DAILY LIFE DEVOTIONS http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:51:29 GMT http://bandzoogle.com DAILY LIFE for Thursday, September 16 http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=447707  DAILY LIFE: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  (II Peter 3:9) “ROI”, or “Return on Investment” may be a driving force in business but it a dangerous criteria to use in determining the value of ministry. Just how much is one soul worth? Sure, I know we need to be good stewards of God’s money, and we need to be careful that we are investing that money where it can have the greatest impact, but to measure ministry effectiveness or value simply on the basis of money denies one very simple fact; In God’s eyes no price was (or is) too high to pay for even one lost soul. “He is patient”, writes Peter, “Not wanting anyone to perish...”.  Years ago I sang a song that asked the question, “If I’d been the only one would Jesus still have come for me?”  The answer is a resounding “YES!”  God would gladly have sent Jesus to planet Earth for just one lost soul in need of him.  As we go through our day, as we rub shoulders with the agreeable and disagreeable, with the lost and the found, let’s remember that every one of them is precious in God’s sight, worth the sacrifice of Jesus, and certainly worth the investment of our time and resources. Blessings! Pastor Ron  DAILY LIFE: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  (II Peter 3:9)


“ROI”, or “Return on Investment” may be a driving force in business but it a dangerous criteria to use in determining the value of ministry. Just how much is one soul worth? Sure, I know we need to be good stewards of God’s money, and we need to be careful that we are investing that money where it can have the greatest impact, but to measure ministry effectiveness or value simply on the basis of money denies one very simple fact; In God’s eyes no price was (or is) too high to pay for even one lost soul.


“He is patient”, writes Peter, “Not wanting anyone to perish...”. 


Years ago I sang a song that asked the question, “If I’d been the only one would Jesus still have come for me?”  The answer is a resounding “YES!”  God would gladly have sent Jesus to planet Earth for just one lost soul in need of him. 


As we go through our day, as we rub shoulders with the agreeable and disagreeable, with the lost and the found, let’s remember that every one of them is precious in God’s sight, worth the sacrifice of Jesus, and certainly worth the investment of our time and resources.


Blessings!


Pastor Ron

]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:51:29 GMT 90415916BB3551174C47155860BEC32E The Ultimate Victory http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=427617 DAILY LIFE: “…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:18) As we bring this week to a close we bring our review of Habakkuk to a close as well. The final lesson we glean from this short book of prophecy will also be the one most “hard to swallow.” It is this; “God ways will not always mean victory in this life for His children.” I know that’s a mouthful, but I want you to think about it. Not everything turns out well. It certainly didn’t for the generations of people in Judah that would suffer the cruelty of the Babylonians. Many would die violent deaths. Many more would be held captive until their death. I doubt such ends were what they had envisioned for their lives. But such is life. It doesn’t always work out. God had to purify his people. The remedy was harsh and cruel but had to be done. A dentist doesn’t pull a decaying tooth from your mouth without a certain amount of violence, blood, and pain. The key to this lesson lies in the words, “in this life”. For God’s child the ultimate victory is not gained in this life. It is beyond. Heaven is our treasure, our hope. As the old gospel writer expressed it; “This world is not my home, I’m only a passin’ through.” Whatever else you take from Habakkuk take this lesson. Life might be hard but God is still moving. The ultimate victory is his, and as his children, ours. DAILY LIFE: “…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:18)

As we bring this week to a close we bring our review of Habakkuk to a close as well. The final lesson we glean from this short book of prophecy will also be the one most “hard to swallow.”

It is this; “God ways will not always mean victory in this life for His children.” I know that’s a mouthful, but I want you to think about it. Not everything turns out well. It certainly didn’t for the generations of people in Judah that would suffer the cruelty of the Babylonians. Many would die violent deaths. Many more would be held captive until their death. I doubt such ends were what they had envisioned for their lives.

But such is life. It doesn’t always work out. God had to purify his people. The remedy was harsh and cruel but had to be done. A dentist doesn’t pull a decaying tooth from your mouth without a certain amount of violence, blood, and pain.

The key to this lesson lies in the words, “in this life”. For God’s child the ultimate victory is not gained in this life. It is beyond. Heaven is our treasure, our hope. As the old gospel writer expressed it; “This world is not my home, I’m only a passin’ through.”

