Tag: Christian fellowship

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Numbers Devotionals

Encouraging each other to trust and follow God

Numbers

…none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it.

But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. (Numbers 14:22-24)

It’s worth your time to read Hebrews 3 along with this passage, because there, the writer of Hebrews draws out the practical application of this story.

What is the practical application?

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)

That was the problem of most of the Israelites: an evil, unbelieving heart.

One that despised the Lord who had redeemed them from Egypt.

One that refused to trust him despite all he had done for them.

What kind of heart do we have?

A heart that is hardened to God? One that refuses to trust him?

Or one that is soft? Hearts like that of Joshua and Caleb, who not only trusted God, but urged their brothers and sisters around them to do the same.

It can be so easy to be deceived by sin.

It’s so easy to let our hearts be hardened.

That’s one reason why Christian fellowship is so important.

So let’s surround ourselves with Joshuas and Calebs. And may we ourselves be Joshuas and Calebs to those around us.

As the writer of Hebrews says,

But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. (Hebrews 3:13)

Categories
Acts Devotionals

Torn away

Acts

After we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail…and arrived at Tyre…We sought out the disciples… (Acts 21:1, 3-4)

How much do we value Christian fellowship?

For Paul and his companions, they had to tear themselves away from the Ephesian Christians, and when they when arrived at Tyre, the very first thing they did was seek out the Christians there.

Here in Japan, with states of emergencies due to Corona repeatedly being called on and off, it can be easy for us to lose sight of the value of Christian fellowship. To lose sight of our need for it. After all, we still have our online services.

How about you? Are you totally fine with not meeting other Christians regularly? Or do you have to be torn away from them?

And even when we can’t meet physically with each other, do you actively seek out Christian fellowship any way you can?

Do you call people? Send them text messages? Pray with them?

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. We need each other.

So let us remember the words of Paul, especially in these times.

About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters…

But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more… (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10)

Categories
Malachi

Futile?

Scroll

Sometimes as we follow God, we become disappointed and discouraged. And if we’re not careful, it’s easy to become cynical as well.

That’s what happened to the Israelites. They were saying to themselves,

It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?

But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it. (Malachi 3:14–15)

Perhaps they thought they were doing all that God had required of them.

They went to the temple. They made sacrifices. They celebrated the Jewish festivals commanded by the Law of Moses.

But they weren’t seeing blessing in their lives. Instead, they saw those who were not trying to please God prosper.

As a result, they were saying, “What’s the point? It’s futile trying to serve God. Nothing good ever comes out from it.”

Part of the problem, of course, was that though they did the actions, their hearts were not in it.

As we’ve seen, they were offering blemished sacrifices. They were not giving full tithes to God, if they were giving at all.

And while they kept some of God’s commands, they broke others such as marrying people from unbelieving nations.

Despite all this, they had the gall to say that they were doing what God had asked, and to ask why they weren’t being blessed.

How often do we do the same? We claim to be doing what is right, when in reality, we are doing things half-heartedly.

We claim to be obeying God, when in reality, we pick and choose which commands we want to obey.

Then we complain when we don’t see God’s blessing in our lives.

But others of us may be doing all that God asks of us, and we still don’t see his blessing. And we ask why. What does God say?

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.

A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.

And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3:16–18)

In short, “I do see, and I do remember. And for those who are faithful to me, they will be my treasured possession, and on the day of judgment, they will be able to stand before me without shame.

But those who are not faithful to me will be treated exactly as they deserve.”

What do we do when we feel discouraged? How do we keep from getting cynical?

I think the main thing is to stay in Christian fellowship. Share with your brothers and sisters what you are feeling. Share with them your frustrations. And listen to what they have to say.

They may point out areas in your life where you’re not being as faithful as you think you are. Or they may simply just encourage you to stay the course, reminding you that God is faithful, and that he will reward you.

But let us never let cynicism pull us away from God. Rather, let us keep our eyes on him, following him to the end.