Seven Days of Devotion
The Captain
"Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." |
In Luke 5 we find the story of Jesus using a floating pulpit of sorts. The crowds were pressing in on Him to such an extent that He asked Peter if He could borrow his boat to speak to them. Peter agreed, and so Jesus launched out a little from the shore and spoke to this group. After He was done, He said to Peter, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
Peter said, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." Peter used a unique nautical term in his response to Jesus, which could be translated, "We have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless Master, or Captain of this boat, we will do it."
Jesus was what we would call a landlubber. He was not a guy who spent time on the water. He was a rabbi. So when He said, "Let's go fishing," Peter might have been saying, "You know, Lord, with all due respect, when it comes to teaching, You are the Man. But this is kind of our thing. This is what we do. We know the way fish bite, and we know when to go and when not to go. We have already been fishing. This is a waste of time."
I don't know how Peter said what he said to Jesus or the tone he used. But I know this much: when they launched out into the deep, there were so many fish in their nets that they began to break and the boat began to sink. Another boat was brought up, and it was overwhelmed with fish as well.
Is Jesus the Captain of your boat?
Let Him be that for you. Let Him take control.
MONDAY
Are You Prepared?
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. |
When the first Christmas came, when Jesus was born, most people missed it. Of course, there were no telltale signs like reindeer on front lawns. No Christmas songs had been written. There were no colorful, twinkling lights or sales at the downtown market. Children did not find it hard to sleep that night, because it was a night like any other night.
But the first Christmas was not without its signs, which dated back a few centuries. The Hebrew prophets had predicted the Messiah was coming, and they were very specific in pointing out that he would be born of a virgin in the little village of Bethlehem: " 'But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting' " (Micah 5:2).
On the first Christmas, it was pretty much business as usual. Things had been bleak for the Jewish people for some time. There had been an icy silence from heaven. Four hundred years had passed, and there had not been a single prophet to speak for God. There had been no miracles performed. They were under the tyranny of Rome. Things were very dark. It was time for the Messiah.
Yet when He finally arrived, so many missed it: The innkeeper. The people of Bethlehem. The scholars. Herod. All of Rome. Only a handful of people got it and were ready.
Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth again. The question is, have we done more to prepare for the celebration of a past event than we have for a future one? We may all be ready for Christmas, but are we ready for the return of Christ?
TUESDAY
What God Knows about You
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
—Psalm 56:8
Scientists now tell us that we never forget anything. It is estimated that in a lifetime, the human brain can store one million billion bits of information. I have a hard time believing that, because it seems like I forget a lot. Yet there have been times when certain things have triggered memories that go back so many years, and I am surprised that I can still remember them so vividly.
God remembers everything—at all times. There is never a lapse in His memory. He never forgets someone. God is omniscient, which means He knows everything. God's knowledge is as eternal as He is. What God knows now, He has always known and always will know. God doesn't learn new things; He knows them from the beginning. And He doesn't forget what He has learned like we do. We learn new things, but God never does.
The Bible says that God knows about every little bird that falls to the ground. And not only that, He knows about you. Jesus said, "The very hairs on your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:30). Now it doesn't require a lot to number the hairs on my head. But for others, it is a lot more work.
This awesome God who created the universe is interested in you. What bothers you? What concerns you? What brings heartache to you? What brings tears to your eyes? It is of concern to God. So whatever you are facing right now, He knows about it. He is concerned about it. He is aware of the wrongs that are done in our world today. Nothing catches Him by surprise, because He dwells in the eternal realm. He knows the end from the beginning. This all-knowing God loves you. And He welcomes you into fellowship with Him.
WEDNESDAY
Always God
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. |
Before there was a world, before there were planets, before there was light or darkness, before there was anything but the Godhead, there was Jesus, a member of the Trinity. He is coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was with God, and He was God. Then He came to this earth as a man. He entered our world, He breathed our air, He shared our pain, and He walked in our shoes—and then some. He lived our life, and then He died our death.
Jesus did not become identical with us; He became identified with us. That is an important distinction. No one was ever more identified with humanity than Jesus. It was total identification without any loss of identity. He became one of us without ceasing to be himself. He became human without ceasing to be God. Jesus did not exchange deity for humanity; He was deity in humanity.
