Devotionals @ The Mount Church

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him much believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

Do you want to please God with your life?  If you are like me, the answer is a resounding “yes”!  And although there are many aspects of your life that will bring pleasure to God, there is one ingredient that, if missing, will guarantee that we will NOT please him.  That ingredient is faith.  It is the foundation of our relationship with God, and a necessary part of each walking with him.  But what exactly is faith?  The bible gives us a clear definition.  Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  That may sound like a crazy statement when you just read it out loud.  What kind of person can be confident that what he hopes for will actually happen?  Who can say that they are sure about things that he cannot see?  Well, the answer to that is…anyone who is exercising faith in their everyday life.

The book of Ephesians gives us an insight into what faith is and does. Here are 8 things that this book says about faith:

1. When we have faith, others will hear about it (Ephesians 1:15)
2. Faith is the power that opens the door to salvation (Ephesians 2:8)
3. Faith paves the way to approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)
4. Faith is the vehicle God uses through which to dwell in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17)
5. There is only one true faith (Ephesians 4:5)
6. Faith can unify us with other believers (Ephesians 4:13)
7. Faith can act as a shield for us to protect us from Satan’s flaming arrows (Ephesians 6:16)
8. God the Father and Jesus Christ provide us with the faith we need (Ephesians 6:23)

Isn’t it just like God to tell us the way to please him, and then provide the power (faith) to do so?  He is so good to us!  Now, as you look at your life, you may be thinking that you have a long way to go before you are fully pleasing to God.  And you are right.  We all have a long way to go–but each step we take in the right direction is also pleasing to him.  I have heard it said that faith is like a muscle…the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.  And I think this is true.  When we exercise our faith, and then see God act on our behalf, it makes us able to trust him for even more.  Then we see him do more, and we trust him even more.  It is a positive, upward cycle that he desires us to enter into.  Are you willing to take the chance?  Is there something that you can ask God for, and believe him for?  Why not try a 30 day experiment, and begin to pray in faith for God to act on your behalf in a way that will be clearly HIM.  Choose a request that you are sure is God’s will, but have no idea how it could happen outside of him.  Pray believing.  When you pray God’s will, you will receive what you ask!  Seek God in prayer and spend time in his word, at the same time ask him for a hunger and thirst to seek him diligently.  He will develop in you what you are seeking.  Do not be discouraged because you are not presently practicing everything God desires for you.  The Christian life is a process, and we are all in it.  Keep asking and trusting, and you will believe him for even more!

This is how you please God.  You trust him to take care of you, answer your prayers, and live like you believe it.  Revelation 4:11 says “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (KJV)  All of creation is here to please God.  Our very lives were created to please God.  If the chief purpose of our lives is to please God, then the primary means to such a valuable end is faith.  That is our part of the bargain.  God’s part is to reward those who believe him and seek him.  It is an experiment worth trying.  Our lives will never be the same!

prayer

Dear Father, we so want to please you.  We have no way to do this except through our lives.  Such a tiny offering…but you can make this gift one that pleases you and reflects your power and grace to the world.  Would you meet us where we are and give us the faith it takes to trust you in even small ways?  Would you allow us to trust you for even bigger things as we walk with you?  Thank you that you love us and that we can trust you to answer this prayer because we pray it in faith.  In Christ’s name,  Amen.

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.  With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 5:1-2

As a parent, I have always found it helpful to have “negative examples” to point to for my children to learn from.  Unfortunately, there are usually plenty to choose from as I look around our society.  And scripture is also replete with examples, as it records events in society’s history.  Such is the case with the story of Ananais.  He was a man who wanted to give money to God’s work.  He may not look bad from the outside.  In fact, he looks pretty good!  He voluntarily sold his own property, and brought most of the money to the disciples.  What was bad about that?

Ananais’ mistake was what he did between the lines in verse 2.  Although it is not written out, it is largely assumed that Ananais told the disciples that he was giving the entire price of the property to the church.  He was lying.  And the Holy Spirit revealed this truth to Peter.

Then Peter said, “Ananais, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?  And after it was sold, wasn’t that money at your disposal?  What made you think of doing such a thing?  You have not lied to men but to God.”

