The Sealing

          I have many electrical appliances that have a little tag on the cord that assures me that the appliance has the approval of the underwriters laboratory. It is their seal of approval. It tells me that someone looked at the model of appliance and checked it out to make sure that it would work safely as it was designed to work. My Father usually purchased a car manufactured by General Motors and you could find a seal somewhere on the car that would have a design from the Fisher Body corporation. Seals and tags and guarantees are all important in our lives as we purchase different items, but none as important as the one mentioned in the following passage of Scripture. Ephesians 1:12-14 says, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

         We know that the first three chapters of Ephesians tells us much about our spiritual blessings. The Apostle Paul tells us what happens the moment that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. I always say that a person gets his or her RIBS. The moment we believe we are Regenerated, Indwelt, Baptized and Sealed by the Holy Spirit. It takes place in a split second of time the moment that we believe. These four things are all wonderful and amazing to consider. I particularly like the fact of being “sealed.” The guarantee of this transaction is described as being sealed and is described as being a “down payment” of our inheritance. As I think about this act, my attention is drawn to the “earnest” or the down payment for this action. The sealing is the Holy Spirit Himself. In this passage, He is described as being the down payment. We know that when you purchase a home you need to often put up what is called, “earnest” money which shows you are sincere in your offer and should you back out, you lose the earnest money. In this case, the earnest is the Holy Spirit. Now that is a glorious down payment for the inheritance. Just think how great the inheritance is if the Holy Spirit is the down payment. Our earthly minds cannot grasp the magnitude of this inheritance. Even though we cannot fully appreciate it, the fact remains that it is our possession and has been guaranteed by the Holy Spirit Himself. Are you having trouble today with a mountain of difficulties, broken promises, sour relationships, struggling finances, depression and discouragement? If so, reflect for just a moment on what you have as a result of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. You now have all of your RIBS. Praise God today for His Guarantee for the salvation that we have.

Security

        People just like to feel secure about things. I have had a number of cars in my lifetime and I think I can tell a lot about a car when you close the car door. I had one car recently that when you closed the door it sounded firm, no echo and solid. On the other hand, right next to it was another car, same make, but a different model. When you closed the door, it sort of reminded you of a tin can and had a slight ring to it. Personally speaking, I preferred the one that was solid but also the gas mileage was terrible. The other one gets good's gas mileage but I don't feel that secure in it should something happen and it went bouncing off the road. I guess that's why they made the Hummer available to people other than military as it was like driving a tank on the highway and people liked it even though the gas mileage was around 8 miles per gallon. For the most part, we like to feel secure, not only in our vehicles, but in every aspect of life. We like to have secure footing when we walk, stable paths in our wanderings and boats with no holes in the bottom. The same is true in our spiritual lives. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

      Our “paths” are those journeys in our lives from one day to the next and from one year to the next and so on. We know by experience that our lives are basically short and so the security of our eternal destination should be of great importance to us. Not only, however, are we concerned about our eternal destination, but also the daily experiences that sometimes shake our foundations. The passage for today is one that is famous. It is on plaques in the book stores and underlined in Bibles because it shows us the folly of trusting our own instincts rather than the leading of God Himself. Leaning on our own understanding in things is like the sound of the car door that rings like a tin can. On the other hand, the solid direction of the Lord is what we want. The verses then become applicable to us each and every day. Sickness, death, accidents and natural calamities along with the foolishness of men on the earth today, all remind us of instability and the failure that is always present when we trust our own understanding rather than the leading of God. God does get particular on this passage and reminds us that it not in the big things of life that we need to trust Him but in every area and not only the crisis situations. I admit that I don't ask God each day which color to wear, be it either black or brown. That are the only two combinations that I have to be concerned about. God never really mentions which color is best to wear, but He does mention what we are to be doing regardless of what we are wearing. By trusting in God, we discover that He will guide our path through today and tomorrow and the days to come. If you want to feel secure in your choices for today and tomorrow, then take the advice of the passage above. “Trust in the LORD with ALL thine heart...” Praise God today for His leading in every area of our lives.

