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Daily Courage Devotional
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Today's DC is from Charles
Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotionals and was sent
on by Nate Pruitt in response to the idea of praying God's
promises to Him. -K
"Do as thou hast
said."—2 Samuel 7:25.
GOD'S promises were
never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that
they should be used. God's gold is not miser's money, but is
minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to
see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children
bring them up to Him, and say, "Lord, do as Thou hast said." We
glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will
be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you
dream that He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you?
Do you imagine He will be any the less pure for washing you from
your sins? He has said "Come now, and let us reason together, saith
the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay,
saying, "This is a precious promise, I wonder if it be true?" but
it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, "Lord, here is
the promise, 'Do as Thou hast said.'" Our Lord replies, "Be it
unto thee even as thou wilt." When a Christian grasps a promise, if
he do not take it to God, he dishonours Him; but when he hastens to
the throne of grace, and cries, "Lord, I have nothing to recommend
me but this, 'Thou hast said it;'" then his desire shall be
granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never
let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard,
and use it with holy violence. Think not that God will be troubled
by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to
hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow
favours. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask. The sun is
not weary of shining, nor the fountain of flowing. It is God's
nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne
with "Do as Thou hast said."
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
"O Lord, God of heaven, the
great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with
those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!
Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.
I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family
and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the
commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your
servant Moses.
“Please remember what you told your servant Moses:
‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the
nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by
them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will
bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be
honored.’
“The people you rescued by your great power and strong
hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to
the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please
grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.
Put it into his heart to be kind to
me.”
Nehemiah 1:6-11
NLT
If you are down here you have
already read through Nehemiah's prayer to God above. Read
it again. I'm not kidding. Read it again
and come back.......
This prayer/this calling out to God
comes directly after Nehemiah learns that Jerusalem, the Jews,
his people is/are in horrible shape. When he learns this he
"...sat down and wept. In fact, for days (he) mourned, fasted and
prayed to the God of heaven...." (NEH. 1:4-5) When have you
felt this devastated by news about your family, your friends, an
allegiance or a memory from your past? What did you do?
Nehemiah went to his knees. He wept. He
mourned. He fasted and he
prayed. Truly I think that his prayer is more than
a prayer. He most certainly prayed but he cried
out to God. Tommy Harrison noticed on Sunday
evening that Nehemiah prayed God's promises back to him and
Tommy remarked that God loves it when we do that.....
Do we ever pray this confidently to
God today? Nehemiah's prayer thanks his/our Heavenly Father in
advance for what he will do. He goes deeper than "You take care of
it God...I'm just going to hang out over here. I can watch you
work while I laze here in this recliner...." No. Nehemiah knew that
God would use him. He was asking to be used. He risked his
position, his comfort, his power. He went to King Artaxerxes and
asked for his help in returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the
wall that once surrounded the city. If you get right down to it he
risked his life. The King had the power to snap his fingers and
summon others to kill Nehemiah. (There's upsetting your boss and
then there's UPSETTING YOUR
BOSS.......
Do we ever pray like this today?
When we are passionate about something/when we are compassionate
how often do we act?
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
"Show me Your ways, O
LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day."
Psalm 25:4–5
I am right now neck deep in the book
of Nehemiah and am learning as we study it together on Sunday
nights that he was a man who had reached a level of comfort
and influence in his position as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. He
was not a wealthy man but he was at the right hand of a very
powerful man. He lived in a palace, and though the palace was not
his, he enjoyed its comforts. At the beginning of chapter 1,
Nehemiah reveals his burden for Jerusalem, for the people (those
that remained) of Jerusalem. In a prayer that is a cry for help and
guidance, he cries out to His Lord, to His heavenly
father:
“O Lord, God of heaven, the
great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with
those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!
Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.
I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family
and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the
commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your
servant Moses.
“Please remember what you told your servant Moses:
‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the
nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by
them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will
bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be
honored.’
“The people you rescued by your great power and strong
hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to
the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please
grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.
Put it into his heart to be kind to
me.”
Nehemiah 1:6-11NLT
He risks losing his comfortable position at the
winter palace in Susa. Nehemiah has an immediate emotional reaction
to hearing that Jerusalem is a shambles, that the wall of the city
is rubble and after weeping and lamenting he cries out to God, he
asks for his teaching and guidance and wisdom. He puts himself in
God's hands. Questions for you: When have you done this with God? When have you
asked Him directly/cried out for His teaching, his leadership in
your life? If you never have... do you know why
you never have? As always, if you are moved to respond, send your
response to
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
Short and sweet for your
Friday....
God is our refuge
and strength,
always ready to help in times
of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into
the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as
the waters surge!
PSALM 46:1-3 NLT
This psalm feels tailor-made for
the conversations we have been having about doubting God, about
putting ourselves, our needs, our fears before Him. Know that He is
your refuge and strength and help in times of trouble.
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Daily Courage Devotional
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written by Ken Mitten
In his study of the book of
Nehemiah, Warren Wiersbe identifies three statements in Scripture
that have a calming effect on him whenever he gets nervous and
wants to rush ahead of the Lord:
Stand still, and see the salvation
of the Lord. (EXODUS 14:13)
Sit still.....until you know how
the matter will turn out. (RUTH 3:18 NKJV)
Be still, and know that I am God.
(PSALM 46:10)
What is it about stillness that
makes so many of us so crazy? Sit still. Be still Stand still.
Think of any line you have ever waited in. Better yet think of
all the lines you have waited in over the course
of your life.
Think of the non-verbal grunting
and shifting and nudging we do when we are at the grocery store in
line behind Tommy the Tortoise, placing their cans of tomato paste
one by one on the conveyor belt.
Another image that I have
mentioned before is coming to mind. It is the opening scene of the
film OFFICE SPACE where Peter, a computer programmer drone on his
way to work is on the highway, seems to be in the "slow lane" and
the second he moves to the fast lane the flow slows to a
dribble.
Do the non-verbals and the
fretting, the second-guessing about which lane of traffic is the
magic carpet designed to get us to work faster, do these
techniques work? Does the line move faster when we
sigh audibly or roll our eyes or clear our throat?
Next time you are in one of those
seemingly endless lines (maybe at the DMV......) try inviting Him
in. Not to light a fire under Tommy the Tortoise. Not to make the
line move faster. Invite Him in in order to hear from Him, to be
with Him even in the mundane and the frustrating. Even when it puts
you so far out of your comfort zone. Stand still.
Sit still. Be still.
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Daily Courage Devotional
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For The Man Who Has Everything
written by Tommy Harrison (Read more devotionals written by Tommy on his website www.gospelines.com
First published in 1985, “For the Man Who Has Everything,” is a comic book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman paid a visit to Superman on his birthday. When they arrived in Superman’s Citadel (The Fortress of Solitude), they found him in a vegetative state with a large alien plant stuck to his chest and the tendrils wrapped around his body.
As they analyzed the situation, the alien Mongul steps into the scene. One of the few villains whose strength equals that of Superman, he reveals that the name of the plant is Black Mercy and that it has put Superman into a deep coma. The plant is empowered to feed the coma-stricken super hero an extremely realistic and plausible dream based on his “heart’s desire.”
What more could Superman want??? He had it all: fame, fortune, stature. What’s wrong with that? Superman’s dream, his “heart’s desire,” was of living a normal life on his long-destroyed home planet of Krypton, happily married with two children.
In our day there are few people with such humble dreams. Most, no matter what their level of wealth, spend a large percentage of time striving for more. For example: we are perfectly satisfied with our personal automobile because it services our needs, gives few problems, it’s reasonably economical and very nice looking. But our neighbor just bought a brand new Widget with all the bells and whistles and parks it in the driveway next to us. Now we suddenly remember that our car is four years old! And it doesn’t have two TV. screens in the back seat, and we didn’t get a GPS system with it. It just isn’t adequate anymore and never mind that it’s paid off! I can afford it. “Honey, let’s go shopping for a new CAR!”
The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “I had everything! All the property I wanted, I had the gardens landscaped beautifully; I amassed silver and gold for myself, even bought and sold people as it pleasured me! I became greater by far than anyone before me.”
But hear his pitiful conclusion:
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
And this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
And what I had toiled to achieve,
Everything was meaningless,
a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
You may not be Superman, but you ARE somebody’s hero! And I will just bet you that someone you are close to would be a lot happier spending a little more time with you than having you continue being an absentee mom or dad, husband or wife because you are trying to get ahead in life. While you are thinking about your “heart’s desire,” remember that money does not make you wealthy any more than age can make you wiser.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven.” (Ecc. 3:1)
GospeLines Prayer: Father, help me to know the difference between money and wealth and let me not prize this world’s riches above that which is eternal. For all the years I have wasted trying to get ahead, I beg Your forgiveness. May my remaining days be long enough to teach my loved ones about those things which really do matter. And may their knowledge of true wealth spring forth eternal that we may celebrate together in Your eternal kingdom. Amen and amen!
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