Acts 5:3-4

As Peter said, the money belonged to Ananais.  It was his to do with as he pleased.  And it was a common practice at this time for Christian land owners to sell a piece of land, give the money to the disciples, and they in turn gave the money to those who were in need (Acts 4:34-35).  Would it have been a sin for Ananais to keep his money?  Would it have been bad for him to keep a portion of it for himself?  No.  Peter said that it was his to keep.  His mistake was that he lied to the disciples in order to look like a “better” person than he was.  He was a selfish man (keeping some of the money for himself), and he was a prideful man (telling others he was giving all the money so that they would admire him).  And he was a dishonest man as he lied to the disciples, but worse yet, to the Holy Spirit.  All of this showed how little he understood about God.  Did he think that he could fool God?  Did he think that having man’s approval was more important than God’s?  He obviously did not know that God is all-knowing and nothing gets past his understanding.  He also did not understand that walking in a manner worthy of the Lord is much more desirable than pleasing man.  We can never live a life that will “impress” God.  We are sinners in need of a savior, and only Christ’s righteousness can make us acceptable to God.  But living a life that seeks to please him and flee from sin is to be chosen far above living to impress those around us.  All else is futile.

Ananais also gives us a very negative example of how a man should lead his wife.  A Godly man will seek to encourage his wife in her walk with God.  He will live out examples of how Christ loves the church.  He will always lead her in truth, and will protect her in everything that he does.  Ananais did none of this.  He led his wife into sin.  Verse 2 says that his wife had “full knowledge” of the lie he was about to tell.  He caused her to become a part of the lie, and to suffer the same consequence that he did.

When Ananais heard this, he fell down and died.  And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.  Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.  About three hours later is wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  Peter asked her, ‘Tell me, is this the price you and Ananais got for the land?’  ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that is the price.’  Peter said to her, ‘How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?  Look!  The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.’  At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.

Acts 5:5-10

A real man should be more concerned with God’s opinion over man’s.  A real man should lead his wife through his Godly example and encourage her to walk with God in obedience.  A real man is a man of his word who understands who God is and desires to please him.  Ananais did not leave us a positive example to follow.  He is not a man that we would want to emulate.  But we can look at his negative example and learn from that.  We can pattern our lives to look different from his, and the result will definitely be an improvement!

make it real

Examine your life.  Look at your motives.  Are you seeking to please God with your life, or are you more concerned with what other men think of you?  Are you honest with God?  Remember that he knows everything anyway-to try to hide truth from him is impossible.  If you are married, are you leading your wife in grace and truth?  Are you seeking to protect her by your words and actions?  Seek to please God in all these ways through the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

prayer

Heavenly Father, teach us what it means to be real men.  Help us to remember that you are the one in charge, and help us to please you in all that we do.  Thank you, Lord, for negative examples that we can learn from.  Help us to be positive examples as we walk with you.  In Jesus’ name,  Amen.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.  He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.  He remembers his covenant forever…

1 Chronicles 16:12-15

As individual writers we have been asked to write about what we have been learning recently.  I have been in a bible study this fall written by Beth Moore.  It is entitled “Believing God”, and I want to share what I have learned from the lessons two weeks ago.  It is all about remembering.  We find in scripture references to man remembering what God has said to him, and references of God remembering his promises to man.  As I read those verses, I asked myself (along with Beth Moore), “Does God really forget?” Genesis 8:1 says “God remembered Noah and all the animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.”  Had God forgotten all about Noah as he floated over the flooded earth?  Wouldn’t you hope that after God commanded Noah to build that ark and put all the animals in it, it would not have slipped his mind after the flood?

As I read and studied the scriptures given in the lesson, it was clear that God’s “remembering” was very different than ours.   As strange as it sounds, God’s remembering is not preceded by forgetting.  His remembering is more a matter of giving attention to someone or something, and it is almost always followed by some action.  God remembers Noah, and then sends a wind to dry the land (Genesis 8:1).  God remembers Rachel and then opens her womb (Genesis 30:22).  God remembers his covenant with Israel and promises to set them free from slavery (Exodus 6:5, 6).  God remembers the Israelites as they battle in war and promises to rescue them from the enemy (Numbers 10:9).  And although he will never forget us as it says in Isaiah 49:15-16, there may be times in our lives when we feel like he has.  He has not.  He is waiting for the best time to act on our behalf.  Almost every time we read of God remembering, we then read of a subsequent action on his part.  He does not forget us.  He takes note of us and acts.  That is a comfort indeed!

But God can forget….or should I say “choose not to remember”.  Isaiah 43:25 says “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  Of course, for all of us, this is great news!  I am not sure how this works–whether God really cannot remember my sin anymore, or whether he cannot see it anymore because it is under the blood of Christ and behind the finished work of the cross.  Truthfully, I do not care which way it is.  I am just thankful that this is the truth: that he does not hold me accountable for my sin any longer, and I have had my transgressions blotted out by God.  This truth is one that we should never forget.  But our enemy would like nothing better than for us to lose sight of this and live in defeat and guilt from our sin.  Ask God to burn this truth in your mind and write it on your heart so that no matter what has happened in your life, you can experience victory as a clean, forgiven child of God.