Whatever else you take from Habakkuk take this lesson. Life might be hard but God is still moving. The ultimate victory is his, and as his children, ours.
]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:53:44 GMT F72D30E4AB2837B9B0AFD94729EAB045 Mercy above Wrath http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=427616 DAILY LIFE: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2) Day 4 of our journey through Habakkuk brings us to yet another critical Truth.   Habakkuk’s arguments with God reveal a man who still has some misguided ideas about the character of his God. He is still struggling with the question of why God allows evil to continue to reign on planet Earth. It is a common struggle for us earthlings, and one that all to often causes us to wrap our finite thinking around misconceptions about our Heavenly Father. Recently I was listening to a “Q&A” session with a well known speaker/author. In the preface to her question, a lady summarized what had been a very hard life filled with abuse by her father and two of her four husbands. And that was just the beginning of the list of hardships that had plagued her 63 years. She wrapped up her life story by saying, “I guess all these things were just God’s will for my life.” Thankfully, the speaker was quick to assure her that such things were not “God’s will”. God allowed them, yes. God can use them, yes. But to say that it is the will of a perfect, holy, compassionate God that a man would abuse his wife (whom God has called to love as He loves us) is absurd and reveals a basic misunderstanding of the nature and character of God. Lesson #4 from Habakkuk’s experience is this; “God’s mercy is always greater than his wrath”. Even in judgement, even when he allows bad things to happen such as he did to Habakkuk and his people, God is still Love. I suspect His heart aches and breaks as he watches us struggle with the consequences of our sin. Remember that today. Remember that our God loves you and that love trumps everything else that comes along! DAILY LIFE: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2)

Day 4 of our journey through Habakkuk brings us to yet another critical Truth.
 
Habakkuk’s arguments with God reveal a man who still has some misguided ideas about the character of his God. He is still struggling with the question of why God allows evil to continue to reign on planet Earth. It is a common struggle for us earthlings, and one that all to often causes us to wrap our finite thinking around misconceptions about our Heavenly Father.

Recently I was listening to a “Q&A” session with a well known speaker/author. In the preface to her question, a lady summarized what had been a very hard life filled with abuse by her father and two of her four husbands. And that was just the beginning of the list of hardships that had plagued her 63 years.

She wrapped up her life story by saying, “I guess all these things were just God’s will for my life.”

Thankfully, the speaker was quick to assure her that such things were not “God’s will”. God allowed them, yes. God can use them, yes. But to say that it is the will of a perfect, holy, compassionate God that a man would abuse his wife (whom God has called to love as He loves us) is absurd and reveals a basic misunderstanding of the nature and character of God.

Lesson #4 from Habakkuk’s experience is this; “God’s mercy is always greater than his wrath”. Even in judgement, even when he allows bad things to happen such as he did to Habakkuk and his people, God is still Love. I suspect His heart aches and breaks as he watches us struggle with the consequences of our sin.

Remember that today. Remember that our God loves you and that love trumps everything else that comes along!
]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:52:47 GMT CAD43D9D0AAC639B5493E2661C596DAB Waiting, Watching, Listening http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=427614 DAILY LIFE: “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20) Patience. We all need it. Most of us lack it. Certainly Habakkuk would learn a painful lesson about patience. The enemy is on the way. While Habakkuk may not understand why God is doing what he is doing, he is slowly accepting and trusting God for the outcome. It will take time, however. Sometimes – most time, really – God’s answers take time. We have to wait. Lesson #3 from Habakkuk is this; “God calls his children to wait, watch, and listen.” We would do well to learn that in the midst of the crisis, when calamity and chaos seem to be everywhere, when life is not proceeding as we hoped it would, we need to “be silent before him.”  (By the way, being silent before him means more than just shutting our mouths. It means quieting our minds and spirits, and resting our bodies.) “Be Still”, says God through the pen of the Psalmist. That phrase in the Hebrew means to “relax”, “Let Go”, “CHILL!” The end result is worth the wait, “and know that I am God.” Habukkuk learned to wait, watch, and listen. It was hard, but in the end he saw the might hand of his gracious God.  So can you. DAILY LIFE: “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

Patience. We all need it. Most of us lack it. Certainly Habakkuk would learn a painful lesson about patience.

The enemy is on the way. While Habakkuk may not understand why God is doing what he is doing, he is slowly accepting and trusting God for the outcome. It will take time, however. Sometimes – most time, really – God’s answers take time. We have to wait.

Lesson #3 from Habakkuk is this; “God calls his children to wait, watch, and listen.”

We would do well to learn that in the midst of the crisis, when calamity and chaos seem to be everywhere, when life is not proceeding as we hoped it would, we need to “be silent before him.”  (By the way, being silent before him means more than just shutting our mouths. It means quieting our minds and spirits, and resting our bodies.)

“Be Still”, says God through the pen of the Psalmist. That phrase in the Hebrew means to “relax”, “Let Go”, “CHILL!”

The end result is worth the wait, “and know that I am God.”

Habukkuk learned to wait, watch, and listen. It was hard, but in the end he saw the might hand of his gracious God.  So can you.
]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:51:35 GMT 54C26516F12B0C2F4E1253BADC5053BB Life by Faith http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=427609 DAILY LIFE: “...the righteous will live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) We are reviewing a few key lessons from the book of Habakkuk this week. Today’s lesson comes from Chapter 2, verse 4. Habakkuk had argued with God. He had asked God why he didn’t deal with the injustice and violence that he saw around him. God answered, but not quite in the way Habakkuk expected. To see the ultimate answer to his prayer, Habakkuk, his friends and neighbors, and the whole kingdom of Judah would have to experience desperate hardships first. Their hope and consolation was offered in these few words; “...the righteous will live by his faith.” God was reminding Habakkuk that only faith in the ultimate victory of God would allow him to endure the judgement of Judah that was to follow. Lesson #2 is this; “God calls his children to live by faith.” That may not seem very profound, but believe me, it is one of the most difficult challenges that faces the Christian. To live by faith means we that we trust God no matter what. We believe in the final victory of God no matter what may be happening at the moment right around us. It means that we can endure the hardships of the moment, knowing that victory is right around the corner. Is there such a struggle in your life today? Walk by faith. Believe in the ultimate victory of God. It may hurt for a while, but God will come through DAILY LIFE: “...the righteous will live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)

We are reviewing a few key lessons from the book of Habakkuk this week. Today’s lesson comes from Chapter 2, verse 4.

Habakkuk had argued with God. He had asked God why he didn’t deal with the injustice and violence that he saw around him. God answered, but not quite in the way Habakkuk expected. To see the ultimate answer to his prayer, Habakkuk, his friends and neighbors, and the whole kingdom of Judah would have to experience desperate hardships first.
Their hope and consolation was offered in these few words; “...the righteous will live by his faith.” God was reminding Habakkuk that only faith in the ultimate victory of God would allow him to endure the judgement of Judah that was to follow.

Lesson #2 is this; “God calls his children to live by faith.” That may not seem very profound, but believe me, it is one of the most difficult challenges that faces the Christian. To live by faith means we that we trust God no matter what. We believe in the final victory of God no matter what may be happening at the moment right around us. It means that we can endure the hardships of the moment, knowing that victory is right around the corner.

Is there such a struggle in your life today? Walk by faith. Believe in the ultimate victory of God. It may hurt for a while, but God will come through]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:49:34 GMT 897952E30428A55AC720ECDA9CABD310 The Faithfulness of God http://erieefree.org/dailylife.cfm?feature=1698529&postid=427606 DAILY LIFE: “Then the Lord replied; ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” It has been a joy and a challenge to preach on the Old Testament prophet Habukkuk the past couple of weeks. In two short weeks, however, we barely scratched the surface of this sort but powerful book. I thought it would be useful to revisit a few of the lessons we learned in our study. The first lesson is this; “God’s means and methods are sure; His Word is sure.” God had revealed to Habakkuk the upcoming judgement of his homeland. The most violent people on the face of the planet, the Babylonians, were going to move down from the north on a campaign of plundering, killing, and conquering. Life for Habakkuk and his people would get real ugly. God was “cleaning house”. Judgement would begin in the house of the Lord. In the end, Habakkuk’s prayer for justice to prevail would be kept. It would take some time and some hard times in between, but it would happen. All Habakkuk could do was wait. There are many times when that is all we can do in the midst of our struggles and challenges. We have promises from God that he will never break. “I will never leave your or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) There are, of course, many, many more. They are all true. They will all be kept. Sometimes the keeping is immediate but sometimes we are made to wait. But the promises will be kept. You can count on it. DAILY LIFE: “Then the Lord replied; ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

It has been a joy and a challenge to preach on the Old Testament prophet Habukkuk the past couple of weeks. In two short weeks, however, we barely scratched the surface of this sort but powerful book.

I thought it would be useful to revisit a few of the lessons we learned in our study. The first lesson is this; “God’s means and methods are sure; His Word is sure.”

God had revealed to Habakkuk the upcoming judgement of his homeland. The most violent people on the face of the planet, the Babylonians, were going to move down from the north on a campaign of plundering, killing, and conquering. Life for Habakkuk and his people would get real ugly. God was “cleaning house”. Judgement would begin in the house of the Lord.

In the end, Habakkuk’s prayer for justice to prevail would be kept. It would take some time and some hard times in between, but it would happen.
All Habakkuk could do was wait.

There are many times when that is all we can do in the midst of our struggles and challenges. We have promises from God that he will never break.

“I will never leave your or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

There are, of course, many, many more. They are all true. They will all be kept. Sometimes the keeping is immediate but sometimes we are made to wait. But the promises will be kept. You can count on it.
]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:44:50 GMT 3F47012AD520C261F0049D5EADD21357