God had set Israel apart for a higher purpose, but instead their actions would make them a common people who did not know the Lord. Instead, God said, “They set up alters to sacrifice on, but they were alters of sin.” They set aside God’s Word to follow false teachers, who would lead them far from the truth. That’s why God’s Word became a strange thing to them. The Word of God was alien to them. They thought it didn’t apply to them and that it was written for someone else.
How many times do we sit in church and think, “Boy, my husband or my wife needs to hear this message?” Or maybe it’s your boss, neighbor, or kids. We need to understand that God’s Word is for us first.
We need to first apply God’s Word to our lives, hide it in our hearts, and allow God to change us by His truth. Then we can rightly give it out to others. God’s Word should be a familiar thing to us, not a strange or foreign thing, given to us by our Heavenly Father, who has set us apart for a higher purpose.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Often times the biggest opposition we face comes from people within the church who are serving for all the wrong reasons. John writes of such a person, a man named Diotrephes. He was a disgruntled person. He was a person who loved his position. He loved to be first. He loved to have his name out there and wanted it to be attached to everything. He was hungry for a title and not being a servant of the Lord.
We need to make sure when we are serving the Lord, it is not for a title, it is only for the Lord. The only title that we should have is bondservant.
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
A plumb line is a line or cord with a weight on the end held up next to an object to see if it’s standing straight. God’s Word is the plumb line for His people and it contains His inflexible standard of right and wrong – spiritually, morally, nationally, and religiously.
If God were to set His perfect line against our lives, how would we fare? I think we all know the answer to that question. That is why the purpose of God’s Word is to not only show us where we lack but to drive us to Jesus, our only hope for righteousness. So get into God’s Word today and find the beauty of His Son on every page.
Only Jesus can set me straight,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
I’m always amazed at the blessings the Lord bestows upon me. I know it’s because of His love for me and not my goodness. That’s what makes the promise above so amazing. He will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly.
None of us are perfect, of course, but we walk uprightly by just abiding with Jesus and having our sins cleansed by Him. If we do that, the Lord promises NO good thing will He hold back.
You might think this promise isn’t true for you, but that might be because we sometimes confuse our wants and our needs. There’s isn’t anything we need God holds back, but sometimes that isn’t enough for us. We want constant happiness based on circumstances, instead of everlasting joy based on God’s love.
We worship an awesome God who knows how to give gifts to His children. May you remember that today and walk uprightly in Him.
Pastor Ron Kitchell
I heard someone once say that as Christians we need to realize that we are truly looking to please an audience of One. I have found that to be so true in my life. It is only when I get my eyes off the Lord and seek to make everyone happy that I fail in all counts. Fear of man, as we read here, can bring a snare to us. Yet to trust the Lord alone will keep me safe from compromise or people-pleasing. Today, remind yourself your interest is really in serving an audience of One. Please Him and you will never fall into a snare.
My Lord, the audience of One!
Pastor Jack Abeelen
Jesus concluded with these words as He finished telling the parable of the laborers which begins in verse 1 of this chapter. Jesus used this parable about a landowner to illustrate the kingdom of God. The time of the parable is a single workday, and at various times throughout the day the landowner goes to the marketplace to seek out workers for his vineyard and puts them to work. Some were hired first thing in the morning, while others were hired very near the end of working hours. When it came time to pay the workers, the landowner paid them, starting with the workers who came the latest and ending up with those who arrived first. The workers who worked the least were given a day’s wage, causing the workers who worked the most hours to expect a greater wage for the day, but they were paid a day’s wage as agreed upon when they hired on. They were quite upset and murmured against the landowner at their perceived inequity. The landowner answered one of them by saying, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a [day’s wage]?” (Matthew 20:13).
This parable presents a wonderful illustration of the heart of God. Some people give their lives to the Lord at an early age and serve the Lord for a lifetime, while others may not be brought into the kingdom until a very advanced age. God’s heart is for the lost, and He sent His Son Jesus so that by His grace anyone can be saved at any point in their lives thereby assuring their eternal destiny with God. God joyfully accepts anyone who at any point in their life turns to Him, each receiving the same adoption into His family and eternal life with Him. Perhaps you have witnessed to an older person who has said that it is too late for them to come to the Lord because of all the sin over the course of their life. That is not the heart of God; His calling is to all and the heavenly reward is the same for the latecomers as it is for those who come to Him at an early age.
Jeff Mericle
So much about living the Christian life is about proper perspective. When our eyes are opened to the truths of the Lord and we see things for how they are, we are overjoyed that Jesus saved us. However, being attached to this body of flesh, we still have desires that have to be bridled because it’s easy for our flesh to increase unhealthy desire for the things of this world.
In this proverb, we are reminded of what brings greater value to the quality of life we have on this earth. It’s far better to know Jesus than to have a ton of money and possessions that usually end up causing more strife than life. It is better to eat a can of beans with people you love than to enjoy the finest of foods with people who can’t stand you.
It’s all about perspective and what we learn in the New Testament is that Jesus gives us everything we need to fill our souls with things that bring joy and eternal blessing. Yes, there are some very nice things in this world, but all of that stuff always lets you down and doesn’t feed your soul.
Totally satisfied with Jesus,
Pastor Jason Witt
I have heard a lot of people talk about what brings them anxiety. Paul is commanding us here to be anxious for nothing or better yet don’t be troubled with cares. You’d be wrong to think God is not concerned about what makes you anxious. Paul tells us to give it to God. Open the line of communication with God by prayer and with supplication, ask God to do something.
Jesus commands us in Matthew 6:25 not to worry about life. The word worry here is a different word than the one in Philippians, but also means to be anxious. Being anxious removes us from being a child of the house to being the father of the house. A position that, as children of God, belongs to God.
So make your request known to God. Tell Him everything, big or small. Because the verse that follows says “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts…” (Philippians 4:7).
Joshua Navarro
In the book of Lamentations, we find the people of Israel engulfed in despair. Their future appears to be without hope. Overtaken and headed for the unknown, sorrow seems to be the only thing left to express. Yet, in the midst of the storm, a ray of truth beams brightly through the darkness, as this verse testifies.
Like the Israelites, you and I can find ourselves held captive by overwhelming circumstances, with our physical resources exhausted and our plans in ruins. Know this; “through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.”
God’s love, goodness, forgiveness, and faithfulness are fresh this and every morning. His compassion toward you has no limits, neither by time nor amount of need.
We live in a world filled with broken promises and disappointment, a world filled with people who are unfaithful, including ourselves. Isn’t it satisfying to know that we are never without the faithful mercies and compassions of our God? Today, let’s take a moment to thank Him and exclaim, “Great is Your faithfulness!”
Jeff Deal
God is so good at revealing Himself to us, and many times He uses pictures and examples so that we don’t miss the things He wants us to see. Here God will use Hosea’s home, his marriage, and children to show the people of Israel His heart toward those He calls His own. Hosea is told by the Lord, “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry” who would bear “children out of her harlotry.” He was to marry a woman who would sell herself to others. She would then forsake the one who loves her most. This was a picture of what God’s children were doing.
We aren’t told how Hosea felt about all of this, but we know that when he entered into this marriage, he understood what was ahead. He saw it as a calling and he made the decision to obey the Lord in it. It wouldn’t be easy for him; his home and marriage wouldn’t be a place of comfort or blessing. His heart would be broken again and again, but he went into this knowing that God was with him.
It’s a great picture of how we can and should serve the Lord in whatever place or situation He has sent us. As we rely upon the Lord’s power and the Spirit of God in us, our service will reveal God’s heart of love toward us and to others as well.
Pastor Doug Hardin
