October 29 Read 2 Peter 2:9
…then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.
God will take care of those who follow Him and resist temptation to sin. God will also take care of those who choose to give in to the temptation.
Have you ever known someone who seemed to “get by with murder?” It seemed this person could do whatever he/she pleased, and nothing bad ever seemed to happen. The next time this thought comes to you, remember 2 Peter 2:9 and remember that eventually, God will bring us all to judgment, and those who have let temptations have control of their lives will be punished.
In a way, it’s the old cliché “pay now, or pay later.” Except in this case, Jesus has “paid now” with his blood for our sins, if only we will follow Him. If we choose to have things our way instead of God’s way, we will pay later, with an eternity in hell. So choose to follow God, and let Him have control of your life and ensure your eternity with Him.
October 30 Read Revelation 3:10
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
It all comes down to this: Jesus is coming back, and He will evaluate each one of us for how well we observed His commandments; how true we were to His plan for our lives; how well we relied on Him and resisted the devil.
How will you measure up? What will be your final grade? It won’t always be easy. I promise you that much. Following Jesus will sometimes cost you – or at least seem to cost you. Life on earth is such a temporary assignment, but the consequences of our decisions will carry into eternity. So, how will you choose? Are you up to the challenge? Will we see you in heaven?
October 31 Read Luke 11:4
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, there is only One Way to resist temptation successfully, and that is to turn to God. He will equip you fully with an armor against Satan. He will help you when you think nothing or nobody can.
Call on Him. Ask for His help and He will gladly be there for you. Ask for His comfort when your decisions are ridiculed, and He will give it. Ask for His strength, and it will be provided. Ask for His grace and mercy to defeat Satan in your life, and He will surely give it.
To God be all glory! Amen.
November 1 Read 1 Samuel 2:12-17
Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord. And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, ‘give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” And if the man said to him, “they should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
I’ll admit – I had to find a modern translation of the Bible to fully understand this passage. But the bottom line is this: when an offering was made to the Lord, Eli’s sons (who were scoundrels) would come and take whatever of the meat they wanted. The most important part of the sacrifice was the fat, which was supposed to be burned on the altar first. Everybody said that they would be willing to give Eli’s sons whatever meat they wanted, if they could just burn the fat first. But no… Eli’s sons wanted the fat, too! They wanted whatever they desired at the moment, and they expected to get it. This greatly saddened and disappointed Eli, and more importantly, God.
In ways great and small, things are taken from us on a regular basis. People steal not only our belongings, but try to take our pride, or our privacy, or our friends, our safety… you name it. We hurry around trying to stay one step ahead… we try to outrun evil, so to speak. But try as we might, there are times when we are disappointed, when we are sad. But here’s the good news… in 1 Samuel 2:30, it says, Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, “I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever,” and “those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
So take heart. Stay close to God. Do what is right and remember that He is watching and will reward your patience and perseverance. AND… He will deal with those who do otherwise.
November 2 Read 1 Samuel 25:23-31
Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. So she fell at his feet and said, ‘On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. Now, therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”
If you go back and read this whole story in Chapter 25, you will see that David went to Nabal for help. Nabal, a rich man, was married to Abigail. As she pointed out later to David, his name, Nabal, means “fool.” Instead of helping David, Nabal insulted him and his men. Abigail, a much smarter person, brought David gifts of bread and wine, sheep, grain, and fruit, and begged him to ignore Nabal, pointing out that God would deal with him later.
The point is, there will be disappointments and sadness, and insults, and irritations, and we have a choice. We can choose to let these get us down, and we can choose revenge. Or, we can take the moral high ground, keep our faith in God to help us through these difficult situations, and move forward. It’s a tough choice sometimes. Revenge feels right! But truly it isn’t. And wallowing in our sadness and self-pity isn’t right either. We must be strong, we must be bigger people. We must keep the faith and rise above our circumstances. With God’s help, we can do it!
November 3 Read 2 Samuel 17:23
Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb.
WOW! Talk about a drastic reaction to disappointment! Look, we are all going to have disappointments in our life. There are going to be times when people don’t behave like we wish, when things don’t work out as we plan, when we just plain don’t get our way. But God hasn’t promised us an easy life, or a road without some potholes.
When you are disappointed, ask God to give you comfort. Also ask Him to show you what you can learn from the experience, and trust Him to help you grow. Read your Bible, pray, stay close to God, and it will get better. I promise!
November 4 Read Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task god has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge. And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Let me tell you something… the writer of Ecclesiastes is having one MAJOR pity party, or so it seems. But if you keep reading, you will see that he realizes that this is actually a lot of vanity on his part. He has made himself out to be far more important in the scheme of things than he ought to, and given himself far too much credit. And he comes to realize that both he and the fool die in the end, so they really aren’t so different!
He also comes to the conclusion in Chapter 2, verse 26, that “... God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This is also vanity and grasping for the wind.”
So, if it’s all just “dust in the wind,” then why do we do it? Why do we try? Aren’t we doomed to be sad and disappointed? No! The Bible doesn’t promise us a life on Easy Street, but we are promised rewards from God for making an effort to please Him, and to live a life that honors Him and gives Him glory. Here’s what Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 says about this: “Here is what I have seen: it is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor – this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.”
So stay busy doing God’s work, and be busy with the joy of your heart!
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