31 May 2007 Devotion for Today "Great Matters" Psalm 131

31 May 2007  Devotion for Today  "Great Matters"  Psalm 131

I read this week where a person said that "a person with six children

is better satisfied than a person with six million dollars.  The reason

for this is tha the man with six million dollars wants more!"  Funny!

This may not be true with everyone, however.  But I have observed that 

simplicity in life and satisfaction in life go hand in hand.  The more

complex one's life is, the more difficult it is to cope and the less

happy they are.  There are people that I have known who 

singlehandedly feel that they must take on a personal crusade against

every problem in the world that they do not feel is right.  I am not

saying we shouldn't be involved where change is needed, but very 

often a person sees a very unhappy world and tries to fix it, when really

the problem would be much easier to deal with if they would just look

within themselves and fix what is wrong there first.  Psychologists

tell us that this is what they term as "projection."  To set up a 

straw man and make him responsible for all the problems of the world

is the acting out of a heart that full of turmoil.  Some would call

them "trouble makers."  But this is a misnomer, because people do not

make trouble.  They already have it- they just want to make sure that

they share it and that no body is left out!

Does the world seem to be constantly in trouble around you.  Do you

feel the constant urge to fix it (even when it is not broken).  My

friends, this is a sign that there may be be a more direct and 

intimate cause.  The Psalmist understood the secret to the satisfaction

he experienced when he said in Psalm 131: "Lord, my heart is not haughty,

nor my eyes lofty.  Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

nor with things too profound for me.  Surely I have calmed and quieted

my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is

my soul within me.  O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth

and forever."

Are you troubled today?  May your soul be quieted within you, and may 

you be as happy as the writer of this psalmist.  Have a blessed day! 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

Devotion for Today "The Merciful" Matthew 5:7

30 May 2007  Devotion for Today  “The Merciful”  Matthew 5:7

 

Note:  I’ve been experiencing a multitude of technical difficulties trying to send out these on-line devotionals.  I just got a new email account, so hopefully things will be straightened out soon.  In the meantime, enjoy this devotion from the past.  Have a blessed day!

 

20 August 2001 Devotion for Today "The Merciful"  Matthew 5:7

The story is told about a little boy whose mother sent him on an errand

to buy a loaf of bread.  He was gone for about an hour, and the mother

began to grow worried.  The boy finally returned home with the loaf of

bread, and the mother asked, "What took you so long, I was worried 

about you."  The little boy said, "I'm sorry, Mom, but when I was on

my way home I met another boy whose bicycle was broken, so I stopped." 

The mother said, "That sure was nice, but I didn't know you knew so 

much about fixing bikes."  

The boy replied, "Oh, I don't know anything about fixing bikes, but the

boy was crying, so I sat there and cried with him!"

This touching story reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:7: 

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  What is mercy?

Mercy is defined as a kindness or good will toward the hurting and needy, 

joined with a desire to help them.  We may find that we might not be

able to do much for someone who is in need, but that does not matter.

Dr. Charles Swindoll once said: "It does not mean only to sympathize 

with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply

to feel sorry for someone in trouble. It means the ability to get right 

inside the other person’s skin. Clearly this is much more than an 

emotional wave of pity; this demands a deliberate effort of the mind and

of the will. It denotes a sympathy which is not given, as it were, from

the outside, but which comes from a deliberate identification with the 

other person, until we see things as he sees them, and feel things as 

he feels them.

To feel what others feel is not so difficult when we take the time. Is

there someone who needs mercy today.  You may not be able to feel 

exactly what they are feeling, and even that is not necessary.  But

what they need is someone to sit by them without saying a word so they

will not have to withstand the crisis alone.  That is mercy.  

