Devotionals 11-15

"Shine, don't whine" "I shall not want" Secret of Satisfaction

Deceitfulness of Riches The Value of your soul

Paul wrote with a merry heart, "...I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:8&14. He wrote those words while he was in prison for doing what God had told him to do. He was obedient to God's divine calling and yet it brought him to a place behind bars and surrounded by cold stony walls. There times in life when the innocent seem to suffer terrible losses just for doing right. A good Samaritan gets hit by a car helping someone. A sweet Godly wife looses a husband to a drunken driver. A heart surgeon accidentally gets an incurable disease while suturing a patient. There many Christians who are facing difficult situations, though no fault of their own, and have learned to shine for Jesus rather than wine about the circumstances. Paul had leaned long before he was in prison to shine for Jesus by keeping his focus on Christ not on the wrong done to him. Everything was worthless compared to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. How could a man who suffered so much wrong write, "...but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your request be made know unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus Phil. 4:6-7. He never loss sight of Gods unconditional love. He was totally committed to Christ whatever God had laid out for him during the course of his life. Have you ever felt like just quitting because you have suffered undeserving wrong from the attacks or carelessness of another. Discouragement is settling in on your broken heart. Paul knew what it was like to be rejected, hated, and misunderstood, but he also knew that he could endure all things through Christ which strengthened him Phil. 4:13. When Satan throws his fiery darts at you and life seems to be full of emotional pain remind yourself to shine for Jesus, don't wine. God is not distant. He is ever present and wants to be part of praise and worship through a deep fellowship with Him. Dwell deep in Gods word. His promises are sufficient to meet your overwhelming heartaches, trial, or times of personal failures. Forget those things that are behind you and reach forth unto those things which are before you, Phil. 4:13. Shine for Jesus!

"I shall not want" Psalm 23:1

Many people go through life never realizing that Lord, God, Jehovah, wants to be their shepherd. He is interested in every little thing that concerns you. There is nothing He is going to overlook. He is the all sufficient one whom your soul longs for, but few be there who realize that the longing in their heart is for the Shepherd. They continue to look for possessions, people and things to meet their hearts desires. A little girl was one overheard saying, "The Lord is my shepherd, He is all I need." When the Lord is your shepherd He will provide for His sheep. If you want peace, joy, sanctification, and blessings yield your soul to the shepherd. He has promised, "No good thing will I withhold from them who walk uprightly." It is for our mercy that the word "good" was put in, for there many things we may want, but not for our good. There are many people whose foolish cravings and restless anxieties make them always in want. He does not say, "The Lord is your Shepherd, and therefore you shall have whatsoever your soul lusteth after." There are many whom if you gave them money, mansions, and marriage to a spouse, they would still be wanting more. Perhaps it is because the Lord is not their Shepherd, but things are their shepherd. When the LORD is your Shepherd you shall not want for love, for the Shepherd gave his life for His sheep. He provides for His sheep. He is the protector of His sheep in lives storms. He is the preserver of His sheep when the evil devourer tries to take your possessions away. He never forgets His sheep and knows them by name. He never fails His sheep and knows their every need. He never forsakes His sheep and knows their every danger before they ever faced it. He is ever faithful that we may fully trust him, even when all seems to fail. When He is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want because His riches are unsearchable, His joy is unspeakable, His power is unlimited, His word is unshakable, His love is unchanging, and His faithfulness is unfailing. When He is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want when bread ceases, because "man shall not live by bread alone." I shall not be in want when my purse is empty for He has the coin in the fishes mouth. I shall not be in want for rest, for He has said, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." I shall not be in want for guidance, for His word is a lamp unto my feet. I shall not be in want for peace, for great peace have they who love His word. I shall not be in want for comfort and companionship, for He will never leave us or forsake us. I shall not be in want for any thing for He is my Shepherd.
If the Lord is not your Shepherd, you shall be in want!!!

Secret of Satisfaction Mark 8:34-38

    A little boy went with his father and mother out to eat at very expensive steak house. When the waiter came to take the orders for the meal the little boy totally ignored the menu and ordered his favorite meal.... pancakes. Dad and Mon were equally surprised as was the waiter. Surely the young lad would want a small steak. "All I want is lots of pancakes!" , said the little boy. The waiter later brought the boy three large pancakes. To dads' surprise the boy ate all the pancakes. He then ordered a second helping and ate those too. Dad then asked his son, "Do you want any more pancakes, son?" The little boy then being over stuffed with pancakes said, "Dad I don't even want the ones I've ate already!!"
    Many people have earnestly coveted some thing only to discover that after they got what they wanted they did not want what they got. The self denial ethic which once ruled American life is now replaced by pagan ethics that refuse to deny yourself anything. Acting in the guise of self satisfaction, many people are awaking in the middle of their life to a broken marriage, a muddled state of mind, and a misguided career because of their humanistic values. Many people are shifting their values away from their moral past and are finding that they have signed a death warrant for their future. They got what they wanted, but now do not want what they have got. The worst fear for many people in our selfullfilled society today is to be empty handed of materialistic things. There is a great danger in getting an abundance of materialism, that is , apathy, apostasy, and anarchism. Any person who is preoccupied with their will and not God's will can easily be caught off guard when Satan attacks. Satan will always give you what you want so that He can get what He wants. He always majors on the satisfaction of the moment at the neglect of the future. He want you to sacrifice what you have to get what you don't have. He wants you to abandon your moral past , but you cannot have free love and a secure marriage. Neither can you fulfill your selfish desires and buy for yourself whatever you want and have a lasting marriage. Whenever SELF rears its ugly head in any relationship that relationship will be severely bruised. You can not have it all! Any true definition of lasting satisfaction must include a denial of oneself. You can not be your own authority without the restrictions of God and still be satisfied with your choice in eternity. The real secret of satisfaction in life is not found in living for oneself, but in living for Christ and others.
    Jesus said, "...let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Jn. 8:34

Deceitfulness of Riches Luke 12:16-21

The story of the rich man makes plain the foolishness of preparing for only this life without preparing your soul for eternity. This man had fallen into a trap that captures most men, that is, trying to gain financial independence through the abundance of riches, but never gaining financial freedom by preparing the soul for eternity. Financial independence sets a trap of false security . Rich people seldom feel a need for the spiritual because all their physical needs are so well taken care of . They don't feel that need to be dependent upon God for anything. With financial freedom man is totally dependent upon God for everything. It is God who gives man the power to get wealth. Real financial freedom depends upon how much God has of you, but financial independence depends upon how much you have of this world. Financial independence is temporal. You can loose it. The money you have is only for this life. Financial freedom is eternal. No man can take away God's riches. Your treasures are laid up in heaven. The rich man had mistook time for eternity when he said, "...soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years." The financially independent man may have enough money to take care of every need of the body, but no amount of money can ever deliver your soul from hell. The rich man in our passage had taken care of his body, but had neglected his soul.. He left God out of his plans. He had no thought of God's claim upon his life. He thought only of himself. He thought that his financial independence would bring him joy and freedom, but it only brought him sorrow and a snare. When ever you attempt to de-exist God in your financial dealings, you are redefining truth and reality which will only result in a false security rather than eternal security.
Paul writes in I Timothy 6:9, "they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Paul is saying, "...take heed, and beware of the deceitfulness of riches." You can not be your own authority without the restrictions of God and still be fulfilled with financial freedom. Financial independence apart from God will finally bring man to a roaring cavern of unending flame called Hell. Seek to be financially free by laying your treasures up in heaven.

The Value of your soul Matt. 16:26

Scripture tells us that God formed man out the dust of the ground and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. When the breath of God merged with the flesh of man, man became a living soul. Mans' soul remains in a conscious state throughout eternity. This eternal conscious part of man is more valuable than anything this world have. There is no amount of money that can equal the value of a mans' soul. Jesus made it plain and simple when He said, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?..." The man who looses his soul has suffered loss beyond any measure. You can not put a price on an eternal soul. There is not enough money in the world to equal a souls value. What is there in this life that would make men sell their soul to the devil. Paul writes in I Tim. 6:9, "they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Paul knew that the deceitfulness of riches would make a man treasure up for himself upon earth things which he has no need. A man sees only his wants rather than the needs of his soul. Things blind the eyes of mans understanding and closes his ears to hearing God's claims upon his soul. By seeking things to make his life more and more comfortable, easy, and secure, man blinds the soul into believing a lie: that he has the right to do with himself as he pleases. By seeking sensual pleasures, thrills, excitement, stimulation of the world, man becomes a hedonistic excentialist and neglects the eternal claims of Christ upon his eternal soul. He has no treasures laid up for his eternal soul. He only thinks of this life and of the things that satisfy his body but not his soul. God created man with an eternal soul (Gen. 2:7) therefore, the things that satisfy the body can never satisfy the soul.. If man could gain the whole world, all the pleasure and wealth and power and fame are nothing compared to his soul. Things are temporal, i.e. clothes, cars, popularity, and power, but the soul is eternal . A person possesses things only for a short time. Everything fades and passes away. The human soul is eternal. The soul never dies and never ceases to exist. It shall live forever with God in heaven or without God in hell for eternity (Mark 9:43-48, Isaiah 66:24) . Once a man has lost his soul, it is lost! It cannot be brought back. The man who forfeits his soul for things, popularity, fame, power, possessions and wealth suffers the loss of it forever. Even if a man possessed all the wealth of the world, he would not be able to buy back his soul. It is gone forever! What are you giving in exchange for your soul?