The Heart is Still Crooked

Pray Over This

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

 

Ponder This

You and I have a heart problem. I'm not talking about a physical ailment. This is an ailment that resists all medication. All the spiritual exercise and all the spiritual diet in the world will not cure the disease of our hearts.

 

The heart is sick; it resists meditation.

 

Many people don't understand that their problem is their hearts, and they're trying to medicate their hearts, when they really need heart transplants. They are trying somehow to cure the problem of sin. But sin is on the inside. Even if you reform on the outside, you've not dealt with the problem of the heart. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.  

 

I've been to a sawmill from time to time, and watched them put the logs on the cradle, and lop off the edges. They'll take a big log out of the woods that has bumps and knots on it. It may be a little crooked, but they lay it on the cradle, and run it through until it looks straight. On the outside, it's perfectly square, and if you stand and look down it, it's perfectly straight. But if you look at the end of it, the heart is still crooked. That's the way it is with some individuals. Many individuals have tried to reform outwardly. Reformation is not enough. You need regeneration.

What are some ways you have seen that the heart is wicked? What are some ways you have seen that your heart is wicked?

What are some ways God has healed your heart? What are some areas in your heart that still need transformation and healing?

 

Practice This

Pray and open yourself up to God, asking Him to reveal where you still need healing and transformation in your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

September 14

Luke 23:1-12

[1] Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. [2] And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” [3] And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” [4] Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” [5] But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

[6] When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. [7] And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. [8] When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. [9] So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. [10] The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. [11] And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. [12] And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

Hebrews 8:7-13

[7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

[8] For he finds fault with them when he says: 

    “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,

        when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel

        and with the house of Judah, 

    [9] not like the covenant that I made with their fathers

        on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

    For they did not continue in my covenant,

        and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 

    [10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

        after those days, declares the Lord:

    I will put my laws into their minds,

        and write them on their hearts,

    and I will be their God,

        and they shall be my people. 

    [11] And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor

        and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

    for they shall all know me,

        from the least of them to the greatest. 

    [12] For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,

        and I will remember their sins no more.”

    [13] In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Proverbs 25:1-14

[1] These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

    [2] It is the glory of God to conceal things,

        but the glory of kings is to search things out. 

    [3] As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

        so the heart of kings is unsearchable. 

    [4] Take away the dross from the silver,

        and the smith has material for a vessel; 

    [5] take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

        and his throne will be established in righteousness. 

    [6] Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

        or stand in the place of the great, 

    [7] for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

        than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

    What your eyes have seen 

    [8]     do not hastily bring into court,

    for what will you do in the end,

        when your neighbor puts you to shame? 

    [9] Argue your case with your neighbor himself,

        and do not reveal another’s secret, 

    [10] lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

        and your ill repute have no end.

    [11] A word fitly spoken

        is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 

    [12] Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

        is a wise reprover to a listening ear. 

    [13] Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

        is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

        he refreshes the soul of his masters. 

    [14] Like clouds and wind without rain

        is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

Isaiah 37

[1] As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. [2] And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. [3] They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. [4] It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

[5] When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, [6] Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. [7] Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”

[8] The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. [9] Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has set out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, [10] “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. [11] Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? [12] Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? [13] Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

[14] Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. [15] And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: [16] “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. [17] Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. [18] Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, [19] and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. [20] So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.”

[21] Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, [22] this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: 

    “‘She despises you, she scorns you—

        the virgin daughter of Zion;

    she wags her head behind you—

        the daughter of Jerusalem.

    [23] “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?

        Against whom have you raised your voice

    and lifted your eyes to the heights?

        Against the Holy One of Israel! 

    [24] By your servants you have mocked the Lord,

        and you have said, With my many chariots

    I have gone up the heights of the mountains,

        to the far recesses of Lebanon,

    to cut down its tallest cedars,

        its choicest cypresses,

    to come to its remotest height,

        its most fruitful forest. 

    [25] I dug wells

        and drank waters,

    to dry up with the sole of my foot

        all the streams of Egypt.

    [26] “‘Have you not heard

        that I determined it long ago?

    I planned from days of old

        what now I bring to pass,

    that you should make fortified cities

        crash into heaps of ruins, 

    [27] while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,

        are dismayed and confounded,

    and have become like plants of the field

        and like tender grass,

    like grass on the housetops,

        blighted before it is grown.

    [28] “‘I know your sitting down

        and your going out and coming in,

        and your raging against me. 

    [29] Because you have raged against me

        and your complacency has come to my ears,

    I will put my hook in your nose

        and my bit in your mouth,

    and I will turn you back on the way

        by which you came.’

    [30] “And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. [31] And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. [32] For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

[33] “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. [34] By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. [35] For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

[36] And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. [37] Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. [38] And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Isaiah 38

[1] In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” [2] Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, [3] and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

[4] Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: [5] “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. [6] I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

[7] “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised: [8] Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

[9] A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

    [10] I said, In the middle of my days

        I must depart;

    I am consigned to the gates of Sheol

        for the rest of my years. 

    [11] I said, I shall not see the LORD,

        the LORD in the land of the living;

    I shall look on man no more

        among the inhabitants of the world. 

    [12] My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me

        like a shepherd’s tent;

    like a weaver I have rolled up my life;

        he cuts me off from the loom;

    from day to night you bring me to an end; 

    [13]     I calmed myself until morning;

    like a lion he breaks all my bones;

        from day to night you bring me to an end.

    [14] Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;

        I moan like a dove.

    My eyes are weary with looking upward.

        O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety! 

    [15] What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,

        and he himself has done it.

    I walk slowly all my years

        because of the bitterness of my soul.

    [16] O Lord, by these things men live,

        and in all these is the life of my spirit.

        Oh restore me to health and make me live! 

    [17] Behold, it was for my welfare

        that I had great bitterness;

    but in love you have delivered my life

        from the pit of destruction,

    for you have cast all my sins

        behind your back. 

    [18] For Sheol does not thank you;

        death does not praise you;

    those who go down to the pit do not hope

        for your faithfulness. 

    [19] The living, the living, he thanks you,

        as I do this day;

    the father makes known to the children

        your faithfulness.

    [20] The LORD will save me,

        and we will play my music on stringed instruments

    all the days of our lives,

        at the house of the LORD.

    [21] Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” [22] Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”

Isaiah 39

[1] At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. [2] And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. [3] Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” [4] He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

[5] Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: [6] Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. [7] And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [8] Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security 

God Will Supply All Your Needs

My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And then in Philippians 4:19 (just 13 verses later), he gives the liberating promise of future grace: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

If we live by faith in this promise of future grace, it will be very hard for anxiety to survive. God’s “riches in glory” are inexhaustible. He really means for us not to worry about our future.

We should follow this pattern that Paul lays out for us. We should battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of future grace.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I regularly battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises, Isaiah 41:10.

The day I left America for three years in Germany my father called me long distance and gave me this promise on the telephone. For three years I must have quoted it to myself five hundred times to get me through periods of tremendous stress. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

I have fought anxiety with this promise so many times that when the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10.

John Piper 

When the Blind Leading the Blind is a Good Thing

Pray Over This

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:32

 

Ponder This

A man was blinded in an accident. He was a young man who had spent most of his life with perfect eyesight. Following his accident, he was bitter, confused, hurt, and filled with remorse and confusion. After some time, he went to a school for the blind. He dreaded it but he went for a tour and his guide gave him all the instructions he needed like, “There are ten steps.” He said, “Count them as we go down. There are ten that go out of this building.” And he said, “I'll be right here at your elbow. In case anything goes wrong.” That gave the young man some assurance.   They went down the ten steps. They took their time. And when they made the entire circuit of the campus, the young man was feeling better. After the guided tour, he said, “I know where I am. I feel a little bit at home.”

 

He told the guide, “Thank you so much. I had so much fear when I came here. But you've helped me so much. You've been very understanding. It's hard for someone to understand when you're blind.” The tour guide responded, “I can understand because I'm blind also.” Those who have received mercy know how to show it more than anybody else. If you haven't received mercy, no wonder you don't show mercy. If God, in love has forgiven us, how much more should we forgive one another?

What are some of the ways God has shown you mercy? How has that impacted you?

When has it been hard for you to be merciful toward someone else? What makes that challenging?

 

Practice This

Pray for someone for whom you have had a hard time showing mercy.

 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

September 13

Luke 22:63-71

[63] Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. [64] They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” [65] And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

[66] When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, [67] “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, [68] and if I ask you, you will not answer. [69] But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” [70] So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” [71] Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

Hebrews 8:1-6

[1] Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, [2] a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. [3] For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. [4] Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. [5] They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” [6] But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.

Proverbs 24:23-34

[23] These also are sayings of the wise. 

    Partiality in judging is not good. 

    [24] Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”

        will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, 

    [25] but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

        and a good blessing will come upon them. 

    [26] Whoever gives an honest answer

        kisses the lips.

    [27] Prepare your work outside;

        get everything ready for yourself in the field,

        and after that build your house.

    [28] Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,

        and do not deceive with your lips. 

    [29] Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;

        I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

    [30] I passed by the field of a sluggard,

        by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 

    [31] and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

        the ground was covered with nettles,

        and its stone wall was broken down. 

    [32] Then I saw and considered it;

        I looked and received instruction. 

    [33] A little sleep, a little slumber,

        a little folding of the hands to rest, 

    [34] and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

        and want like an armed man.

Isaiah 34

    [1] Draw near, O nations, to hear,

        and give attention, O peoples!

    Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;

        the world, and all that comes from it. 

    [2] For the LORD is enraged against all the nations,

        and furious against all their host;

        he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. 

    [3] Their slain shall be cast out,

        and the stench of their corpses shall rise;

        the mountains shall flow with their blood. 

    [4] All the host of heaven shall rot away,

        and the skies roll up like a scroll.

    All their host shall fall,

        as leaves fall from the vine,

        like leaves falling from the fig tree.

    [5] For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;

        behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,

        upon the people I have devoted to destruction. 

