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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Devotionals Week of Feb 2-7th

Monday February 2, 2009 - 1 Kings 19:15-21
Have you ever felt all alone in this world? Have you ever felt as though no one understands you? Have you felt as though nobody else is standing for God, and you, and you alone, are the only one doing your best for the kingdom?
That is exactly the way that Elijah felt. Did he have good cause to feel that way? Maybe. But we must never live our lives from the position of being a victim, or with a poor little me attitude. If you are fighting the battle alone, you still have the Lord, and that makes you a majority in and of itself. It makes you a winner, it makes you a warrior, it makes you a conqueror, it makes you victorious! But you are not alone.
There are thousands fighting the battle, and winning the war. There are thousands that are suffering far greater persecution than you are but they are suffering victoriously. There are those that are far less fortunate that are not crying about the lot that has been given them, they are just doing what God wants them to do.
That is what today's scripture is all about. Elijah said God, I am the only one that loves you. God said no you aren't, let me introduce you to several thousand.

February 3, 2009 - 2 Kings 2:9-15
If you could have any thing in life, what would it be? Well, one of the things that we think of is money. If I could have all the money I needed all would be well. But think of all the people that have hundreds of millions of dollars that have miserable lives. Maybe beauty would be something that we would desire. A beautiful face and body would make my life complete. Well, as one that possess a beautiful face and body, I can tell you that will not turn the world around for you either. Friends, no that will not do it. Power and position in life, nope that still will not do it.
Elisha had the answer. He wanted to be a man of God. Elijah was a man of God and Elisha wanted a portion, no wait, a double portion of what Elijah had. More than anything else he wanted to be a man of God, a man that would be a blessing to others long after his days on this earth was finished.
With everything else, a man without the blessings of God has nothing. With nothing, but only the blessings of God, a man has all that he will ever need.

February 4, 2009 - 2 Kings 4:8-17
Notice verse 8. "And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread." A great woman? This was a lady who was financially well off and of significant social standing. She was a great woman in the eyes of the financial world and the social world as well, but is that what made her a great woman in the eyes of the Lord? She was a spiritual woman. She was able to perceive that Elisha was a holy man of God. She persuaded her husband to build a chamber, a place for this man of God to lodge while passing through the area.
Although she was a lady of society and a woman of wealth she needed and wanted something that society could not give her and that money could not buy. She was barren and her husband was old. She needed a touch from the man of God and a blessing that only God could give her. Because her focus was not on her position in life, nor the size of her bank account, but on the man of God and the blessings of the Father, she obtained the one thing that nothing else could give her, something that only could come from the hand of God.

February 5, 2009 - 2 Kings 4:27-37
What would it take to turn you against the Lord? As a representative of my Lord as an assistant pastor and as a pastor for 34 years, I have seen a lot of people quit on God. They all have their reasons, and I am sure that their reasons are real reasons to them. And yet, the same reason that those that quit use for quitting others use for drawing closer to God. This lady from yesterdays devotional has now lost the child that God had given her.
How could this happen? Why would God do this? Why would God allow this? I am sure that she did not understand, but her response was a Godly response. She clung to the man of God. "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." The God that blessed her, would not leave her at this moment in time. And the God that has bless you, will not leave you at your darkest hour either. He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. The God of the mountain is also the God of the valley.
I have known many that have had their world crash and burn. Those that forsake God never seem to get out of the ashes, those that stay close to God, begin to build new mansions.

February 6, 2009 - 2 Kings 13:14-20
All good things must come to an end, and the life of Elisha has done just that. I think about this more than the average man, maybe I think about it more than I should. Of all of the thoughts that linger in my mind, this one seems to no longer linger, but it abides there. When I die, what will I leave behind?
I read the Word of God and I read of the great men, like Elisha, and I thing how they turned around nations, and history was molded by their faith in God. I truly don't pay much attention to those that claim to be great men of God today because I think most of them have been created by Madison Avenue advertising agencies. I am sure there are some great men of God, I know hundreds of them, and I believe you are truly going to be surprised on judgment day when we find out the men that are truly God's men, who God knows.
Am I going to be one of them? Probably not. Sometimes I don't think I have the power to heal chapped lips, let alone turn around a nation. But I do pray, that when I am in glory, that the ones that know me, will know that I loved them, and that I was real.

February 7, 2009 - Luke 4:23-30
What is true Biblical success? A giant super church? Television programs? Radio broadcasts? Hundreds of thousands at crusades? Millions of followers? Millions of dollars in the bank, enough to buy you several homes, and jet airplanes? If that is the case then every single man and woman listed in Hebrews 11 hall of fame for those displaying great faith, are all utter failures because none of them had any of these things. Neither did they display the attitudes and convictions of those that are considered great today.
What is true Biblical success? Those who live by faith, love the Lord with all their hearts, love others as much as they love themselves, and win people to Christ. That is true Biblical success. That is what God is looking for. Will He find it in me? or you?

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