Text for the Day -- Luke 18:18-23----------
A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?’ Jesus said to him,
‘Why do you call me good? No one is
good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not commit
adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not
bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.”’ He replied, ‘I
have kept all these since my youth.’ When Jesus heard this, he said
to him,
‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and
distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this, he became sad;
for he was very rich.
Devotional----------
This story reveals that each of us has an attachment that makes a
total commitment to God difficult. The rich man knows that there is
more to the spirituality of the Kingdom of God than he has
experienced. He is morally good and economically successful, but his
great commitment is to his wealth. Jesus is saddened that this man
cannot take the leap of faith and commit totally to trust in God.
Prayer----------
Show me my barrier to a deeper commitment, O Lord, and give me
courage to leap beyond it in faith. Amen
Woody, this devotional is really good.
This attachment that you speak of can be very difficult for any of us to recognize, and admit to ourselves.
One of my dearest friends was asked by his wife, "What would he do if someone hurt one of their children?"
His response was that he would kill them, and he knows all the consequences of such actions.
This man puts me to shame in his walk with the Lord, and we discussed his response in detail recently.
Yes, we can even hold our children in higher regard than our Lord. Yes, being loving, protective and all things for our children is a good thing, but Satan will even use our strengths against us to come between us and the Lord.
What we MUST always keep in mind is that God loves our children more than we ever could. You all probably know by now, that I had to face this issue, and I'm as protective of a person as any man can be. Although the Strength of the Lord and his Grace allowed me to do well with regard to my actions in one case, I failed miserably in another.
I will confess a sin that I am greatly ashamed of, and have paid a heavy price for. No one who knows me would have thought that I would have allowed such a sin.
We are a combination of our genetics and the experiences that we encounter. This earlier event with my daughter created an even greater sense of protection, love and unfortunately leniency.
Remember how God tested Abraham?
And in a mystery to me, God allowed Satan to kill all of Job's children as a result of God suggestion that he try Job. Job was not allowed to question God about it. God took offense to the question, "Why?" Job wasn't allowed to say, "You killed all my children and took everything from me, even my health to make a point?" No, God is God alone. His ways are far above our understanding.
God wants all of us; He truly wants to be number 1 in our hearts, minds and actions. Nothing, absolutely nothing should come between or before us and Him.
One day, I discovered that my daughter's boyfriend had stayed the night and slept in her bed. He had been staying with us as he had no where else to live at that time, but he had a separate room.
I spoke with both of them and told them that I could not allow this. I told them that I was responsible for what I allowed in my house and that God would hold me responsible. Because of the knowledge and maturity in the Lord, I would be held even more responsible than one of lesser maturity. I specifically told them that God would kill me.
Oh they did better for a while, but as one might expect it didn't last. I grew weak and began to accept it. I loved this boy as my own son, as much as I loved my own daughter.
Yes, I have a gift to help and give to others, but even our strengths can be used against us. We must remain on guard.
Well, as you all know, I did die.
Months after I died, I was pondering why I had the heart attack. My doctor was totally shocked as nothing indicated that I was in any risk of having one, and I had had all the tests.
While I was thinking about this, God said to me, "I killed you!" Immediately, I remembered the prophetic words that I had spoken to my daughter and her boyfriend.
Sarah had become more important in my heart than my Lord.
Now, my stepson lives with us. He is 26 years old and is not allowed to even have a girl in his room, period. This went over like lead bricks.
There are consequences to our actions, and the more we know and understand , the more we will be held accountable.
My shame has kept me from sharing this in the past, but the time has come to expose my sin to the world.
God is good! He can even bring good from our sinful situations. Yes, there will be consequences, but he can still bring good from it. Did he want the sin to happen? Absolutely not! However, he knows what we will do, and can still bring good from it.
Let's look at King David. Yes, his sin was great! As a consequence the child had to die, but God blessed the union of Bathsheba and David to deliver the next king, Solomon.
I am greatly blessed, but for the rest of my life, I will experience the consequence of my sin.