The Ultimate Treasure

       A treasure can be anything that is valuable to you.  Everyone seems to like finding treasures.  Oh, there are all kinds of treasures.  When we think of buried treasure, we think of old sailing vessels, pirates and large chests that have gone to the bottom of the sea or are buried on some deserted island.  There are, however, other kinds of treasures.  I remember one time going into our attic and going through my dad's old trunk.  There were all kinds of seemingly insignificant items.   There was a number from a theater seat from a theater in Bakers Field, California from the days when Dad was in the Civilian Conservation Corps.  There were other things that included a stick with many states carved into it denoting the states that he was in as he traveled to California during the depression.  There was also a jar that contained a number of rather large insects along with a tarantula spider.   These things were part of my find of "treasures" in the attic of our old house.  There are still other different kinds of treasure as noted in the following verses.  Second Corinthians 4:5-7 says, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."   
       In this section, we see that Paul is speaking about a special treasure that every believer possesses.  Now, who would think that we have a treasure in these old bodies?  Well, it's true.  Paul was reminding the Corinthians that he and his team had come to Corinth to preach the Lord Jesus Christ and not themselves.  They were not trying to promote anything on their own but were preaching about Christ.  He went on to further say that they had the light of the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was reflecting from their own hearts.  The light was shining into their hearts and reflecting outward to others.  Paul said, "Hey!  This is a special treasure."  The power is of God and is not of us.  It is like being a reflector.  The light that is reflected comes from another source and not from the source of the reflector.  The reflector has not power.  If treasures are measured in how much they are worth, then the treasure that we have in our hearts is the most valuable of all.   Praise God today that He has made you a reflector of the Light that is shining in your heart.  Have you told anyone about your treasure?

What to do with Disagreements?

          I probably can say that I have not come across a person where I agree with everything that they say nor do.  Do great leaders always agree on every point?  When we look into the Book of Acts, we see that the Apostle Paul and Barnabas had a little matter of disagreement as to who would go on the second missionary journey.    John Mark had started out on the first journey but then left them after a short time.  While they were getting ready to go on the second journey, Barnabas wanted to again include John Mark but Paul did not want to take him along.  As a result, the two of them split company and go in different directions.  Paul decides to take Silas along with him and Barnabas takes John Mark.  Acts 15:37-40 says, "And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus.  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God."   

        There are a couple of lessons for us in this passage.  First, people do not have to agree on every point.  Obviously there was a disagreement between the two men and it was strong enough for them to part company.  But, there is a second lesson to be learned.  We later read where Paul asks that John Mark be brought to him and that he is profitable for the ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).  Things change and so do our attitudes toward certain people.  While Paul was rather upset with John Mark, he changed his mind about him later on during his ministry.  There are some people around today that form an opinion about a person and it stays with them for their entire life thus losing a chance for future ministry together.   So, don't be so quick to write a person off in your life.  You might just find that they will be profitable in the ministry later on and they might also be a blessing to you.  Praise God today that He is still working in our lives.

The Judtge of all the Earth

           Have you noticed that your computer is not perfect? I write the devotions on a program called, “Open Office.” It has a dictionary with it for the English language and alerts me when there is a misspelled word. It will underline the word in red indicating that the spelling does not agree with that of the program. I used to rely on it a lot until I discovered that it missed a lot of words. You as the reader of these devotionals can testify that you have to interpret a lot as to what I am trying to say due to incorrect spelling. We naturally assume that mechanical devices can be programmed to do something over and over again and to always do it the same way, but that is not always the case. Genesis 18:25 says, “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

          In this Scripture passage, Abraham is trying to reason with God about saving the city of Sodom and states that if there be certain number of righteous people present, He would not destroy the city. Abraham mentions a rhetorical question to God in the final words of this verse. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The obvious answer is, of course, the Judge of all the earth always does that which is right. One could not come up with even ten righteous people in the city of Sodom. The account bring to mind the fact that God is always right and this is a point that we need to always be reminded of in our present life. We may question God as to why He made us a certain way, how come my nose wasn't prettier or maybe I should have been a little taller than I really am. We can also question God as to why certain people perish at young ages or why there are calamities in the world that reap great havoc upon civilization but in the end, we come up with the statement that Abraham made so many years ago. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” It is not just an argument for trying to have saved Sodom, but it is also the same argument for every aspect of your life. You may get up in the morning and wonder what God has in store for you today and that same thought should come to the forefront. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right by me today in whatever He has planned for me? In the manner of Abraham, “yes.” One man was asked how he made a sculpture of a horse. He simply said that he chipped everything away that didn't look like a horse. God is actively chipping everything away in our lives that do not look like we are supposed to look. Some of the chipping may be painful but we don't have the complete picture in mind as God does. Philippians 1:6 reminds us of the work that God is doing in our lives and that He will complete that work. When things go differently than you had planned just remember that God is the Judge of all the earth and whatever He does is right. He owns, created and maintains all of it. Praise God today that He doesn't make mistakes.

