Today's Daily Devotional

[Bugsy]

July 10

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
2 Chronicles 29:4-5

Ahaz had allowed the Temple to be desecrated and defiled. Here, Hezekiah tells the Levites to clean it up.

So too, because we are the temple of the true and living God, there must be a continual cleansing of the filthiness that pollutes and penetrates our lives. It is interesting to me that virtually all of creation is concerned with cleanliness.

Mice and rats actually spend the majority of their waking hours grooming themselves. They carry disease, but are actually surprisingly clean. So are elephants. Elephants who become invaded with parasites cover themselves with dust. Then they rub themselves against trees. The dust suffocates the bugs. The tree acts like a towel to wipe the dead bugs from off their back. Finally, they give themselves showers by filling their trunks with water and squirting themselves. The gecko lizards in the desert in the southwest part of our country are interesting because they don’t have any eyelids. Yet they live in a place where there is lots of dirt and sand. So what do they do? The gecko lizard has a long tongue which actually extends all the way to their eyes and thus is able to clean them.

There seems to be innately built into creation a desire to be clean. And yet when it comes to the heart of man, we allow corruption and pollution to affect us internally. Cleansing needs to be carried out daily. How? If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This verse, one which you’ve maybe known since childhood, tells us that even if you feel defiled and desecrated, you can solve the problem right now simply by confessing. When you confess your sin, the blood of Jesus is immediately applied and it removes all the filth from the temple of your life.

[Bugsy]

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[Bugsy]

July 11

In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign.
2 Chronicles 32:24

This story is recorded in 2 Kings 20 and Isaiah 38 as well. From these passages, we know that when God sent Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that it was time to go home, Hezekiah begged God to let him live. God granted Hezekiah’s request and confirmed it by turning the sundial back ten degrees, or approximately forty-five minutes. But was it His will? I wonder. In the following fifteen years a couple of terrible things took place. First, Hezekiah fathered a son named Manasseh, who later would be the worst of Judah’s kings and whose reign would lead to Judah’s captivity.

Second, when Hezekiah miraculously recovered, the Babylonians sent a contingent of ambassadors with some get-well cards and congratulations. When Hezekiah took them on a personal tour of his storehouses, their report to their leader, Nebuchadnezzar, led to the attack by the Babylonians.

Hezekiah would have been far better off flowing with what the Lord was doing rather than demanding his own way. I don’t want to demand my way because I don’t know as much as God does. God knows what’s right. My Father knows best. Yes, we are to bring our requests to Him. But ultimately we must say, “Not my will, but Thine be done, Father.â€

[Bugsy]

July 12, 2008

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Purpose in God’s Plan
READ | 1 Peter 4:9-11

God doesn’t need the help of any man or woman to accomplish His purposes. However, He has chosen to spread the gospel by means of His children. As one person tells another the good news of Jesus Christ, the story of hope and love spreads around the globe.

Consider each modern Christian is a spiritual descendant of the original disciples. Those men spent several years with Jesus. After His ascension, they preached what they’d learned from Him to anyone who’d listen. They also offered a helping hand where needed.

The grace and mercy demonstrated in word and action had a ripple effect. It spread outward from those first followers of Christ. It went across distance and time to hundreds, then thousands and even billions of individuals around the world.

But some people still have never heard Jesus loves them and died for their sins. This is why we’re called to serve family, friends, and neighbors. Loved ones see God’s grace lived out when we offer a helping hand, share the gospel, or lift them up in prayer.

To deny this call is to sin against the Lord. Our purpose is to serve God. The primary way we do that is by caring for those around us.

We can offer God many reasons for not serving Him such as weakness, inadequacy, and fear. But no excuse changes the mandate of Scripture. We are the Lord’s feet, hands, and voice on earth. We go where He wills. We help those in need. We tell all about the love of Jesus.

[Bugsy]

July 13

And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
2 Chronicles 34:12

As the Temple was restored, musicians were playing. Music has a powerful impact and effect upon our spiritual lives . . .

As he waited on the Lord for a word from Him, Elisha called for a minstrel. And as the minstrel began to play, the Holy Spirit spoke to Elisha (2 Kings 3:15). How often have you begun to worship the Lord in song - when suddenly He begins to speak to you? How often have you found yourself encouraged as you’ve listened to praise music? Saul was haunted and hounded by a demonic spirit. He called for David to come and play his harp. As songs were played and worship ascended, Saul experienced relief (1 Samuel 16:23).

If you’re discouraged, depressed, or defeated, if you want your temple restored, play music. It will build you up and cause your spirit to soar. In Job 38, God says that as the foundations of the earth were being laid, the angels were singing songs. In other words, He does His best work with background music. These guys created an atmosphere that was right spiritually. The Lord inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3). The demons are confused by praise. That is why Jehoshaphat sent a choir before he sent an army to do battle (2 Chronicles 20). Be a person of praise. Sing in your car. Sing in your shower. Sing when you’re depressed. As Isaiah said, “Sing, O barren oneâ€

[Bugsy]

July 14

And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 34:14-15

As the Temple was being remodeled, refurbished, and restored, someone found a copy of the Law. Manasseh and Amon evidently had destroyed all the copies of the Law. But one was found in the Temple in the midst of the rubble. Bookbinding wasn’t developed until AD 900. Before that time, books were made from dried papyrus woven together and rolled into lengths of approximately one hundred feet. Because the process was not an easy one, books were not easily copied.

