Beware the Sin of Idolatry..... By Bible Pathway

 Beware the Sin of Idolatry

By Bible Pathway

Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin (Jonah 1:1-3).

The history of Israel is clearly outlined in the Bible. For generation after generation, they repeatedly fell prey to being drawn away from the Lord to serve false gods. This did not only happen to the common people, but to their kings, priests and prophets, as well. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (II Tim. 4:4).

The sin of idolatry, or worshiping other gods, is in violation of the Law of God. As a matter of fact, it breaks the first two of the Ten Commandments. It is important to remember that disobedience is the original sin and therefore encompasses all sin. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Ex. 20:2-4).

The Lord always responded in the same way to the disobedience of the nation of Israel. His actions were always fashioned to produce the same outcome. The Lord would send some sort of correction that would cause them to turn their worship back to Him.

In these verses, the Lord is speaking to the prophets who have no faith in Him. He explains the judgment that is coming to them. Their ability to receive prophecy from the Lord was gone. This was a just punishment that should have moved them to realize how much they needed God. We all have the ultimate need for the Lord in our lives. These prophets needed God because, without Him, they would be powerless people.

It is interesting to note that Micah is given the full range of abilities from the Lord just as the others are stripped of theirs. This demonstrates that Micah was a true prophet of God who followed and worshiped only Him.

We must be careful never to stray from God. We may never understand the loss that comes with betraying the Lord and turning to idolatry. There are many gifts that God has given us to use that are never given to those not following the Lord. When we follow God, we open ourselves up to receive spiritual gifts which enable us to better fulfill His will and plan for our life.

Heavenly Lord, fix our eyes upon you, and may we never stray to the right or left from your will. Amen.

The Wisdom of God..... Denison Ministries

 The Wisdom of God

Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

This week we’ll spend time simply stirring up our affections for God. God has designed us to see him, to know his character and to let the truth of his goodness lead us into deeper relationship with him. Augustine wrote, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” In seeing God for who he is, our hearts are naturally stirred to find rest in his goodness. May your heart be stirred at the revelation of God’s wonderful character.

Scripture:“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5

Devotional:

Your heavenly Father is perfectly wise. Everything he does is perfect. Every thought and idea he has is filled with complete wisdom. What’s more, through the Holy Spirit you have access to that wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Your God loves you so much that he’s just waiting to bestow on you his vast wisdom. He never wants you to suffer from a lack of knowledge. So often, we are taught that God only reveals to us what we absolutely have to know right before we need to know it. But that’s not the truth of Scripture. James 1:5 proves that. Your God gives his wisdom “generously!”

Not only is the wisdom of God given to you generously if you ask, but it also has with it incredible attributes. James 3:17 says, “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” The wisdom of God will do incredible things for your life. With it comes the very nature of God. James 3:17 could just as easily have said that God is “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” So when you receive the wisdom God bestows upon you, you are receiving many of the attributes of God himself.

The wisdom of God is unlike any other way of thinking you’ll find. 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’” Jesus taught us in Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The path he is guiding you to is the way out of the stress that worldly ambition and success will assuredly cause. He’s guiding you to a life of abundant peace. When you forgo the wisdom of this world for his, you will undoubtedly appear more foolish to some. But you will have found a way of living free from the burdens of the world. God’s wisdom leads you to a life truly hidden with Christ, lost in the sea of his love and mercy.

Ask God for his wisdom today. Read his word with the guidance of the Spirit. God is waiting patiently to reveal everything you have the desire to seek out. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Ask him for his wisdom today, and live the abundant life God has planned for you.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the amazing qualities of the God’s wisdom. Let meditation stir up within you a desire to think like God.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17

2. Where in your life do you need God’s wisdom? Maybe you need to know how to see yourself. Maybe you have a situation in which you could really use some guidance. Think about the areas in your life in which you need God’s help.

3. Ask God for his wisdom. Have faith in response to his word that he gives wisdom generously, and receive and implement anything he shows you.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”James 1:5

The wisdom of God won’t do much for you if you don’t choose to implement God’s thinking over the world’s. If you continuously work for the favor of man and worldly success in light of what you know to be God’s truth, you will continue to experience the consequences of a life lived foolishly. God’s word must be implemented to produce fruit. You have to choose to live in light of your position in Christ for transcendent peace to become the norm in your life. God gives wisdom to you freely when you ask. The question before you today is simply whether or not you will choose to trust God and implement it.           

Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 3

The Missionary Question..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Missionary Question

Dr. Charles Stanley

Romans 10:11-15

At every missions conference hosted by my church, I give God the same message I've been repeating since my early 20s: "I'm available, Lord. I'll go to foreign fields if you say so." Until He tells me to pack my bags, I'm going to keep on sending others to work among unbelievers in distant and even remote lands.

Paul asked a series of rhetorical questions in Romans 10 that can be summed up like this: How will the world hear about Jesus if you do nothing? God uses Christians to spread the word that His salvation plan is available to all. He put us in families and communities and nations so we will mingle and share what we know. But some believers are called to carry the gospel farther than others. Those who stay behind are to offer prayer and resources for those who travel. 

If you're shaking your head and thinking, Mission work isn't where my heart is, I have news for you: Every believer is called to missions as either a goer or a sender. That call comes in dramatic ways for some, but for most of us, it is simply a biblical principle to be followed (Matt. 28:19). What's missing for those who don't have a "heart" for such work is passion. Christians who share and go and send are often excited about God's message for unbelievers—and it's possible for you to become more enthusiastic too.

I challenge you to ask the Lord, "Am I open to going anywhere You send me?" Our roots in a community should be sunk only as deep as God wills. If you aren't called to go, then choose to be a sender. Offer your prayers, your money, and anything else that will help to put others on the mission field.

Oxygen for the Fire..... SHALA W. GRAHAM

 Oxygen for the Fire

SHALA W. GRAHAM

“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭1:6‬ (‭NLT‬‬)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

My husband and I always dreamed of having a wood-burning fireplace. In the cooler months, we would swoon at the smell of firewood burning as we drove through neighborhoods.

Last summer, our dream came true. God blessed us with a home that included a beautiful wood-burning fireplace. Not only that, but the previous owner left us stacks of wood to carry us through our first winter in our new home. Score!

But as city kids, we had lots to learn about getting a fire going. We had only used a wood-burning fireplace a handful of times, and it was always with a clean-burning log that did all the work for us.

I soon realized that the roaring fire we see in movies takes more work than I anticipated. With the aid of some firestarter sticks, the fire would take off in a blaze of glory. But 15 minutes later, it would die down. The next thing I knew, my once glorious fire was just a pile of embers.

“It needs oxygen,” I concluded after my brain scanned my internal archive of fire knowledge. I grabbed my handy, brand-new bellow, which I had picked up at the local home improvement store, and slowly pushed air into the fireplace.

As more air circulated through the wood, I could see the embers glowing brighter. Little flames were beginning to grow. As I continued to fan air into the fireplace, seemingly out of nowhere my fire was back in full force!

So that’s what the Bible means when it says “fan into flames”!

With a quick internet search, I found the passage the Holy Spirit was directing me toward:

“I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you” (2 Timothy 1:5-6, NLT).

The Apostle Paul was talking to Timothy, his mentee and an evangelist and leader in the early Church. Timothy’s heritage of faith was passed down from his Jewish mother (Eunice) and her mother (Lois). As Paul reminded him of his calling, Paul encouraged Timothy not just to keep the faith but to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave him.

Paul understood that, like a fire, our faith and our ability to operate in our spiritual gifts can start strong, but through time and circumstance, the fire can wane to a pile of smoldering embers, giving off little warmth or light.

But there is hope! The embers of our faith can be restored with spiritual oxygen. For me, “oxygen” can look like rising early, while everyone else is still asleep, to spend a few uninterrupted minutes in the Word of God. It looks like choosing my favorite worship song and singing the lyrics as my prayer to God as I drive. And in desperate times, it means doing whatever is necessary to clear my schedule to retreat alone with the Lord for a weekend or even a day.

To burn bright, our faith requires intentional care — not just once but again and again, consistently. Don’t be discouraged when your faith burns low. God knew we would need to fan our faith into flames over and over, so He gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit.

The next time you think your faith is almost out, give it a thrust of intentional oxygen to quickly rekindle the fire. Then keep it going by using your spiritual gifts to serve others in the name of Jesus.

Father, how blessed we are that You would give each of us precious spiritual gifts! Let us not take our faith for granted. But if we find ourselves in a season where our faith looks like embers, gently nudge us to feed the fire of our faith with Your oxygen. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Prayer to Remember Even When Our Eyes Can’t See..... By: Maggie Meadows Cooper

A Prayer to Remember Even When Our Eyes Can’t See
By: Maggie Meadows Cooper

“But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” - John 5:17 

Not too long ago, we had snow in my little southern town. Beautiful white flakes blowing and swirling and falling all over the place. Some big, some small, but all bringing joy to little and big hearts alike. And as I sat there watching them fall outside my window, my heart and mind were turning with what the Lord was revealing to me through them. 