Under His Wings

          Words certainly mean different things to different people.  It is like the saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure."  In the same sense, one man's worry is another man's calamity.  We all view things differently.  In light of that, many are going through calamities of varying degrees even today. If you are prepared for the calamity when it comes, it doesn't bother you as much. My Father had built us a new home in Northern Indiana and we lived in the basement of that home for six years. We could look out of the basement windows and see tornadoes in the distance, but they didn't do us any harm because of where we were. Floods would have been a different matter, but fortunately, we had none of those to be concerned about in our area.  When you are going through a calamity, where do you turn?  The Psalmist has given us some good advice in the following verse.    Psalm 57:1 says,  "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."  

         David was fleeing from Saul during this time in his life but he found protection under the “wings” of God. The picture here is that of the protective bird, such as even a mother hen who protects her chicks under the cover of her wings.  With God, we can find the same type of protection and the same type of refuge. The same picture can be seen in Psalm 91 where we find protection under the wings of God.  What is necessary for us is to turn to God when trouble comes and to not run in the opposite direction.  It does come upon us in varying forms and when it does, we need to remember just where our comfort  and refuge is.  When a storm would come up in the barnyard, the mother hen would just make some frantic clucking noises and the little chicks would come scurrying as fast as they could to crawl under her outstretched wings.  They had to make sure that they had not wandered too far from the mother hen.  They needed to be able to hear the warning and to get to the place of refuge.  The same is true of us.  We always need to be close enough to God that we are able to flee to His presence in the time of trouble.  Sometimes, however, we get to wander too far away. Our attitudes become complacent as things seem to have been going well and we have forgotten how God worked in our lives in the past.  We soon begin to lose contact with God, not because of anything He has done, but because we have wandered away.   So, make sure that you maintain a good line of communication with God through Scripture and prayer.  Remember that He is your place of refuge in a time of trouble. He protected you yesterday and He will protect you today. Praise God today for His protection in every calamity whether they be big or small.

Authority

        We are overcome by a large number of advertisements these days. Some of the things that are advertised just plain shouldn't be being advertised. Other things are becoming quite popular and I guess need to be advertised even though they are not the most enjoyable things to see. One such “product” is the “funeral.” Who wants to think about their funeral but it is a necessary thing to think about at some point in your life. In the past, most funeral directors when doing a commercial for their service, never look straight into the camera during the final shot of the funeral director. They seem to be looking off to the right or left and if there are two of them, they are looking in the same direction. This gives the impression that they are looking to a higher authority in reference to their product. Matthew 7:28-29 says, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

      Many people, when trying to sell a product, try to transmit the idea of authority along with their advertisement. This is especially true with politicians, lawyers and preachers. You want to have faith in the individual if you are going to believe what they say about their philosophy, teaching or product. After the sermon on the Mount, the people were, as it says in the passage above, "astonished" at His doctrine, referring to the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. The people had been under the instruction of the scribes, who knew their Bible, yet they didn't have the authority that was witnessed during the Sermon on the Mount. People can see that there is a difference when a person speaks with authority and one who does not. After the people had heard the Lord Jesus Christ and His teaching, they knew something was different from what they had heard so many times before. Jesus covered a lot of different things in the Sermon on the Mount and in some cases, it was a complete reversal from what they had been taught in previous times. We can look at the same message today and we know that He who spoke the message almost 2000 years ago was the Creator Himself. We know that He did have the authority to say what He did because of His involvement in creation as seen in Colossians 1:15-19. We are bombarded with all kinds of products and promises but they are, for the most part, without authority and certainly are not very astonishing. If we are to find any authority in doctrine today, certainly it should be found in the teaching of the Bible. The four gospels record the experiences of Christ during His incarnation from His birth until after His resurrection. He who raised from the dead has the authority and whatever He says, we should follow without hesitation. Politician, lawyers and preachers come and go, some good and some not so good, but the Word of God and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are those things which show us true authority. Praise God that have God's message to us in The Holy Scriptures.