    [6] The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood;

        it is gorged with fat,

        with the blood of lambs and goats,

        with the fat of the kidneys of rams.

    For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

        a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 

    [7] Wild oxen shall fall with them,

        and young steers with the mighty bulls.

    Their land shall drink its fill of blood,

        and their soil shall be gorged with fat.

    [8] For the LORD has a day of vengeance,

        a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 

    [9] And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch,

        and her soil into sulfur;

        her land shall become burning pitch. 

    [10] Night and day it shall not be quenched;

        its smoke shall go up forever.

    From generation to generation it shall lie waste;

        none shall pass through it forever and ever. 

    [11] But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,

        the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.

    He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,

        and the plumb line of emptiness. 

    [12] Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,

        and all its princes shall be nothing.

    [13] Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,

        nettles and thistles in its fortresses.

    It shall be the haunt of jackals,

        an abode for ostriches. 

    [14] And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;

        the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;

    indeed, there the night bird settles

        and finds for herself a resting place.

    [15] There the owl nests and lays

        and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;

    indeed, there the hawks are gathered,

        each one with her mate. 

    [16] Seek and read from the book of the LORD:

        Not one of these shall be missing;

        none shall be without her mate.

    For the mouth of the LORD has commanded,

        and his Spirit has gathered them. 

    [17] He has cast the lot for them;

        his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;

    they shall possess it forever;

        from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

Isaiah 35

    [1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

        the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 

    [2] it shall blossom abundantly

        and rejoice with joy and singing.

    The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

        the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

    They shall see the glory of the LORD,

        the majesty of our God.

    [3] Strengthen the weak hands,

        and make firm the feeble knees. 

    [4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,

        “Be strong; fear not!

    Behold, your God

        will come with vengeance,

    with the recompense of God.

        He will come and save you.”

    [5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

        and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 

    [6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

        and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

    For waters break forth in the wilderness,

        and streams in the desert; 

    [7] the burning sand shall become a pool,

        and the thirsty ground springs of water;

    in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

        the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

    [8] And a highway shall be there,

        and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

    the unclean shall not pass over it.

        It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

        even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 

    [9] No lion shall be there,

        nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

    they shall not be found there,

        but the redeemed shall walk there. 

    [10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

        and come to Zion with singing;

    everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

        they shall obtain gladness and joy,

        and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 36

[1] In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. [2] And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. [3] And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

[4] And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? [5] Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? [6] Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. [7] But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? [8] Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. [9] How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? [10] Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

[11] Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” [12] But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

[13] Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! [14] Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. [15] Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” [16] Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, [17] until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. [18] Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? [19] Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? [20] Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

[21] But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” [22] Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 3

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31–34)

We have seen in the last two days that Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. Today we look at the final three promises.

Promise #5: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Do not think that God is ignorant of your needs. He knows all of them. And he is “your heavenly Father.” He does not look on, indifferently, from a distance. He cares. He will act to supply your need when the time is best.

Promise #6: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

If you will give yourself to his cause in the world, rather than fretting about your private material needs, he will make sure that you have all you need to do his will and give him glory. This is how I understand “All these things will be added to you.” All the food and drink and clothing — and everything else — that you need to do his will and glorify him. Which might mean his purpose is for you to die for him, but he will supply everything you need to do it for his glory.

This is similar to the promise of Romans 8:32, “Will [God] not also with [Christ] graciously give us all things?” Which is followed by, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:35–37). Famine and nakedness may come. But we will have everything we need to be more than a conqueror.

Promise #7: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will work for you, so that “as [your] days, so shall [your] strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV).

Every day has its appointed trouble. But never more than you can bear by his grace. Every day will have mercies that are new every morning — mercies sufficient for that day’s trouble (Lamentations 3:22–23). He will not expect any good deed from you for which he does not supply all the grace you need (2 Corinthians 9:8).

John Piper 

Beater-Uppers, Passer-Uppers, and Picker-Uppers

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’” LUKE 10:33-35

 

PONDER THIS

If you walk around the streets of most big cities, you will find that there are three classes of people. Luke 10 spells it out: there are the beater-uppers, passer-uppers, and picker-uppers. The beater-uppers are those people who would rob, kill, and destroy. They wound some domestically. They wound some psychologically. They wound some spiritually.

Then there are the passer-uppers. God help us, they have their names on church rolls somewhere. They are well-meaning, but they are too busy to see and help those around them. Then there are the picker-uppers, the ones who stop and step in to help, even when it is inconvenient and costly. You're one of the three: Either you are like those thieves who said, “What's yours is mine, and I'm going to get it,” or you are like the priest and the Levite who said, "What's mine is mine, and I'm going to keep it.” Or you're going to be like the Good Samaritan who says, "What's mine is mine, but you can have it if you need it. I'm here to share, I'm here to serve, and I'm here to minister.” How will you live your life? Who has Christ called you to be?

What description from today’s devotion do you most relate with? Why?

Who is the person Jesus has called you to be? How is the way He has called you to live different from how you live right now?

PRACTICE THIS

Go out of your way to serve someone today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers