Combat Ready Devotional #5

And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”

Exodus  19:5, 6

A Holy Nation

God wanted the nation of Israel to be Holy and follow God’s plan for them. All they had to do is keep the words of His covenant. Which, obviously, was very hard for them to do since they really didn’t keep it. But, I thank God for His grace that He showed to them and to us.

Today, we aren’t living under the Old Covenant anymore. We live under the New. We don’t have to sacrifice animals anymore for forgiveness of sins. Jesus has already shed His blood for us. He has written His law on our hearts. But, God still wants us to keep His words. He wants us to live them out. He wants us to love others as He has loved us. He still wants us to keep His covenant. And, by doing so we too will become a holy people and a kingdom of Priests.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

Combat Ready Devotional #4

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’”

Exodus 14:12

Serve The LORD

The Israelites had a narrow vision. They didn’t see what God saw. They were happy being servants in Egypt, at least they had all the food they can eat and all the water and wine they can drink. Life wasn’t too bad for them, or so they thought. They didn’t want to go through the process of God eliminating their bad habits so they can serve Him instead of Egypt. They didn’t want to be a holy nation. They didn’t want God so God allowed them to die in the desert.

God has great plans for you even though you can’t see it. To realize these plans you have to be torn away from serving the wrong master. This is a painful experience. It’s easy to see why the Israelites complained. We want the best of what this world has to offer. But, God wants to offer you the best of the next world. To get that, you must put aside everything that gets in the way of you serving Him alone. Don’t look back. Trust in God.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

Refined By Fire … Who is Zephaniah?

I have recently learned how to pan for gold. It is a slow, and yet, exhilarating process. Finding that tiny piece of gold is kind of nice. What I find most interesting about gold is it never loses its form. When gold is burned it doesn’t go away. It only becomes more pure.

My first gold panning experience in Church Creek, Redding, CA

When I was learning to pan for gold I was told that they used to use mercury to find gold. Mercury would attach itself to gold so it would be easier to extract. To detach the mercury, you just burn the gold. It’s a faster process but mercury is poisonous to humans so it’s probably not the best process.

I was recently reading the Old Testament book of Zephaniah. Yes, that is in the Bible, I’m not making it up. It’s the fourth to last book of the Old Testament. I mean, who really reads these books anyways?

It turns out to be a pretty good book. Zephaniah preaches against Judah, Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt and the rest of the Middle Eastern countries. He is saying that they all will be destroyed for their wickedness. Guess what? It came to pass. All those countries ended in ruin, and a foreign nation—Greece—conquered and ruled the entire region. A local nation wouldn’t come back into power for hundreds of years later.

Then and Now

What is interesting is that Zephaniah is a two-fold prophecy. That is, it applies to the people of his time as well as the end times. How do I know that? Well, the book talks about the Day of the Lord. This, of course, is about what already occurred but also in reference to the time when Jesus returns a second time.

Jesus referenced Zephaniah in Matthew 25:31, 32 and John referenced it in Revelation 14:5. Both of these New Testament passages are talking about the second coming of Jesus, which is the end of this world. Peter tells us that the end of this world will be destroyed in fire (2 Peter 3:10) so does Zephaniah. Peter also says, “Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). It turns out that we are like that precious gold that needs to be burned to be pure. The question is, what needs to be burned off?

Burn Me?

In Zephaniah, the problem was idolatry. Idolatry is not just the worshipping of objects. It is mainly about manipulation. Manipulating the gods (or God) to get what you want. It is about selfishness and greed. No wonder Paul says Idolatry is greed (Col 3:5). Our modern-day idolatry is greed, or, I like to call it manipulating God to get what you want.

Sometimes, we tend to use God to get what we want instead of what He desires for us. We pray and pray and pray to get what we want and, like little babies, throw a fit when we don’t get it. We get mad at God. We threaten to stop going to church and stop reading our Bibles if He doesn’t give us what we want. I’m sorry my friends, but that is the heart and soul of idolatry. Modern day idolatry!

Yes, Please Make Me Pure

Be ready to be refined by fire. You can’t make it into heaven living an idolatrous life. You must have that part of you burned off. It may be painful but it is worth it. Here are some steps that might help you:

1. Understand what idolatry is.

2. Ask yourself, “Am I being greedy? Am I doing this for God or myself?”

3. Stop asking for selfish things in your prayers. Instead ask for God’s will to be done in your life.

4. Remind yourself daily of the need to get rid of idols in your life.

5. Ask God to use you to share this message and help others get rid of their own idols.

Sticks and stones will break your bones…

“My aim is to know him [Jesus], to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10, 11

Importance of the resurrection (Photo credit: Martin LaBar)

I hope that you all said this in prayer this morning. As Christians we are to share in the sufferings of Jesus. What does that mean to me and you? These are just three things you may have to suffer through.

• Jesus suffered ridicule on many occasions for who He spent time with. Don’t be afraid to hang out with the vilest of sinners; Jesus did. But, make sure you are grounded in the faith of God beforehand so you won’t fall into sin. This is what we are called to do. Sinners may never know about the truth of God’s love unless you go to their world and show them.

• Jesus also suffered physical harm. We can expect the same thing. It may or may not happen but don’t be surprise if some bully wants to assault you for believing and following Jesus.

• Jesus didn’t allow the pleasures of this world to control Him. This is by far the hardest thing we face. We have entertainment all around us. Do we let it control us or do we control it? Movies, TV shows, Internet blogs, lust, our own selfish desires all distract us from doing God’s will. This is by far the most suffering we will face—leaving behind worldly desires and accomplishments. Our kingdom is in heaven where we will walk the streets of gold.

I want to attain the resurrection from the dead and go into eternal life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is my prayer today. I want to be like Jesus through the good and the bad. Sticks and stones will hurt. People’s words will hurt. But Jesus will make it all right!

Calling all warriors

“Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:19, 20

We all need to be prayer warriors, not just a select few nor just the church leaders. Paul makes it clear that he also needs prayer. The passage above follows the famous “Armor of God” section. As warriors, we are all called to put on the full armor of God. Then, like Paul says, pray for me too. Pray for your leaders that they say and do the right things.

God wants all of us to be warriors—suited up for battle. God wants us all to be gladiators—fighting the good fight until our last breath. God wants us all to be soldiers—laying down our lives on the front lines so others have a chance to hear the gospel. God wants us all to be fighters—keep pushing forward through the enemy’s heavy blows, never giving up faith.

Welcome to the Army of The Lord. Please pray for those of us on the front lines so that we may preach the gospel with clarity and power.

Scripture of the day

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for the saints.” Philemon 1:4,5