The Bible is clear in making the point that Jesus was God and that He was the Creator of the universe. We are told that "God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him" (John 1:3). And Colossians 1:16 tells us, "For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him."
Jesus is the most controversial figure who has ever lived. Many preach on Him and speak about Him. Some have it right. Some don't. He is loved, adored, worshipped, and followed by some. He is hated, despised, and rejected by others. He is disregarded and ignored by most. Yet Jesus is God.
THURSDAY
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
—Romans 10:14
Sometimes people ask me why I do what I do. I have a very simple answer to that question, which is that I really do believe the things that we read in the Bible are true.
For example, I really believe what the Bible says about our lives being "a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14). I really believe there is an eternity, there is an afterlife, there is a heaven, and there is a hell. I really believe that only those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will go to heaven. And I also believe that I need to share this message with as many people as possible.
I received the following letter from someone who came to Christ at one of our Harvest Crusades some years ago:
My younger brother went to sleep one night and never woke up. He was 23 years old, and he had just graduated from college. He moved to Philadelphia after he graduated... I found out the Harvest Crusade was coming to Philadelphia, so I took my younger brother with me to hear the gospel. He was not yet a believer. He went forward at the invitation and gave his life to Christ, and God called him home... one month after his commitment to Christ. My brother lives today because of your ministry... he is in the arms of Jesus, and that's where I will meet him again.
That is why I do what I do. That is why I want to get the gospel out. And that is why we were placed on this earth: to come into a relationship with God, to know Him, and to glorify Him with our lives.
FRIDAY
The Holy Spirit's Work
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me.
—John 16:7-8
It is sometimes hard for us to grasp the fact that the Holy Spirit is a Him, not an it. After all, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a mighty rushing wind. We read of His coming upon the disciples in a divided flame of fire. We also read about His descending as a dove.
But let's remember that Jesus is called the Bread of Life, and the Father is described as a refuge, hiding us under the shadow of His wings. Does that mean that Jesus is a loaf of bread—or that the Father is a giant bird in heaven? Of course not. These are simply metaphors to help us understand God.
The Holy Spirit is a Him, and He has specific work that He wants to do. This includes convicting us of our sin—not necessarily sin in general, but to show us that we are sinners. The Holy Spirit takes the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus, shows us it is true, and shows us that we need to turn to God. Without the convicting power of the Spirit, you would never have come to Jesus. That is why, when I am praying for an unbeliever, I pray that God would convict him or her by His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of our sin to drive us to despair, but to send us into the open arms of Jesus. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:37 says that the people "were cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37). This phrase means "pierced in the heart" and describes something that is sudden and unexpected. The Holy Spirit will stab you, in effect, but it is not to destroy you. It is to show you your need for Jesus.
SATURDAY
Lying to God
Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
—Matthew 26:49
The worst kind of sin is the kind committed by someone who doesn't think he really is a sinner. It was Cicero who said, "Of all villainy, there is none more base than that of the hypocrite, who at the moment he is most false, takes care to appear most virtuous."
Think for a moment about a garden-variety sinner. Then think of someone who attends church every week. Is it possible that a person in the church pew could be in worse shape than a garden-variety sinner? It is possible. Here's how: If the person who is an unbeliever recognizes that fact, there is hope that one day he or she will come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, turn from a sinful lifestyle, and believe in Jesus. But the person who attends church every week with no intention of responding to what he or she is hearing is actually a hypocrite.
It is better to just be what you are. It is better to say, "I am not into this. I don't believe in this. I don't care about this . . . " than to pretend to be spiritual when you are not. God hates hypocrisy.
This doesn't mean that you won't be inconsistent at times. It doesn't mean that you won't fall short at times. We all have had moments of hypocrisy. But a hypocrite is someone who wears a mask, someone who pretends to be someone they really are not.
The hypocrite extraordinaire, if you will, was Judas Iscariot. When he betrayed Jesus, he did so with a kiss. He could have just pointed and said, "There is Jesus. My job is done." But he kissed Him. At the moment when he appeared to be the most virtuous, he was the most sinful. And that is lying to God.
THE WEEKLY WORD WITH GREG LAURIE
Can be found here:
http://theweeklywordgreglaurie.blogspot.com/
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This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, a ministry of Michael James Stone, Volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them..Reading these will help you to prepare daily for life. You will hear God Speak To You thru them. Jesus is Coming Very Soon.
