When was the last time you made a truly eternal promise? If you’re married, hopefully, you’ve made an eternal promise of love and commitment. I’m sure if you have children, you’ve vowed to love and cherish them always. Even something as seemingly simple as getting a tattoo is a promise to yourself that you’ll carry that image on your body for the rest of your life.
Today’s scripture, 2 Samuel 7, reveals the profound truth of God’s eternal promises. This passage contains the Davidic Covenant, where God promises that David’s house will rule forever. We know this promise will be fully realized when Jesus returns to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. Think about it: God has been keeping this promise for over 3,000 years! Despite Israel’s occasional disappointments and frustrations, God remains steadfast.
While our most sincere promises can falter due to betrayal, anger, misunderstanding, or irreconcilable differences, a promise from God is unwavering. That’s a reason for a true celebration!
David’s response to this incredible promise is one of humility and awe: “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” Today, may we find ways to celebrate God’s faithfulness that has endured all this time and will continue long past us.
-Hope Fletcher
Reflection Questions
When have you witnessed or experienced God’s enduring faithfulness?
When have you responded to God with humility and awe saying (similar): ““How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you…”?
How are you at keeping your promises? Can your word be trusted?
In these final chapters of Joshua, we read his deathbed advice to his people. Filled with nuggets of wisdom, Joshua calls the people to remember their history and God’s faithfulness, and he encourages them to continue following God. Joshua reminds the people that there is only One True God, YHWH, and that the household idols and the gods of the people around them are not truly going to save them. Yet still Joshua asks them to make a conscious decision, to declare their devotion one way or the other: “Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!” What a powerful charge to the people! If anyone had been unclear about Joshua’s position, there was no doubt after this profound declaration. Of course, the people agree that they will follow God, and of course, it wouldn’t be long before they would turn away yet again.
Joshua, famous among his people as a devoted follower of the One True God, knew humanity’s tendency to have idolatrous hearts. As he closed out his life, he wanted to remind the people to focus on what – WHO – is truly the most important. If you’re anything like me, you probably scoff at the ways in which the Israelites kept turning from God in spite of all His miraculous provisions, but in reality, all of humanity worships something; the idols are just different for each of us. We have an innate desire to worship, and that should be directed toward our Creator. However, our flesh can often lead us to worship the things of this world – money, entertainment, sex, identity, work, comfort, power, nature, and self – more than we worship our God. We must be alert to the things of this world that are vying for our devotion, keeping our eyes attuned and faithful to our God above all else.
Don’t let Joshua’s words be just an empty platitude on your dining room wall, but really take it to heart. Whom will you serve? Will you follow the empty gods of this age, or will you wake up every day willing to follow the One True God?
-Rachel Cain
Reflections:
What does it mean to really serve the Lord? What idols do you need to cast aside to really seek and serve Him?
Research the ways in which Joshua is a foreshadowing of Jesus. There are many interesting parallels!
If ever there was a dynasty in collegiate sports, it was the UCLA Bruins in the 1960s and 1970s. Over the course of a dozen years, they won 10 NCAA basketball championships. At one point during this spell, they didn’t even lose a single game for three years. There hasn’t been a run like it, or may never be again, and much credit goes to Coach John Wooden and his staff. Wooden didn’t seek out cutting edge strategies or even the most talented players. He cared about self-management and stewardship. Before stepping on the court each player was taught how to put on their socks and tie their shoes. While this may seem demeaning or elementary, it had a dual purpose. The first, to minimize blisters and injury that could prevent a loss of practice time. The second, to see if his players were faithful in the small things. If there was fidelity and discipline to this aspect, it is more likely this same commitment would be found to honing all the fundamentals of the game.
The connection of John Wooden doesn’t initially seem apparent when we examine the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. Initially it seems like a sneaky story about self-preservation instead of faithfulness. An accusation from the owners comes against a middle level management, misusing company resources. When the news reaches the manager’s ear that he will be receiving a pink slip, he makes a game plan that will move him from one company ladder to another. He quickly calls in those who have business dealings with the owner to settle their debts quickly and at a far lesser rate than what they owe in hopes of getting his back scratched in return upon his dismissal. These executive decisions do not get ire, but instead the praise of his employer. Our takeaway is likewise to be shrewd with our resources, taking responsibility for what is directly in front of us.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? – Luke 16:10-11
In every aspect of our dealings with others, whether with little or much, there is a responsibility to take disciplined, calculated action. Instead of acting in fear of losing our livelihood, we work on becoming the best version of ourselves because this shrewdness makes us trustworthy and impactful for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus emphasizes that even the smallest actions are important, and really the basis for the amount of work that will be assigned to us. If we don’t take the time to tie our shoes right, and ultimately miss out on practice or games, we need to sit on a bench. Furthermore, we cannot be expected to lead a revival, or even a Sunday School class, if we cannot be trusted with being disciplined enough to do our own Bible study. We can’t be expected to receive God’s blessing on our business if we keep a tight grip on our purse when it is time to tithe. Going back to the beginning of our week, staying true to a system or fundamentals, will not only develop a single resource, but ultimately encompasses every aspect of our lives, including our relationships, time, and talents.
Finally, one more theme to quickly revisit appears in today’s reading. Despite Israel’s mismanagement, let us again be reminded God’s desire is not to let them go, but to bring them back into the fold when he says: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them” (Hosea 14:4, NIV). This restoration is contingent upon living a life of integrity and faithfulness to God. If we’re going to set foot on the court, let’s not even think about winning first. Let’s make sure first that our socks and shoes are put on properly, looking at our calendar, our bank accounts, and our relationship, and demonstrating to God that we will be faithful with those things that are already set before us, so we may be shrewd managers, benefitting the greatest dynasty yet to come, the Kingdom of God.
-Aaron Winner
Reflection Questions
What small actions have you (now or in the past) tried to skip over? What is the importance of doing these small steps consistently and well before trying to jump ahead to bigger things?
What resources has God currently put you in charge of? What can you do to care for these well?
How do you think God would rate your faithfulness?
What is the biggest take-away you learned from Hosea this week?
As the wife of a pastor, I know first hand that many unintentional happenings in our lives often later become fantastic sermon illustrations. Sometimes, once we recover from the initial shock of a momentous event, my husband Dan and I will look at each other knowingly as if to say, “this will be a great sermon story someday.” Once in a while, Dan will remember and share stories off the cuff while he is preaching. He’s always very respectful of me, choosing to present me in a positive light and make himself the butt of any jokes, but as an introvert who prefers to blend in, I still feel embarrassed when the eyes of the congregation turn to me mid-sermon to take in my reaction to reliving the story. (I’ve joked with Dan that I need to attach a shock collar to him, and every time he starts to say my name, I will activate the shock collar so he will stop talking about me!)
The prophet Hosea was a living, breathing sermon illustration tasked with the responsibility to demonstrate God’s relationship with Israel by marrying a prostitute and having children with her. The whole book is a metaphor about the intimacy, or lack thereof, between YHWH God and his chosen people. It reads almost like a soap opera, declaring how God continues to pursue them even though they keep turning away from Him as Hosea continues to redeem and love his wayward Gomer. (This seems to be the overall theme of the entire Old Testament, doesn’t it?)
It is frustrating to see how our world overall devalues true committed relationships, referring to marriage as a prison, for example. Likewise, our post-Christian culture does not understand the blessing of an intimate relationship with God, our Creator and Sustainer who loves us so much. I am grateful that, though I have sometimes rejected God, He still pursues me. Psalm 121 from today’s reading is evidence of God’s love for us – he wouldn’t help us so much if He didn’t love us and desire to draw us back into a relationship with Him!
I am still in awe that, despite our wishy-washiness toward Him and even knowing that humankind would tend to always have such a desultory demeanor, still “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
Reflection questions:
-How has God pursued you?
-In what practical ways can you demonstrate the never-failing love of our Father YHWH to those around you?
Today we will discuss a few pieces of wisdom from Proverbs 27. Some sections of the book offer extended advice on one topic, but for this chapter I will just comment on three verses.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6). I think this is a helpful reminder about the nature of wisdom, whether with human friends or our relationship with God. Love sometimes involves the willingness to say someone is wrong, but being told you are wrong can be painful. That means the friend can be taking a risk to offer that truth. And the pain involved for the one hearing the truth may be in proportion to how much pride has built up for them, how much of a false image needs to be removed. But truth is better than a lie, even when truth hurts. (A proverb can’t cover every detail, and this isn’t saying that a friend should seek to harm when giving the truth. Faithfulness and friendship are already assumed in this proverb.) But on the other side of matters an enemy will be quite ready to mislead while seeming friendly, giving deceitful kisses (perhaps only metaphorically) as they guide someone’s conduct and heart astray. Remember that truth is not determined by how we feel when we first hear it, it must be examined.
When I was at Bible college we used to talk about Proverbs 27:14: “If you loudly greet your neighbor early in the morning, he will think of it as a curse.” To me the application for this text involved the frustration of being up early if you were not a morning person, if someone else was and they were not cautious about their conduct. At college we had added issues to watch out for, like people who had stayed up late into the night studying or writing, or talking about theology (or life). But when I looked up this text to see the views of researchers I found reference after reference treating it as about over-the-top flattery or kindness being treated as a sign of hypocrisy to be rejected. I was quite surprised. Maybe I was just too focused on one perspective, or perhaps I am too used to honesty to think in those terms. Still, it never occurred to me from the text to see the meaning that way. But this is a useful illustration of the fact that proverbs are open to interpretation. Dwelling on one, working it over in your mind, or even sharing your thoughts about it with another person, can allow you to gain insight.
“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (v. 17) This is another proverb that I have been aware of and considered for many years. It brings to mind a late stage in the process of developing a tool, perhaps a sword. It supposes that we all are hardened, we all have gone through some discipline and experience. But seeking to grow with each other we can hone the edges of what we are meant to be. Some years ago there was a theological journal published out of Michigan called Sharpening Steel which took its name from this verse. I believe the idea of the title was that by people examining scriptures and writing about what they learned from them believers would be able to help each other gain new ideas and new thoughts about how to grow and serve. It is a useful principle for a journal but also for how we operate in our regular lives.
Lord, as I finish this week of writing devotions I ask you to watch over the people who have been reading these words. Help them to find the strength they need. None of them are meant to be acting alone. Please, Lord, help the ones that are trying to go it alone this week to reach out to a brother or a sister in Christ and acknowledge that they need more strength than they have. Don’t let any of us be closed off. I feel that this is not the case right now. Let your Spirit work in the hearts of your people. Let the knowledge of Jesus’s love warm us all. May we reach out to each other. In the name of your son I pray these things. Amen.
-Daniel Smead
Questions:
Can you look back on a time when you think you learned something that seemed painful and you later recognized it was true and valuable? Has that changed your behavior?
What do you speak to other believers about? How often do you find time to talk about what you have valued in the scripture? Or what you find beautiful in the world? Or what you have struggled with?
Don’t assume that you must be much stronger than those around you to be able to be of any help – iron can sharpen iron, it doesn’t take diamond. Notice that the proverb is meant to work both ways, are you prepared to be strengthened by those around you? For that to happen will there need to be any change in your thinking or your attitudes?
Have you ever received a mushy love letter that resulted in a permanent smile pasted on your face? My late father-in-law Rex Cain shared stories about writing love letters to his girlfriend Grace (who later became his wife) when he was states away at Oregon Bible College in the 1950s. He would save his pennies for postage stamps and brief long-distance phone calls while he anxiously awaited her letters via snail mail.
Communication has changed a lot since then. Now we can reach people almost anytime, anywhere, as they probably carry their cell phones everywhere they go. We can video chat instantly with people from all over the world and send written correspondence lickety-split via email and text. (Call me old fashioned, but even though I am very grateful for the technological advancements that have allowed us so much more contact with each other, nothing can quite replace a handwritten letter or card from someone you love.)
I’ve heard it said that the Bible is God’s love letter to us. I also envision that many of the Psalms are the writer’s love letters to God. Psalm 44 begins as a love letter style – it might have even been put to music. The author writes about God’s faithfulness to His people in the past and renews their devotion to God. “For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me… In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.” (Psalm 44:6, 8 ESV)
Then in verse nine, this love letter turns a bit sour as the writer wonders aloud why God seems to have abandoned them. Something bad has happened to Israel, perhaps some battles that didn’t end well, even “though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way…” (vs 17,18). Israel is still faithfully serving God, but things are not going well for them.
Here, the writer is poetically penning the collective thoughts and doubts of God’s chosen people, speaking directly to God. They need help and answers! Perhaps sometimes we are afraid to tell God what we really think, but He already knows. He created us with emotions and feelings, and I think He wants us to share those with Him. But notice how this psalm ends. It doesn’t conclude by harping on God and turning away from Him. Rather, in verse 26 we observe an optimistic plea as the author remembers how God has always been faithful in the past, and believes that He will yet again show up to help His people: “Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”
Even in your times of doubting, don’t forget to remember God’s faithfulness. The Bible is packed with true tales of God’s provision, and if you think back hard enough into your own life, I bet you will recognize many times when God came through in your darkest moments as well.
-Rachel Cain
Reflections:
Pen your own psalm. In this season of life, would your psalm be mostly praise and triumph, or more lamenting and questioning? Be sure to remember His faithfulness in your life as you close out the psalm.
Do you journal? It can be a great way to remember God’s faithfulness in your life. It doesn’t have to be elaborate; you can even do a quick bullet journal style. Journaling is a concrete way to look back to see God’s provision in your life. Jump in this week and give it a try!
Which part of this psalm speaks most to your heart today?
Abraham was a man of incredible faith. God made astounding promises to Abraham, and Abraham believed God – and this was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham lived a long and faithful life of service to God, then, as recorded in Genesis 25, Abraham died.
We’re picking up the story in Genesis 26 – after Abraham was dead and gone. Genesis 26 starts by telling about a famine in the land that was so bad that Isaac (Abraham’s heir) had to move to have enough food to eat.
Then we find this amazing encounter in Genesis 26:2-6, “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.”
God promised:
To give Isaac and his descendants all these lands
To confirm the oath God has sworn to Abraham
To make Isaac’s descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky
To bless all nations on earth through Isaac’s offspring (Jesus)
And did you notice why God extended all of these promises to Isaac? “Why” is recorded in verse 5: “because Abraham obeyed me and did everything (emphasis added)I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
Did you catch that? Isaac was promised that he would receive incredible blessings because his dad had obeyed God and had done everything God required.
A couple of years later, in Genesis 26:24, we read, “That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Again, God extended blessings to Isaac because of Abraham’s faithfulness.
And oh yeah, most of that obedience to God was before Isaac was even born.
We’ve heard about the blessings for ourselves if we follow God – especially eternal life in the Kingdom of God. We don’t often think of the blessings for our descendants because of our faithfulness to God.
When I was young, my dad would have us memorize scripture. One of those verses he had us memorize was Psalm 37:25 which says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
I think the point my dad was trying to make was that we needed to be righteous, and God would never forsake us. But I remember thinking something like this at the time: “I’m glad my dad is righteous, because in spite of my not necessarily being righteous, I will be blessed because of my dad’s righteousness.”
Now that I’m old, I recognize that the decisions I made, and the example I demonstrated had an impact (for good or for bad) on my kids. As a result, they have picked up both some of my good traits and some of my bad traits. I wish now that I had demonstrated more good examples and fewer bad examples – not only for my own benefit, but also for the benefit of my children.
Now let’s talk about you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teen, a parent, a grandparent, young, or old. The most important thing you can do with your life is to obey God, and do everything He requires. This will guarantee you eternal life in God’s coming kingdom, and may also give you many blessings in this life (not necessarily including health and wealth). But in addition to your blessings, you may also pass along an inheritance of faithfulness to God to your kids – even those unborn. And then they too can have incredible blessings.
So, if you love your kids, obey God.
-Steve Mattison
Reflection Questions
What are all the benefits/blessings you see to obeying God? Which have you already enjoyed? Which are you still looking forward to?
How are you doing in the faithfulness department? Will God be able to tell your descendants that you obeyed Him, did everything He required, and followed His laws?
One of the major themes of the entire Bible is God blessing the entire world through His people, not just taking care of His own in one particular land. This was part of the original promise to Abraham, that he would be a father of many nations, not just one (Genesis 17:4). It was also the original mission of Israel, to be a “light to the nations” and bring God’s glory to other lands outside of their own (Isaiah 49:6). That mission has now extended to the Church, as we proclaim salvation to the ends of the earth, not to just one people-group or nation (Matthew 5:14-16). With this in mind, we come to the story of Ruth, a non-Israelite who was blessed by God for her faithfulness to her mother-in-law.
Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, had just lost her husband and both of her sons. I can’t even imagine the pain that she must have been feeling; no parent should ever have to bury their child (let alone two!). She was wanting to go back to Judah amongst her native people, but Ruth refused to let her go alone. Ruth followed her into a country that she didn’t know, and put herself at the mercy of Naomi’s God, YHWH, to take care of her. Because of her radical faithfulness and trust, she eventually meets the man of her dreams, Boaz, and the two live happily ever after. In fact, their family line is the one that Jesus would eventually come through (see Matthew 1:5). What’s even more impressive about this love story is that all this was happening during the tragic reign of Israel’s judges, just one book before this one. In one of the darkest times in Israel’s history, God was still working behind-the-scenes, creating beauty in the midst of chaos.
-Talon Paul
Questions to Consider
Do you trust that God is doing wonders outside of your native country? Do you consider believers of other countries to be brothers and sisters? Will you pray for them today?
When people are going through a difficult time, sometimes the best thing we can do is simply be there for them and walk with them through it. Have you ever had a friend be there for you when you needed them most? Are you willing to be that friend to someone else? Sometimes people don’t need advice; they just need a shoulder to cry on.
If you are in a dark season of life, God is still working out something beautiful, even if you can’t see it yet. Will you continue to trust God when life seems bleak? Will you remain faithful to Him, even when it seems like nothing is going right?
Have you ever had a broken heart? Perhaps, your first experience with a broken heart was as a child. That first crush was a “crushing” experience. You gave your true love a note: “Do you like me? Check yes or no.” The answer was “no” and you were devastated. Your heart was broken. However, broken hearts are not just for kids or teens. (How many of you parents had to console your teenager who was just dumped?) Broken hearts are for big girls and big boys too. I remember hearing the story of a woman. Her husband came home from work one day and simply announced, “I want a divorce!” There was no warning or reason given. His mind could not be changed. She was devastated. I also had a friend who arrived home to an apartment that appeared ransacked. He discovered that his wife had taken all her stuff and anything else that was valuable and left without a word. A few days later he learned that she had actually moved to another state. The divorce papers arrived in the mail. It is no wonder that there are so many country songs about heartbreak. In heartbreak, it is not only the pain of separation. It is also the message that you are not loved, that you are not good enough, and that you are not valuable to the one that you love. It is a personal injury and It hurts… bad! Did you know that God feels heartbreak?
Hosea was a prophet. Hosea had a message for the wayward people of Israel. However, his message did not merely take the form of words. Hosea’s message was found in his tragic life of heartbreak. God commanded Hosea to marry a wife of harlotry. In other words, Hosea was to marry a prostitute! He married Gomer, however, it was not marital bliss. Gomer was not a woman who was in the habit of being faithful. She pursued other lovers. In fact, Hosea had reason to doubt if the children born into marriage were even his. Eventually, Gomer ran away and became enslaved. The names of their children not only reflect the tumultuous relationship between Hosea and Gomer, but they also represent the strained relationship between God and Israel. The children are named “Jezreel” (a place of a massacre and symbol of the violence in Israel), Lo-ruhamah (No compassion) and Lo-ammi (not my people). The relationship between Hosea and Gomer was a parallel to God’s relationship with Israel at the time. For Israel had been an unfaithful wife to the LORD. The nation of Israel had forgotten their one true God and went off in pursuit of idols. They had broken God’s covenant by indulging in all sorts of immoral acts and by embracing violence and by allowing injustice. God was heartbroken. Hosea, in his sorrow, could see the heartbreak of God.
Now, if Hosea and Gomer were your next-door neighbors, what advice would you give to Hosea? You would probably sympathize with Hosea. You would say, “Forget that woman. Move on with your life!” However, the surprise in the book of Hosea is that God commanded Hosea to seek Gomer out and rescue her from her enslavement. In a strange twist of fate, Hosea “redeemed” or bought his own wife out of slavery and brought her back home. In the same way, God has not given up on us sinners. He seeks us out. He has sent His son to die on the cross for our sins that we might be redeemed. Also, we begin to appreciate the hurt and sorrow that God feels over the human race. For we have broken His heart. Yet, God still loves you.
-Scott Deane
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Hosea 1-2 and 1 John 2
This morning, we are reading Psalm 132-133. The author of these Psalms calls upon God to remember David, his afficitions, his praise, and the promises that God gave him. We get a taste of David’s endurance and God’s faithfulness to him and the people of Israel.
I read these scriptures as a prayer. This author is intimate and transparent. They desire for God to rise up for them. And he is specific about it. He asks God to remember the promise he gave to David and to keep going. Wow. I admire the spiritual confidence of this author.
The idea of calling upon God in this way is tricky. We should never go to God with demands and tell him what to do for us. “Okay, God. You WILL do this.” Nah… I don’t think that will get us anywhere. We can never forget the privilege it is to be able to sit at our Father’s feet and pray to him. We can thank the Messiah for that–along with so much more.
However, I think this Psalmist is doing something right. He is praying in a way that we likely don’t do enough. We praise God for what he did, what he’s doing, and what he WILL do.
The LORD wants us to remember. Hebrews 1 is another amazing biblical example of this idea. The author of Hebrews exclaims the faithfulness of so many of those that came before him–all to the glory of God.
By the author asking God to remember David, the author is expressing to God that he believes, relies, and wholeheartedly trusts in him to work and move. The author is expressing that he is right where David was–open and available to God.
I want to pray like this. I want God to know that I am excited for him to fulfill the promises he made to the men and women who walked with his Son, our Lord Jesus first. I want him to know that I am making him my resting place as they did. I will always remember.
Our God never fails. He is faithful. He is true. And he always will be.
Today’s song is Faithful Now by Vertical Worship.
-Leslie Jones
Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway.com here – Psalm 132-133 and Ezekiel 43-44
Seek Grow Love 