Is there someone around you who needs mercy today?  It should not take

you long to find them, as that person might even be you.  Have a blessed

day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

Devotion for Today "Pure in One's Own Eyes" Proverbs 16:2

Devotion for Today  "Pure in One's Own Eyes" Proverbs 16:2

Have you ever seen the laundry detergent commercial on television that

does the "before and after" routine.  It will show a segment with a

white garment that is soiled by grease and dirt.  The demonstrator then

takes the garment, throws it into a large glass bowl with the brand

of laundry detergent, he stirs it around with a spoon, and then, voila!

The white garment is pulled out just as white and clean as it can be.

This makes for an interesting commercial and to be certain it has 

generated sales.  But each time I view this commercial (I don't any

more, for we are presently removed from American television), I think

about how we all try to do this with ourselves, our motives, and our

own version of what we believe to be true.  

The writer of Proverbs comments upon this briefly, but pointedly in

Proverbs 16:2: "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but

the Lord weighs the spirits."  What does this mean?  It simply means

that we naturally try to justify everything that we do. The things that

we do that are right we take credit for them because of the principles

we hold.  And even the things that we do that are wrong we genuinely

believe we did them for the right reasons- even when they did turned

out badly.  We cannot do right by doing the wrong thing-but very often

we believe that we can.  This, of course, would be true if man were the

common denominator of truth, but he isn't.  The reason is because there

are presently 6 Billion of them on the planet-and they cannot all be

right.  This is why God, "the One who weighs the spirits" is the ultimate

measure of truth.  He weighs what is right and what is wrong.  He sees

not only what we do but also why we do them.  

Your ways are good or bad not in comparison with somebody else, but 

weighed out according to God's standard.  Do you see yourself pure in

your own eyes, or under the purity of the righteousness of Jesus Christ?

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

22 May 2007 Devotion for Today "The Power of Prayer" Acts 4:23-30

22 May 2007  Devotion for Today  “The Power of Prayer”  Acts 4:23-30

 

            The story is told of a Christian hunter in the Pacific Northwest.  He was hunting in the wilderness when all of a sudden he came across a ferocious grizzly bear.  The hunter fired his weapon but missed, and suddenly he grizzly was in hot pursuit, faster and faster through the woods they ran until the bear knocked the hunter down.  With a ferocious  roar, the grizzly snared about to strike the hunter with his massive paws.  The terrified hunter, prayed to the Lord, “O God, please, please turn this bear into a Christian bear!”  Almost instantly, the grizzly stopped snarling, stopped growling, folded his paws, and bowed his head, and said, “For what we are about to receive, let us be truly thankful! Amen!”

 

            I don’t know that the hunter was too happy upon the answer to his prayer, but in the Book of Acts, we find God’s people together in prayer several times, especially in chapter 4:

            23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

   " 'Why do the nations rage

      and the peoples plot in vain?

 26The kings of the earth take their stand

      and the rulers gather together

      against the Lord

      and against his Anointed One. 27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."  Acts 4:23-30

            Next week is Pentecost Sunday, and this fourth chapter of the book of Acts is an account of a church at prayer and in it we see those wonderful things that happened as a result.  An earthquake shook the building.  Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit, and boldly these church people began to witness.  There was unity in that church.  The church had great power, and grace was upon every member of that congregation.  May I ask you this morning, have you ever witnessed God’s power released in and through His church?  If you have, there there is no question in my mind that the church must have been a praying church.  Why?  Because the power of God operates through a praying church.       Now there are always problems and challenges to face in any church that seeks to witness of Christ and obey the Great Commission.  The real challenge that faces any church is its prayer life:  getting those members together on their knees before God.  If we are not a praying church, we are just playing church!  When that happens a praying church will become a revived church, a worshipping church, a soul-winning church, a giving church, and a spiritual church.

            May we all become people of such prayer.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

New Email Address

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Just a note to let you know that effective immediately, my email address has been changed to jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

 

I’ve been on my previous account for 4 years – hopefully my new one will be as good as the old one.  Thanks for your understanding.

 

 

Your Servant in Christ,

 

Jeff

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

17 May 2007 Devotion for Today “The Barometer is Not Stuck” Matt 24:37-44

17 May 2007  Devotion for Today  "The Barometer is Not Stuck"  Matt 24:37-44

 

A number of years ago there appeared in the New Yorker magazine an account of a Long Island resident who ordered an extremely sensitive barometer from the respected company, Abercrombie and Fitch.  When the instrument arrived at his home he was disappointed to discover that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck- pointing to the sector marked "Hurricane."  After shaking the barometer vigorously several times- never a good idea with a sensitive instrument- and never getting the point to move, the barometer's owner wrote a scathing letter to the store, and on the following morning, on his way to his office in New York he mailed it.  That evening the man returned to Long Island not only to find his barometer missing, but his house as well!  The needle of the barometer had been pointing correctly the whole time!  The month was September, 1938- the day a terrible hurricane that almost leveled Long Island.

 

That illustration goes to prove that when there are warning signs, there is something wrong, and we must never ignore them.  The problem is, we have adapted to the warning signs for so long, that we no longer realize what trouble is until it is too late.  Like the boy who cried wolf, we ignore the urgency because we have been told for so long that its not real, or it won't happen, or if it does happen, it will never happen to us.   But when the real danger comes, we tend to dismiss it as easily as before.

 

Christ tells us in His Word never to ignore the warning signs. 

 

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

In Jesus Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us what happens when the warning signs are ignored.  What warning signs?  The fact that Jesus may return at any moment and that we must be prepared when He does.  The problem is that we have grown so insular with respect to the signs of Christ's return that we tend not to take them seriously.  We turn a blind eye to the wickedness and confusion of our world because we think that as long as it does not affect or hurt us, then it cannot be a real problem.  We deceive ourselves into thinking that the data or the information which so blatantly doesn't matter.  Like the test pattern which drills us for an emergency on television, it constantly says, "This is only a test!"   I wonder if they will be able to broadcast the real thing when Christ returns?   Don't ignore the warning signs.  The barometer is not stuck!  What we experience today is a true sign of the imminent return of our Lord.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

16 May 2007 Devotion for Today "Dr. Jerry Falwell" Ephesians 5:15-17

16 May 2007  Devotion for Today  “Dr. Jerry Falwell”  Ephesians 5:15-17

 

            By now you have heard or read of the passing of one of the spiritual giants of our time, Dr. Jerry Falwell.  I had the privilege of meeting and talking to Dr. Falwell on at least two different occasions- both times he showed me how interested he was in me in spite of the very busy schedule which he held.  Not surprisingly,  Jerry Falwell comes across on national television as a bigot and a buffoon, but I found him very affable and friendly and extremely intelligent.   He was also not afraid to admit that he was wrote if he made a comment that was insensitive.  He has apologized on many occasions yet still standing firm in the truth of what was said.  That showed me that Dr. Falwell humility as a man of God.  Many of his remarks were very funny, but in the humor demonstrated the firm stand that he believed God desired him to take for decency and against immorality.   He said about the behavior of students on the campus at Liberty University, “At Liberty University we allow no alcohol, no drugs, no tobacco products of any kind, and if we find a boy in a girl’s room, we shoot him! Or make him wish that we had!”   Some would say that he was not the greatest in the pulpit, but  no one could deny that Dr. Falwell was exceptional in his leadership.  All one has to do is to visit the campus of Liberty University  and his church at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA and see what a man of vision Dr. Falwell was.  Its one thing to be a man of vision, but its another to bring that vision to reality.  

 

            Also not surprisingly, Jerry Falwell did not die in his bed or on a golf course- he died in his office, working.  He detested being idle.  When I was on campus last November, I heard Dr. Falwell say that age 73, God had given him an “option to renew,” meaning that he was given an extension on his life which should have ended in May 2006.  He also said he was going to live out that year as though it might be his last whatever that option turned out to be.   It turns out that it was.

 

            Dr. Falwell lived out the truth of this passage of Scripture in Ephesians 5:15-17

 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,  redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

 

            My oldest son, who is planning to attend Liberty when he graduates from high school next year, asked, “What are we going to do when all these great men of God are gone?”  We were talking about Dr. Falwell’s death and other men like the late Dr. Adrian Rogers who have recently gone to be with the Lord. 

 

            “We are to be those men,” I said.  The challenge God gave to men like Dr. Falwell is what we now have to take up, and it will take more courage, faith, and determination than ever.  Their legacy will be our legacy.  May we redeem all the time that God has given to us right now that we may have an even greater legacy to pass down to our children if the Lord tarries.

 

            Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

Devotion for Today "Wartburg" Psalm 27

Devotion for Today  "Wartburg"  Psalm 27

        One Saturday I took my family on a two-hour drive to the city

of Eisenach-just over the old iron curtain in the state of Thuringia.

Eisenach is reknown for its history.  We toured the old house where

the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685.  On the

outskirts of the city, high upon a mountain, is the impressive fortress

castle Wartburg.  Up until now we have visited many castles in Germany,

but none so awe-inspiring.  The reason is because this is the castle

where the great reformer Martin Luther resided for ten months in the

year 1521.  After the Diet of Worms where Luther was on trial for heresy

and told to recant his beliefs on the penalty of death, Luther was "kidknapped"

and taken to Wartburg for his protection by his host, Fredrich

the Wise, Elector of Saxony.  Here, in this fortification built high

upon a rock, Luther translated the New Testament into the German language.  

Inspired by the impressive castle, Luther wrote the triumphant hymn "A Mighty 

Fortress is our God."  To think that

we were walking in the same places where Luther lived nearly 500 years

ago gave me gooseflesh.  Because of Luther's obedience to God's will in

his life, we all have the opportunity to read Scripture for ourselves

and may respond freely to God's salvation by grace through faith in Jesus

Christ.  If ever a period of brief confinement brought true freedom, it

was in Wartburg.

        David, the Psalmist, echoes this statement in Psalm 27:4-6, "One

thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek afer; that I may dwell

in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty

if the Lord, and to enquire in His Temple.  For in the time of trouble

He shall hide me in His pavillion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall

He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be

lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in

His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises

unto the Lord."  

        Some prisons are of man's making. You may feel confined, and may

not like where you are or what you are doing. But God can turn these things

into great fortresses of refuge.  He will set you up upon a rock!  Have

a blessed day.

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

11 May 2007 Devotion for Today "Can't Believe I'm Here"

11 May 2007 Devotion for Today  "Can't Believe I'm Here"  

Note: this was written back in May, 2001 on the occasion of the wedding of 

brother, Chuck and his wife, Dianna-  Happy sixth Anniversary, you guys!

There is a sense of thrill to be with your loved ones when you have

not been with them in some time. There's an awareness of suddenly

feeling like you are transported not only over distance, but also over

time. Last week, when I traveled to the States to be with my family in

 West Virginia for my brother's wedding, my sister was especially happy 

to see me, and said, "I can't believe you are here!"  She said that, 

because for all the family gatherings the past three years, I have not 

been there.  I feel like I've missed out on so much fun and good times 

with them. I smiled and said, "I know what you mean, I can't hardly

believe I am here, either!"  We had a wonderful week together that will

fill our book of memories for many years to come. Sadly, the feeling 

was short-lived as a week later I returned back to Germany. I was happy

to rejoin my wife and children in Germany and be reunited with them.  

They also missed me and I missed them.

Thankfully, if we know Jesus, we have His presence in our

hearts no matter what disposition or mood we may be in.  When I get

to thinking about my loved ones back home, or whenever the tinges of

homesickness threatens to overwhelm me, I think of the promise of 

Scripture in Hebrews 13:5 that says, "Let your conduct be without

covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself

has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Isn't it wonderful to have that promise? To be content in this instance

means we ought to appreciate and cherish what, and especially whom God

has given us because we don't know how long we have to be with them on

this earth.  But if we know Christ, we will always have Him.  And know

this, He will never get on an airplane and leave us.  He has promised

to be with us always and never turn His back on us.  Have a blessed day.

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

08 May 2007 Devotion for Today “Answers to Prayer” Acts 12:11-17

08 May 2007  Devotion for Today  "Answers to Prayer"  Acts 12:11-17

 

As you already know, gas prices are really high again.  It seemed that last fall things were heading in the right direction, and then, towards the end of February, gas prices started edging up again.  They're talking now that it might reach $4.00 a gallon before the end of the summer.  Of course, nobody knows for sure.  The demands for oil in developing countries like India and China have caused the prices to skyrocket, producing an energy crisis the likes of which we have never seen before.  This situation will probably force us to resort to alternative sources of energy.  But I submit to you, however, that the greatest, untapped source of power and energy is the power of prayer in a Christian's life.   There's more about prayer than I have time to give you in one devotion this morning, so I will spread it out over several.  I also know that there seems to be a crisis when it comes to prayer.  We wonder why our churches seem to have so little energy, so little power, impact in our world today- have you come out to prayer meeting lately?  We Baptists can get a crowd out for just about anything.  We can sure get a crowd out for a potluck and a dessert fellowship.  Even when we call a business meeting we can fill the church to overflowing.  We can get wonderful crowds out to song services and hymn fests.   But prayer meeting?  In your typical prayer meeting you will have a handful of people come out and even then you can't get them to pray all that much.  They spend more time talking about the prayer requests- how Aunt Bertha's got a carbuncle on her big toe and Uncle Billy's got gout again.  And I'm not saying that God's not interested in prayers like this, He is.  But frankly  most people are not.  What they're saying by their absence is, "I don't have time to pray.  I don't see the value of prayer.  I don't see how it really changes any thing.  I haven't seen God answer prayers in my own life lately."  If that is the case perhaps you may need to understand what do God's answers to our prayers look like?  It could well be that the answer is right under our noses but we either do not see it, do not recognize it, or do not accept it as God's answer because so often we are looking for what we desire to see, rather than what God is giving us.

 

Here in our text we read about how the Jerusalem church was praying for Peter while He was in prison awaiting execution.   While they were praying, the angels of God entered into that prison and bore Peter out of there.  The newly escaped Peter arrived at the door of the house where the church had gathered to pray.  As he stood there knocking, eagerly anticipating the reunion with his friends, they argued with the servant that it couldn't possibly be Peter.  Haven't you heard.  Peter's in jail.  For all we know, Peter might even be dead! Poor Peter!  After all he had been through, now he was forced to stand outside the locked door while those inside debated whether God had answered their prayers!  When they finally let him in and saw him in the flesh, they were astounded!  Learning to recognize God's answer to our prayers is critical because answered prayer is one of the powerful ways God speaks to us. 

            The truth is, God always responds to our prayers.  The way He does so reveals as much about us and it does about God.  We can become frustrated when we pray for one thing and receive another.  But we would be wise to look beyond God's answer to see His message behind it.

And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people."12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, "You are beside yourself!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, m"It is his angel."16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren." And he departed and went to another place. Acts 12:11-17

            You know the Bible holds some incredible promises for those who pray.  He may not give us everything that we ask for, but He does give us everything that we need- when we need it.  Jeremiah 33:3  says "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  Jesus said in Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."   Jesus said in Luke 11:9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   In John 15:7 He also says:  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  God tells us that He will give us the desires of our heart.  That means that we are walking so closely with Christ that the desires of our hearts are the things that God desires to do most in us.  For you pray in the name of or according to the character of Jesus, you ask for things that are on God's heart and consistent with His nature.  When we ask for something in Jesus' name it is not simply just to tack on that phrase at the end of a prayer.  It is asking that God accomplish His hearts desire in You. 

            Don't think that God wants to immediately dismiss you because He does not wish to be bothered by You.  God loves us, and desires to say Yes to our requests.  May He say Yes to you today.

            Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

Devotion for Today "Not Cured, But Healed" Ephesians 4:30-32

Devotion for Today “Not Cured, But Healed” Ephesians 4:30-32

In the fall of 2001, we invited Dr. Tony Campolo to speak at our evangelism conference in Stuttgart, Germany. It was a very difficult time for our world. We were still reeling from the aftermath of September 11. I was personally going through a very difficult time myself. I felt let down and betrayed by those whom I considered to be very good friends. I was feeling very bitter. If I wasn’t, I was teetering fairly close to the edge. I don’t think I had ever felt such anger inside of me. Even though I was planning the conference, I almost did not attend because I felt so miserable. Dr. Campolo needed someone to take him to our conference, so I picked him up at the airport in Frankfurt. I was late picking him up at the airport because of a traffic “stau” that had the Autobahn snarled for almost an hour. Tony was very gracious with my inability to pick him up on time, made a joke, and then followed me to the car.

The drive was one the most unforgettable and encouraging experiences of my life. He had all this knowledge and ability, yet he allowed me the opportunity to express the hurt I was feeling without offering any advice. We had lunch together in Heidelberg before proceeding to Stuttgart, where I was able to “pick his brain” so to speak. By the time we arrived three hours later, I felt like I had already been to the conference.

Tony told me this story which he also repeated at the conference: “I was in a church in Oregon not too long ago, and I prayed for a man who had cancer. In the middle of the week, I got a telephone call from his wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer."
I said, "Had?" Whoa, I thought, it's happened.
She said, "He died." I felt terrible.
She continued, "Don't feel bad. When he came into that church last Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn't take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger towards God grew, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence. After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We've sung. We've laughed. We've read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they've been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn't cured, but he was healed."
One of the most terrible diseases one can experience is not cancer. It is bitterness. Bitterness is anger that is allowed to fester until it becomes a gangrene of the spirit. I wrote yesterday of resisting the Spirit, today I would have us examine grieving the Spirit. One may think that grieving the Spirit means falling into “grievous sins.” If that is the case, bitterness is one of them according to what Paul said in Ephesians 4:30-32:
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Bitterness not only grieves the Spirit, but it will literally tear out ones’ heart. But forgiveness
not only heals us, but releases us from the chains of despair. We may not be cured in the way of preventing hurtful things to happen to us again, but we will be healed in our spirit when they do. Allow Christ to release you from that bitterness and anger today. Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

Devotion for Today "Go With the Flow?" I Kings 1:17-21

Devotion for Today  “Go With the Flow?”  I Kings 1:17-21

          

 Have you ever been told, “Just go with the flow?”  Similar phrases, such as “just ride with it,” “just go along,” and “don’t rock the boat” suggest that flexibility is required of those to whom the phrase is addressed whenever something unplanned or unexpected is imposed upon the situation.  Not to go with the flow means that a very difficult situation should be expected.  Many times flexibility is required if we all want to get along with others.  It may be a small price to pay to keep their  good will.  However, there are times when “going with the flow” is not only inappropriate, but wrong or sinful.  If someone, for example, is being mistreated and we are too afraid to say something about it for fear that we might become the subject of abuse- this is sinful.  If we fail to speak up when injustice is going on, going with the flow will only aggravate the injustice and make us the cause of it.  If we don’t want to makes waves when there is information that is important for us to share, but withhold it because we don’t want any one to be embarrassed or upset that we shared it; then we unwittingly participate in the undesirable outcome.  Our spiritual leadership is required in situations where we would prefer to be silent, and to speak up when others pressure us “to go with the flow.”

 

We see this situation from the outset of this in First Book of the Kings.  David, the mighty king of Israel, is very feeble and frail in the first chapter.  Some would say that dementia or some other debilitating condition has overcome him.  It meets him early in life because many of his contemporaries are still living and serving.  At age seventy, the years of battle, weariness in administration, and court intrigues have not been good to David.  A young concubine has been given to David to help keep him warm.  One of David’s sons by his wife Haggith, Adonijah, sees an opportunity to exploit his father’s feeble condition and tries to assume the throne.   David either feels powerless to do anything about it, or a lapse has caused him not to be aware of it.  Not even David’s loyal supporters like Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan seem to be able to stop it.  It would have been easier to allow Adonijah to become king rather than to stand up to it and correct it.

 

However, David’s wife Bathsheba first approaches Nathan the prophet and then approaches her husband the king and demands that they do the right thing. “15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”17 Then she said to him, “My lord,  you swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it.  (I Kings 1:15-18 NKJV).

 

To stand up and be counted is often a fearful thing, especially when everyone else is jumping on another bandwagon.  But the cost of not doing what would please God is much higher than any amount of embarrassment or pressure to do what others want us to do.  Are you facing such pressure today?  Are you pressured to keep quiet and to “go with the flow?”  It may seem like a small stream, but that stream may well rise over your head in a swift current to drown you.  You have the right, as well as the responsibility, not to allow this to happen.  You also have God on your side. 

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

04 May 2007 Devotion for Today "What To Do About Mistakes" Psalm 31:5-10

04 May 2007  Devotion for Today “What To Do About Mistakes”   Psalm 31:5-10

 

The old idiom says that “to err is human, but to forgive, divine.”  Most all of us can admit to making mistakes- even sinful mistakes, at times.   But insidiously the statement gives the impression that it really doesn’t matter, and that we should all accept the mistakes because no one is perfect.  It is true that only God is perfect, and that we all make mistakes.  But does that mean that our behavior is acceptable?  It is neither acceptable to God nor to ourselves.   Its not enough to say that we make mistakes.  The larger question ought to be, “when I make a mistake, what should I do about it?”

Psalm 31 tells us:

 

5  Into your hands I commit my spirit;

       redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

 6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;

       I trust in the LORD.

 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

       for you saw my affliction

       and knew the anguish of my soul.

 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy

       but have set my feet in a spacious place.

 

This Psalm must have been written by David after he had made a bunch of mistakes. He is very depressed because mistakes tend to hem you in, and you are not sure what to do about them. So David pours out his heart and says:. VS. 5 - "Into your hands I commit my spirit." Those are familiar words. We have heard them before, because Jesus uttered them on the cross- not because He made any mistakes, but because He had all the mistakes and sins of the world placed upon Himself.

           

Here is the point. There comes a time in life when we are so backed into corners - mistakes have hemmed us in, and sins have resulted from those mistakes - that there is no place to go, and there is nothing else we can do except to commit them to the Lord.  Like Jesus, weighted down with all the sins of the world, there is nothing else to do but say, "Lord, I commit my soul unto you!" There comes that point when we must turn to God for His almighty strength and His forgiveness. Do you hear what David is saying in verses 9-10? He is saying, " Here are all the sins that I have committed. I can fool the rest of the world, but I can’t fool you, Lord. So here it all is."

           

 God sees all the filth, the immorality, the selfishness, and the covetousness in the life of David, but He doesn’t say, "Well, that’s all for you, David. If that is what you really are like inside, then you are no longer my chosen person. I don’t want anything more to do with you." But in vs. 8, David says that God didn’t do that.  Instead He places David’s feet In a “wide space.”  

           

There are times when our sins can make us clausterphobic.   But when we are forgiven, God opens things up around us and causes us to move and breathe freely.

I once read a bumper sticker that proclaimed, "Christians aren’t perfect - just forgiven.’ I like that, and it says what I am trying to say this morning. We are not perfect - just forgiven. Despite all the mistakes we make - and all the things we do wrong - and all the times we stumble and fall and mess up - God still says, "Come back again. I want to forgive you."

 

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday