Inside of the pages of the Word of God you will find many principles that will teach you how to get your needs provided. Oftentimes we think God has to give the material need to us; instead, He gives us the principle to obtain the material need ourselves. If you will daily spend time reading the Word of God, you will find that God has the answer for your need. Yes, you may have to do something to get it, but He shows you how to get it.

Second, God’s leadership to provision never leads you to go against the principles of His Word. Too many times we get anxious to get something, so we go against the principles of God’s Word and think that is how our needs will be provided. You will always find that though God’s principles may not seem to provide our needs, if you will follow them the need will be supplied. God will NEVER lead you to do wrong to supply your need. His leadership ALWAYS leads you to do right to meet your needs.

Third, God’s leadership to provision will always lead you to keep Him first. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If something promises to supply your need and it will cause you to have to put God second, then you can be assured that God is not in it. It’s amazing to me how many preachers are afraid to preach that God doesn’t provide needs by keeping you out of church. God always honors His Word. If God promises to provide your need by seeking Him first, then if you will seek Him first you’ll find your need supplied.

Christian, God’s leadership is not difficult. His leadership will always lead you to do right. When you follow the leadership of God and do right, you will find that you will never want for any need to be supplied.

Deuteronomy 9:1
“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,”

When you look at how Israel conquered Canaan, you would have to admit that it was an unbelievable task. Israel was a people who had no training ground for their military. They had no place to build fortresses in which to defend themselves. They went up against armies that were feared by everyone; yet, they did the unbelievable and conquered the land of Canaan.

In the verse above, God reminded them that they would go in an “possess nations greater and mightier” than they. God reminded them that they would have to go up against cities that had walls to defend themselves. Yet, God also reminded them that He was on their side, and that He would help them fight these great battles.

Christian, God can still do the unbelievable today. What the world thinks cannot be done can be done if a person will get God on their side. Just like Israel went in and conquered cities and nations mightier than they, you can conquer the unbelievable in your life if you will only believe that God can still do the unbelievable.

If you are going to do the unbelievable, then you are going to have to have faith in God. Verse 3 says, “Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee;…” When God tells you to do something, you must by faith trust God that He will do what He says He will do. It took faith for Israel to go up against these cities and nations. They were literally putting their lives on the line. That is great faith. You will never do the unbelievable if you don’t exercise faith. Faith will many times want you to put everything on the line, but you have to trust that God will come through. If there is no risk, then there is no faith, yet if God tells you to do something, then there truly is no risk in your faith for God will come through.

Second, you must take the first step before God helps you do the unbelievable. I know that is faith, but many times people believe God needs to do something first before they completely step out. God wants to see if you are all in. He wants to see if you truly have faith in Him. Once you are all in and take that first step of faith to attempt the unbelievable for God, then He will step in and make the unbelievable happen.

Finally, you will not have to attempt the unbelievable alone. If God told you to do something that seems unbelievable, then you can rest assured that He will be there with you. God told Israel in verse 3, “Understand…that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee;…” God did not let them go alone, He went with them. You never have to do the unbelievable alone, for if God told you to do it, He will be there with you to make it happen.

Christian, what is it that God has asked you to do that seems unbelievable? Always remember that God will never ask you to do something that He won’t provide the wherewithal to do. He will be there for you. All you have to do is have faith in Him and step out. Once you step out, you will find that God will come through.

Deuteronomy 2:3
“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

Years ago when I was a boy, the church my father pastored was in the hills of California. Our church was literally in a cow pasture. For many months all we had to drive on to get to our church that was on the top of a hill was a muddy cow trail. In the winter months when it rained a lot, it was a mess trying to get to the top of the hill. If you didn’t get a running start, you would slide back and many people would get stuck in the mud. If a person didn’t know how to drive in the mud, many times they would spin their tires to the point that they buried their car down to the axle. This was never a pleasant situation to get people out of, but we shoveled and pushed to get the car moving forward to help it get out of its rut.

For thirty-eight years the children of Israel were in a rut of compassing Mount Seir. They wandered in the wilderness of Seir for thirty-eight years, and they seemed to get no closer to God’s perfect will. Finally, in the verse above, God plainly told them they had “compassed the mountain long enough.” He told them it was time for them to move on. That mountain represented years of murmuring, disobedience and rejection of God’s will. It represented dissatisfaction and disloyalty to God’s man. The fact is, this mountain was a bad rut they found themselves in, and God wanted them to move on.

Christian, if you are not careful, you will get yourself into a rut in life that will cause you to spin your spiritual wheels for years. I have watched Christians get in a rut and go nowhere, when all they needed to do was move on and leave their situation behind. Instead of wallowing in the past, many Christians could see great victory in their life if they would just move on. If they would move on, great victory is ahead. If they would move on, God’s presence will be with them. If they would move on, they will find the joy and satisfaction of God’s perfect will.

What is your Mount Seir from which you need to move on? Is your Mount Seir a hurt from a church? Many people have walked around their Mount Seir of hurt, only to miss God’s perfect will for their life. You can’t let the hurt from a past church cause you to miss the blessings of the church you are in. While you continue to compass your Mount Seir, you completely miss out on the great victories ahead. If a church has hurt you, then it’s time to move on. If a pastor from the past has hurt you, it’s time to move on. If a Christian brother or sister has hurt you, it’s time to move on.

Maybe your Mount Seir is faithlessness to step out on what God wants you to do with your life. Many Christians have the greatest intentions of doing something for God, but a Mount Seir of money or a successful career has sidetracked them from seeing God’s blessings in their life. God’s will is not going to get any closer until you decide to move on.

Let me ask you, what is your Mount Seir? What is it in your life that has you stuck and spinning your spiritual wheels? Whatever it is, it’s time to move on. Before you are great victories that God desires to give you, but you will never experience them until you move on. I challenge you today to identify your Mount Seir, and once you identify it, move on from it to your Promised Land. If you will move on, then the greatest victories of your life are ahead.

Numbers 16:41
“But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.”

The longevity of an individual’s memory is amazingly short. I remember the days after the attack on America on September 11, 2001, how Americans were united against those who flew airplanes into the two towers in New York City. You would think American patriotism and the united front against those who attacked us would live a long time. Yet, as is always the case, the memory of what the enemy did to over 3,000 people was short lived. Americans quickly became disenchanted with the hunt for those who were responsible for these actions.

This seems to be the case with the verse above. Korah and his followers murmured against Moses about how much authority he took upon himself. God was not pleased with the disloyalty of these people and their murmuring, and killed them by having the Earth open up and swallow them. A week hadn’t even passed by when another group of people murmured against Moses and Aaron and accused them of killing Korah and his followers. You would think that these people would have learned their lesson. You would think that murmuring would be the furthest thing from their minds. Yet, their short term memory caused them to sin against God and ended up costing them their lives.

I’m afraid most of us are guilty of a short term memory. Oh, it may not always be in the same area, but we all tend to quickly forget the lessons that we should have learned from the mistakes of others. We see the results of what their mistakes caused, and we quickly forget and do the same thing ourselves. You need to be so careful not to have a short term memory from the lessons God allows you to learn from the lives of others.

Don’t have a short term memory concerning the result of sin. If you have seen someone else sin and have seen the consequences brought upon their life, be careful that you don’t forget sin’s payment. You, should always remember the consequences that sin brings. A short term memory concerning sins consequences will hurt you. You should make sure every time you consider committing some sin that you remember the consequences others paid for the same sin.

Moreover, don’t have a short term memory concerning handling finances. Many have grown up in homes where their parents didn’t handle their finances really well, and they saw the consequences of poor financial management. Let me encourage you not to have a short term memory in this area and learn to handle your finances wisely by saving money and spending in a wise fashion.

Furthermore, don’t have a short term memory concerning the good others have done for you. It’s amazing how many relationships struggle because people have a short term memory about the good of someone. You shouldn’t let someone’s shortcomings cause you to have a short term memory concerning the good things they’ve done for you. Always remember the good that people do for you when they fail to treat you properly.

Friend, a short term memory can cause you much heartache if you don’t get it under control. Be careful in these three areas that you keep a good memory. If you must, then write down reminders to remind you of these things. Don’t let lessons from others’ mistakes be wasted. Learn from them and remember those lessons for the remainder of your life so you don’t have to pay the same consequences.