You see, this was the first time it had snowed in my little hometown in four years. And it had been four years before that. And four years before that…you get the picture. As each winter rolls around, we Southerners pray and watch the weather reports for any minuscule chance of getting to see snow. We allow ourselves to hope and wait expectantly just in case… but many years, as the end of February rolls around, we realize our hopes will not come to fruition. With some disappointment, we set our hopes aside until next year.

I feel like we do this in life too. We all have hopes and dreams we pray for. We long for God to answer our prayers and show us reminders of who He is right away, only to be disappointed when that doesn’t happen. A year passes, then two, then three, and we wonder if He’s still there… if He even hears or sees us. We lose our excitement, anticipation, or expectant hope of what He is going to do because it seems it’s been too long. But y’all, then that fourth year comes. And He “shows up.” He reminds us of His beauty and glory and majesty and faithfulness because we see with our eyes tangible evidence of His work and presence. We praise and “feel” close to Him again, thanking Him for this wonderful moment.

But y’all, guess what? That moment won’t last. The snow is falling, only to last a few hours…maybe a day at most… and then it will be gone. But that’s the difference between earthly circumstances and the Lord. Weather patterns change and snow comes and goes, but the Lord never does! Even when you can’t see Him or feel Him, He is still there! Here are just a few verses to remind us of God’s constant presence with us:

“Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”- Psalm 116:2

“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…” 2 Chronicles 16:9

“But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” John 5:17

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

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

In His perfect timing, the Lord answers our prayers and shows us what He can do. Some of us have longer periods of waiting than others, but when our prayer is answered - when we see and experience that moment of God working (whether it looks like what you thought or not) - we have a decision to make. Will it make any change in our lives? Will we remember? Because that moment won’t last forever.

The seasons of highs and lows, of mountains and valleys, they all come and go. And if we don’t allow the Lord’s teaching and provision in those “feel good” moments, it’s going to be even more difficult in the in-between. We must cling to Him, His truth, and soak up every little lesson so that later, we will remember and be able to tell others of His goodness until it comes again, just like we do in between those “snow years”.

Don’t give up in the hard years y’all. Don’t let doubt fill your time of drought. He is still there, working and moving and growing you behind the scenes, waiting for the perfect time to show you and remind you of His beauty. Thank the Lord for His gifts, ask Him to speak to your heart and give you strength and peace and joy to sustain you until He is “seen” again, and pray for all of it to “stick.”

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for showing up at just the right time. Thank you for reminding me who You are and how faithfully you care for me. Help me to never forget all you have done, are doing, and are going to do in my life. Let all of your lessons and your Word “stick,” that I may serve you and share you and stand firm in the in-between times.

In Your Mighty Name,

Amen

The Scars Are All Part of a Beautiful Story..... By Debbie McDaniel

 The Scars Are All Part of a Beautiful Story

By Debbie McDaniel

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

If you've ever been wounded, or have felt like you needed to hide the scars away from painful times in life, know that you're not alone. Even Jesus faced great insults, wounds, and pain more than we could ever imagine. And He carried His scars right back into that little room where He met his disciples after the Resurrection. Sometimes I've wondered why He didn't choose to let the scars fade away. He'd gained victory over death. He'd made all things new. Yet He still had scars in his hands, His side. (Read the whole story here in John 20:19-29)

Maybe He knew we'd need to be reminded of this truth throughout our own lives: His scars, and ours too, are all part of His beautiful story at work.

He redeems.

He heals.

He sets free.

He restores.

He gives great purpose even through seasons of brokenness and grief.

And the scars are left there to prove it.

We have victory through Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Don't ever doubt, He knows your way, He understands your pain. He promises to use your every scar and broken place to share his message of hope to a world that needs healing and grace.

Peace to you today.

You are held by a Mighty God, and He has good still in store...

Intersecting Faith & Life: Remember today: The scars are all part of your beautiful story. Don’t hide them away. For they are the evidence that God heals and redeems. Choose to thank Him for every scar and painful experience that has allowed you to see His greater power and work shining through.

Further Reading:
John 20:19-29
Galatians 6:17-18
Isaiah 53:3-5