Throughout history, every lasting revival that has taken place has been linked to a rediscovery of the Word. The same thing will happen in our lives personally. That is, if we get into the Word, revival can’t help but break out. A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to a person who isn’t. If you want your life to be revived and refurbished and renewed, read your Bible - but know that Bible study isn’t always like the 4th of July. When I read the Word in the morning, I’m not always fired up. Sometimes it’s just plain discipline. But it’s a discipline that will bring about long-term maturity and real stability.

Think about the believers you know who have a real history in the Lord and are rich in the things of God. I guarantee their walks are not based upon “Holy Spirit goose bumps,â€

[Bugsy]

July 15

These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
Ezra 8:1

The number of men who responded to Ezra’s invitation to return to Jerusalem following their captivity in Babylon - listed in verses 2 through 14 - was approximately fifteen hundred. Keep in mind that most of the Jews carried into Babylon had, over time, become comfortable there. In the first group, led by Zerubbabel, nearly fifty thousand went. In this second group, there are fifteen hundred who go. Most chose to stay.

The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman. He invites. He encourages. He inspires. He enlightens. But He doesn’t force. That is why He is likened not to a vulture or an eagle, but to a dove, a bird of peace and gentleness (Matthew 3:16).

In Ezekiel 47, we see Ezekiel being led to a river - often a picture of the Spirit in Scripture (Joshua 3:13) - where he stepped in up to his ankles. Then he was led downstream, where he stepped in up to his knees. Further downstream, he stepped in up to his waist. Still further, he found himself over his head. What does this say to us? The Spirit of the Lord invites us to step in. Some step in up to their ankles. That is, they’re standing in Christ, believing in Jesus. Others, however, choose to go deeper. They go to their knees, not only believing in the Lord themselves, but praying for others. Others go deeper still, sharing their faith and seeing others born again. And others ask the Lord to take total control of their lives, allowing the baptism of the Spirit to wash over them completely. At each stage, Ezekiel had a choice whether or not to step in. So do we. Will I do what the Lord invites me to do? Will I ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon me? Will I believe that His Spirit will fill me? Will I witness for Him?

Gang, the Lord will take you as far and as deep in Him as you want to go - but not one step further. Why are some people seemingly so Spirit-filled? I suggest it is simply because they want to be, that they are those who say, “Lord, take total control of me. Do whatever You want with my life. I want to be lost in You.â€

[Bugsy]

July 16

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
Nehemiah 4:1

Sanballat’s name literally means “thorn in secret.â€

[Bugsy]

July 17

And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burnt? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
Nehemiah 4:2-3

Just as Sanballat addressed an army, our adversary has an army of demons. This life is a battleground, gang. That’s why we shouldn’t be surprised if sometimes we wake up feeling as though tanks had rolled over us. There’s a war going on and sometimes we feel the fallout from it.

“Will these feeble Jews fortify themselves?â€

[Bugsy]

July 18

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work . . .
Nehemiah 6:3

Notice that Nehemiah didn’t say he was doing a great job. Rather, he said, “I’m involved in a great work. You guys thought it was hapless or hopeless. But I see it as holy and glorious.â€

[Bugsy]

July 19

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14

“Even if you choose not to step out, deliverance will come,â€

[Bugsy]

July 20

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
Esther 7:10

Our God has an incredible way of taking what Satan means for evil in our lives and turning it around for good. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Years later, Joseph found himself prime minister, second only to Pharaoh. His brothers came before him, begging for food. And Joseph revealed his identity. When his brothers reacted in fear, Joseph said, “Don’t fear. You meant it for evil, but God has turned it for good to save many people alive this dayâ€

[Bugsy]

July 21

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Job 1:20-22

A man of remarkable insight and maturity, Job released his emotion not through ranting and raving, cursing and complaining, weeping and wailing but through worship.

When Paul and Silas were in the dank, dark dungeon, they began to sing praises to the Lord. They began to worship the One they loved and served. And as they did, the prison doors opened wide. The amazing thing is, not a single prisoner escaped. Why? I suggest it was because they were so amazed that Paul and Silas praised God in the dungeon that they wanted to stick around and see how the rest of the story would unfold (Acts 16).

The same can be true of us. When you feel as though it’s dark and damp and dank and dungeony, when you feel as though everything you were hoping for, everything you trusted in has been taken away, it’s your opportunity to do what Job did, to do what Paul and Silas did. That is, you can say, “I’m going to worship You, Lord, because You’re in control and You know what’s best.â€

[Bugsy]

July 22

But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:10

“Are we simply going to love God in the good times and not trust Him in the dark days?â€

[Bugsy]

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May the Lords blessings always be upon you and your family.

RLTW!!!