Here Simon Peter was boldly speaking to the gathered crowd of curious onlookers on the Day of Pentecost. But what was the reason for his fearless and passionate speech?…he had seen the Lord. For it tells us in Luke 24:36 that the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples. They touched Him, ate with Him, and were never the same after witnessing the once lifeless body of their Lord now alive. You can travel around the world and visit the tombs of other great religious leaders…but there is only one that is unoccupied…the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.
Tag: daily encouraging devotional
Job 17:15 ” Where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? “
Earlier in this Book of the Old Testament Job had battled with his feelings of abandonment when he said that God was letting loose of his hand and cutting him off. (Job 6:9) Now Job’s feelings of confusion and sorrow were real…as real as the loss of all his children and property. But this feeling of being cut off from the Lord was incorrect…as was his feelings of hopelessness. For there will be many times in our lives that what we pray for and expect God to take care of won’t happen. The young child will still die an untimely death…the diagnosis of cancer will still take our dear friend…and our years-long prayer for a baby will go unanswered. But that doesn’t mean that God has turned His back on us or that He has banished all hope. In the 3rd chapter of Lamentations, Jeremiah’s overwhelming sorrow and hopelessness is overshadowed by this statement, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.” God is still there…still loving us…still in control. The question is, can you be ok with that?
II Corinthians 10: 17-18 ” But, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”
The first part of this verse actually comes from Jeremiah 9:24 and is more of a warning…our praise should be to the Lord and not about ourselves. For when we laud our own accomplishments…God is quietly taken out of the picture, as if He had nothing to do with it. Thus we need to be seeking approval of God, not man. And this approval only comes from being tested, with endurance, not losing faith. I once heard it said, that if you think you’re a great leader but when you turn around no one is following you…you’re just out for a walk by yourself.
Psalm 21:7 ” For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”
King David knew where his strength and confidence came from…it was in his relationship with the one true God and His unchanging kindness and mercy. David relied on God’s wisdom rather than his own in making decisions…confident yet humble, knowing God’s Will was perfect every time, in every situation. Yes, David messed up some, but he was also called a man after God’s own heart for good reason.
Romans 8:26 ” In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
The Holy Spirit is there as an intermediary when the words won’t come. It might be devastating news from a friend, or maybe it’s a bad report from the Doctor we’ve just received …either way, we sit numb and silent before God. It’s during those times of infirmity of the body and soul that the Holy Spirit intervenes, imparting the knowledge of divine truth on our behalf. For we may not have the words to pray…but He does.
Numbers 6: 24-26 ” The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace.”
May this Priestly Blessing found in the Old Testament give you comfort today…whatever your situation. For it tells us here that God is guarding and protecting your very life at this moment…that He lifts up His head and His face brightens as He looks straight into your eyes with love and concern. Psalm 25:17 says, “The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.” Sometimes all we long for is peace…and God wants to plant or establish that peace into your life today…replacing strife and turmoil with a sense of well-being, security, wholeness, and comfort.
Luke 12: 23-24 ” Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! “
So many times as Jesus was teaching He would bring into His parables common everyday observations…things that everyone could relate to, such as birds. In fact, birds were probably flying around as He spoke here. But the point He was making was not that God fed the birds, (though He does) but that in God’s eyes we are so much more valuable than any old bird. So contemplate this today. If the God of the universe lovingly takes care of all the birds…how much more a precious personal possession you are to Him?
II Chronicles 29: 1-3 ” Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them.”
King Hezekiah had his priories where they needed to be from the very start. One of his very first acts as king was to open up the Temple, which his father Ahaz had earlier boarded up. Instead of keeping the Temple of the Lord open for worship, Ahaz had placed altars to foreign gods at every street corner for the people. (II Chronicles 28:24-25) Hezekiah’s superstitious dabbler in idolatrous cults father had even scorned the Prophet Isaiah’s promise of a coming Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) to instead run after foreign gods. The new King Hezekiah, with God’s help, was finally able to launch the long-needed moral and religious reform within the nation of Judah.
Romans 5:8 ” But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It’s difficult to grasp…but God loved us first. He loved us when we were unlovable, unrepentant, and rebellious. He loved us first by sending His one and only Son, Jesus, to die in our place for our sins. I know many of you can recite John 3:16 from memory, ” For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”…but in I John 3:16 it says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” God loved us first. He saw through the messiness of our lives to what we could be in Him. He loved us first, regardless and despite of our shortcomings…for like the proverbial caterpillar changing into a beautiful butterfly, He knew what we could become in Him.
Psalm 39: 7 ” But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”
What does hope look like to you? In the simplest of terms it means a promise for the future. For without hope, life is just a bleak and discouraging journey as we wait for the end. So where can we find this hope? The Psalms are full of hope so to speak…for we’re told that hope can be found in God. (Psalm 42:5) It’s also found in God’s Word. (Psalm 130:5) Psalm 9:18 reminds us this hope from God will never perish, and that we have this precious hope as an anchor for our lives in times of trouble. (Hebrews 6:19) Do you need some hope today? May the God of hope fill you with hopeful expectation as you look to Him.
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