God remembers his people.  He acts on their behalf in times of need.  God remembers their sin no more.  He has washed us spotless with the blood of Christ.  These are two truths that we can hold on to and stand on when Satan tries to convince us of the opposite.  If we live our lives believing and acting like we believe these things, we will have assurance and confidence in the face of hard times and accusations.  God wants us to remember who he is and what he has done for us.  So, don’t forget!

make it real

1. Are you sure that God has forgiven you for your sin, or are you listening to lies from Satan?
2. Do you believe that God is always with you and ready to act on your behalf, or have you believed the lie that he does not care and has forgotten you?
3. Write out Isaiah 43:25 on an index card and put it in a place where you can read it often.

prayer

Dear Father, thank you that you have forgiven my sins–even ones that I have not committed yet. Thank you that you choose not to remember my sins against me any longer, and you do not see my sin when you see me.  Thank you that they are hidden beneath the blood of Christ. And Lord, remind me that you do remember me at all times, even when it feels like you are far away. Let me see and believe that you are waiting to act on my behalf as you take note of my life and struggles. Help me to rest in the fact that you are an omnipotent God and I am your child.  I love you,  Amen.

Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees.  The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?”  He replied, “I heard you, so I hid.  I was afraid…”

Genesis 3:8-10

From the beginning of time it has been God’s desire and plan to have fellowship with us.  Even though we have been born as sinners and do not experience the same kind of fellowship that Adam did, it is great to know that this is God’s plan for us.  He desires to talk to us, and for us to listen to him.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to be Adam and live in the garden in God’s very presence?  Imagine what it would be like for God to call you by name and walk with you in the garden, enjoying a conversation about your day. Can you put yourself in that role?  It may be hard, but that is what God wanted for us from the beginning.  And even though we may not physically walk with him in the garden, we still can communicate with him throughout our day.

do you have your listening ears on?

That is a phrase I often heard in the elementary classrooms I was in.  But it is a great question to ask ourselves as we look to have communication with God.  Obviously those of us who have functioning ears can hear.  But do we always listen?  And what does it sound like to hear from God?  How can we be sure it is him we are listening to?

First of all, Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 says, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” We are commanded to listen to God.  So, if he commands us to do something, he will always make it possible for us to do.  1 John 5:14 tells us that.  Listening to his voice involves two different aspects.  One is spending time in his word.  When we spend time reading and meditating on the Word of God, his holy spirit opens our eyes (or should I say our ears) to his will.  We can read and understand his ways, and apply the scriptures to our lives.  The second way we hear him is by being attentive to his “voice” in our hearts.  God will speak (not audibly) to us in our inner man.  He will confirm truth to us, or warn us of evil, or give us his peace when we need it.  In fact, his spirit is always communing with our willing hearts.  Our problem is that we get so busy we fail to stop and listen to him.  This is a great ploy of Satan in our lives.  We can allow ourselves to become so overrun with activities (even good ones) that we never settle down to hear his still, small voice.  We miss what he has for us as we race through the frenzy of life.  Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”, and in that stillness he communicates his truth into our lives.  How often do we miss it?

tell it like it is

Sometimes I think about the fact that God knows everything-even my thoughts-and I wonder just why I need to pray.  Why do I need to tell him something that he already knows?  As a parent, I know that even though I knew some of the needs of my children before they spoke them, I wanted to hear them.  I may have known that they were thankful for something, but I wanted to hear those words.  Why?  Because they are my children and I want to have connection to them.  I want them to need me and come to me.  I want them to thank me for the things that I do for them.  Not because I am insecure or need my ego to be fed.  No, it is because I love them and they are mine.  I want them to be tied to me all their lives.

That is how God feels about us.  He wants us to have that secure connection with him.  He wants us to talk to him.  But we need to realize that there is a prerequisite to having this communication with God.  It is that there is nothing, no sin, between us and him.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.”  Sin short circuits our fellowship with God, and gets in the way of our prayers.  We must make sure that our sin is confessed if we want our prayers to be unhindered.  (1 John 1:9 assures us that our confessed sin will be forgiven).

