Recovery Devotional 365 Miserable Conformity

JMD Devotional 365 Amos 2:11-16 Miserable Conformity

And I raised up some of your sons for prophets and some of your young men for dedicated ones [Nazirites]. Is this not true, O you children of Israel? says the Lord. But you gave the dedicated ones [the Nazirites] wine to drink and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

Behold, I am pressed under you and I will press you down in your place as a cart presses that is full of sheaves. And flight shall be lost to the swift and refuge shall fail him; the strong shall not retain and confirm his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself. Neither shall he stand who handles the bow, and he who is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver his life. And he who is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked on that day, says the Lord.

What would possess a society that claims to be “God’s people” to give wine to Nazirites and to command prophets to “Prophesy not?” To the lost and backslidden, not only is the holiness of God offensive, but His holiness manifested in dedicated believers is repugnant as well. The movement of God is clearly superseded by people’s love of the status quo. People resist the spontaneity of God’s work in favor of the miserable security of programs, predictability and human control. I have been in churches that spiritually starved their congregations with substandard Sunday School literature because the pastor’s pension was tied to the denominational printing house that had lost its inspiration. Non-denominational publishers were putting out rich, stimulating and challenging material; but it would have been heresy to use anything other than “Snooze Press.” On a personal level, I have always been told that I am “too much”, “over-driven”, a “potential heretic” and much pressure has always been applied to suppress drives that I believe that God inspires. I am somewhat obsessive; but what if God wired me that way for His purpose? Making people comfortable by throwing water on my fire would be just like giving wine to a Nazirite.

Dear God,

I want to follow You and not man. No doubt all people should submit to the authority of the Church and to our Christian and civil leaders in so far as it does not violate scripture. Without accountability I would fall. However, almost every time You began a new work, resistance opposed Your representative man or woman, even sometimes from the Church: how do we know when it is godly to be stubborn and cling to our calling over our peer’s opposition? How do we avoid deadly pride and self-righteousness? I am no authority to myself. Keep me in the middle, faithful to Your Holy Spirit’s leading, true to my unique self regenerated in Christ, supportive of Your larger work in the world through Your Church. And as much as it lies in me, may I be at peace with all people without compromising Your call upon my life.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to my daily devotional, please forward.

jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com

Short, concise, thought-provoking.

More features:

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Recovery Devotional 364 Perfect in Righteousness

JMD Devotional 364 Nahum 1:2-3 Perfect in Righteousness

The Lord is a jealous God and avenging; the Lord avenges and He is full of wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries and reserves wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will by no means clear the guilty. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Lost people and immature Christians, when confronted by scriptures portraying God’s rock-hard righteousness and standards of holiness respond by saying something like, “My god is a god of love,” and “I don’t believe god gets angry or punishes anyone.” They reason as if the God of the Old Testament is a different god than that of the New. I credit Ray Comfort, of Living Waters Ministries, of helping me see that by definition, God must be absolutely righteous, without fault, and He must be a perfect Judge, not letting any guilty person escape punishment. Any judge that lets criminals off the hook would be a corrupt judge. God is infinitely GOOD, and that goodness mandates perfect integrity and justice. Those who hold to a god of love and not of justice are guilty of idolatry, having fabricated a god of their own imagination, and are destined for damnation. We must conform our view of God in accordance with His revelation of the scriptures (it is not up to man to define God; God defines man!) God is infinite in all of His attributes: perfect love, perfect righteousness, perfect justice, perfect mercy, perfect knowledge, perfect holiness: and God never compromises any of His virtues. God’s ultimate expression of mercy and love was through sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sinners. Only those who believe and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord will be saved, everyone else will be smashed by the Law of God into smithereens! Repent and be converted! Salvation is on His terms!

Exodus 34:6-7 (NKJV) And the LORD passed before him (Moses) and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing [the guilty,] visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

Luke 13:3 (Jesus said) "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Dear God,

You are perfect, but human beings, in their depravity, try to remake You in their image, because they cannot bear the reality of their damnation before You. All sins will be punished one way or another; thank You for punishing mine in Your Son. May I never take for granted the outrageous grace of my redemption. You are angry with the wicked every day; Help me to depart from iniquity; help me to hate sin as You do, and to love You with a perfect heart.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to my daily devotional, please forward.

jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com

Short, concise, thought-provoking.

More features:

http://jamesdinsmoreblogs.blogspot.com/

Christian, devotional, recovery, addiction, purity, faithfulness, integrity

Recovery Devotional 363 Refreshing Souls

JMD Devotional 363 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 Refreshing Souls

For even when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no ease or rest, but we were oppressed in every way and afflicted at every turn--fighting and contentions without, dread and fears within [us]. But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered us by the arrival of Titus.

Our inner monologue can make or break us. It is easy to fall into the rut of wallowing in toxic thought (“woe is me”, “life is bad”, etc.) We could all use some help when we are down to see the lighter side of life. When it comes to encouragement, opportunities abound. There is an exchange that takes place with every conversation; some people tend to be fountains and others drains. Put another way, some people are joy-givers and others joy-stealers. It is healthier to be positive; but it takes effort and mental discipline to see the good in difficult times. Everyone has influence, and we are called to use that influence for good; we have a responsibility that extends from ourselves to our neighbor. The heart of God yearns to comfort his children; and we are His hands and feet: His representatives. We have no idea how much encouragement a kind word, a sympathetic ear, or a friendly gesture may bring to another.

Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.

Proverbs 17:22 A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 15:30 The light in the eyes [of him whose heart is joyful] rejoices the hearts of others, and good news nourishes the bones.

Dear God,

Guard my mouth, and keep me from bringing others down through careless conversation and habitual negativity. Transform my presence and countenance; open the valves of joy and grace; bless others through me. Help me to take the goodness out of my basement and display it up front to encourage people. Your presence in my life is overwhelmingly positive. Make gladness contagious in my life. May God be magnified.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to my daily devotional, please forward.

jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com

Short, concise, thought-provoking.

More features:

http://jamesdinsmoreblogs.blogspot.com/

Christian, devotional, recovery, addiction, purity, faithfulness, integrity

Recovery Devotional 362 Robbed of Relational Time

JMD Devotional 362 Psalm 127 Robbed of Relational Time

EXCEPT THE Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil--for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. As arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy, blessed, and fortunate is the man whose quiver is filled with them! They will not be put to shame when they speak with their adversaries [in gatherings] at the [city's] gate.

Focus: verse 2: It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil--for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.

This is the formula for success in the Western world: suck it up and drive on. In our highly competitive work place, fear motivates people to stretch their workday at the expense of their relational life. Work encroaches the lunch hour so one more report gets done and filed away (where it may never be read). Personal maintenance slips as more of the corporate machine consumes our day, we leave home early and come home late. Every man rationalizes that he does this for his family: but what his family needs is him: his interaction, his presence, his vitality. There has always been tension between the needs of workers and management’s expectations: you have to push back or be consumed. We need to leave work at work to protect the best part of our lives. Work is not our life, and it does not define us. Where does a “quiver full of arrows” come from? Intimacy is not just sex; it is a deep connection with those around you. We are relational beings, and God created us for relationship.

Dear God,

I hate coming home like an empty shell, a spent cartridge, a fraction of the man You created. My wife, my friends, my Church, my life deserves better. If I am to be consumed may it be with You, my Lord and my God. If I burn out, they will find another to replace me, so why do I sacrifice so much? I am driven by fear: redirect my drives: help me to crave godly intimacy. Help me to slow down to be personal with my friends, to be a friend in deed, to listen intently. I can focus on relationships instead of work because You are in control of the Universe, I am under God and not under man.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to my daily devotional, please forward.

jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com

Short, concise, thought-provoking.

More features:

http://jamesdinsmoreblogs.blogspot.com/

Christian, devotional, recovery, addiction, purity, faithfulness, integrity