Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!--Psalm 24:7-10
Nothing will ever befall you apart from his wise and loving providence over your circumstances. Don't fear. And, by implication, don't be angry in a way that contradicts your confidence in God's care over your life. God's providence should change the way we experience circumstances that would otherwise be totally infuriating.
It's already time for another recap of the last 6 devotions. Time flies, eh?
Day 57--Burden For the Poor
We are to be generous people, especially when dealing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. No Christian should ever charge interest to another Christian when loaning them anything. And, as we can see from the story of the widow's mite, and Paul's speaking of the Macedonians (I think that's right), you don't even have to be wealthy to be generous. Generosity is a state of heart.
Day 58--Zeal For Righteousness
Nehemiah is working to restore life by the law of God. Specifically, he attacks those who have fallen to ignoring Sabbath laws by allowing traveling vendors to come in and sell their wares on the Sabbath.
Our modern day relationship with God is examined. We have a unique relationship with God, just as the people of ancient Israel did. Our difference is Christ. He provides us with direct access to our Father in heaven. We should have a passion for living by his word.
Day 59--Just Such A Time
We begin looking at Esther, and her unique position in the history of Israel. He people are being threatened with anihilation by Haman, who, for some reason, hates Jews. But Esther, the queen, is a Jew. Her uncle, Mordecai, convinces her to risk her life to save her people. Just like Esther, we should always be ready to face challenges, because we don't know but that our Father has placed us in this world for "just such a time as this."
Day 60--Preoccupations
Haman could not enjoy any of the blessings in his life because he was preoccupied with his hatred for Jews, and especially Mordecai. When we become obsessed with things that ought not be, we basically ruin our lives. Anger is a thing that destroys our ministries entirely. It is typically a result of a preoccupation with something useless. Our obsession should be Christ. We should set our minds on things above, as Paul commands us in Colossians.
Day 61--Justice Served
Haman gets his. This is a classic example of "what goes around comes around." Dig a pit, you fall into it. Haman built a gallows; he was hung on it.
God's justice is swift and sure, unlike man's version. Man's version is corrupt. It has a price. Man can be bought and justice is seldom served any more. But God's justice will be served and there will be no negotiation, no second chance. We must be about warning people of this justice. And we must also be cautious of how we treat others, as we don't want to fall prey to this horrible justice, ourselves.
Day 62--God Gives, God Takes
This day, we venture into Job. Job has just lost everything because of an apparent "wager" between God and Satan. It seems cruel, but as I discussed in the entry, God has ultimate rights over all of his creation. The Psalms tell us that "God is in the heavens, he does whatever he pleases." (Psalm 115:3) But Job responds graciously. He never loses faith in God, and is fully aware of the truth that "God gives and God takes away." We should evaluate items that we use on a daily basis, and contemplate how we would feel if we suddenly lost them.
Grace and peace, y'all!