Now that our sin is out of the way, just what do we talk to God about?  In a word, “everything”.  God wants to hear about our day.  He wants to listen to our struggles and victories.  He wants us to ask him for our needs.  He wants to be in on everything.  Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”   And Mathew 7:7, 8 says “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.  Keep on looking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”  So, sometimes his answers are not immediate, but they will come.  Our job is to talk to him.  His job is to answer in his time.  Our job is to listen to him.  His job is to speak to our hearts when we are quietly listening.  When all this is accomplished, we have a deeper relationship with him, and true communication.  After all, that was his plan all along.

prayer

Lord, we do want to talk to you.  Teach us to confess our sins so that nothing interferes with our prayers.  We want to listen to you.  Teach us to be still and quiet before you so that we can hear your Spirit in our hearts.  Lord, we wish it was not so hard for us to communicate with you.  Teach us to look to and long for the time that we will see you face to face.  With that hope, give us the grace to walk and talk with you daily.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

We are his sheep.  That is what the scripture says.  So, I decided that I needed to know a little more about sheep.  Never having lived on (or near) a farm, I had to trust the internet for my information.  It came through for me, with several insightful websites.  I am sure that when these verses were written, no research was needed for their interpretation.  Everyone knew what a sheep was like and how it lived.  Everyone knew the significance of the comparison.  But in our urban society we are not that informed.  So, I will share just a few points of what I learned about sheep.

in need of protection

Sheep are not fighters.  Their instinct is to run when threatened.  They are, however, very aware of their predators.  They do not walk in straight lines when they travel so that they can keep and eye out behind them.  They stay in large groups so that a predator would find it hard to attack.  But they are in need of protection.  They need a shepherd to fight off their attackers and lead them to safety.  Jesus says in Matthew 9:36 that he is aware of our need.  He describes the crowds as sheep without a shepherd.  They were vulnerable to attack, and unable to defend themselves.  But he himself is the one that will protect the sheep.  In John 10:11-15 he says “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.  So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.  Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  We as sheep need his protection in this world.  And he promises that he will lay his life down for us.

in need of direction

Sheep, I learned, are natural followers.  That may not be bad if the leader is going in the right direction.  But sheep will follow their leader, regardless of if he knows where he is going or not.  In fact, my website said that sheep will follow their leader right off and cliff, if that is where they are led.  But sheep also have excellent hearing.  They can turn their ears in the direction of sound and can hear threats of predators, or recognize the voice of their shepherd.  Again, this was not “new” information when the bible was written.  Isaiah 53:6 says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…”.  We want to be led.  We are lost and confused.  We need to know that our shepherd is there for us.  And he is.  John 10:27-30 says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”  He is there for us.  He speaks to us and gives us direction.  We hear  and recognize his voice.  We are loved and protected in his hands.  We have sure direction and security in his care.

in need of a steady hand

Have you ever heard of a “cast” sheep?  I had not until I did my research.  It seems that even though sheep have good eyesight, they have poor depth perception.  This means that when they are on uneven ground, they can easily fall.  If the sheep is covered with heavy wool, he can roll over onto his back and be unable to right himself.  This is a cast sheep.  Immediately his heart will begin to beat wildly, and if he is not rescued in a short amount of time, he can die.  Isn’t this just like us at times?  We find ourselves on uneven ground due to our choices or circumstances, and before we know it we have fallen and have been pulled over onto our backs.  We are helpless to upright ourselves.  We need our shepherd to rescue us and set us on our feet again.  The article I read said that after setting the sheep on his feet again, the shepherd holds the sheep still and steady for a while, before letting his go to walk on his own.  Don’t we desperately need his steady hand in our lives?  Isn’t he kind to hold us still for a while after we have fallen, to make sure we are ready to step out on our own again?  What a good shepherd we have!  Where would we be without him?

make it real

1. Have you tried to fight your own battles with predators instead of allowing the Good Shepherd to protect you?
2. Have you listened to any other voice other than your shepherd’s?  Have you found yourself following the wrong sheep in the wrong direction?
3. Have you lost your footing on the uneven ground of life?  Are you calling for your shepherd to set you right?
4. Have you thanked your good shepherd for the protection and direction that he offers you?  Are you waiting to follow him and listen only to his voice?

prayer

Jesus, I thank you for being my shepherd.  Thank you that you laid down your life for me and because of that, I can belong to you forever.  Thank you for your tender care and watchful eye in my life.  Thank you that you will always lead me to pleasant pastures to graze.  And thank you that I can always depend on you to help me when I stumble and fall in the difficult times in my life.  Help me to wait on you, listen for your voice, and walk beside you throughout my life.  Amen.