Wednesday, October 17

Worthy Ministries.....A devotional

Isaiah 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is -- who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?

This is what George Muller wrote in His diary on May 9, 1841:

"Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed...by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart."

The word faith in Hebrew is “emunah” (em-oo-nah). But interestingly, in our Hebrew Bible, the word stability in the verse above is written “emunah”!

Faith and stability are linked one to another. How do we become more stable and settled despite the circumstances surrounding our lives? By gaining faith!

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

When we search for wisdom and knowledge in His word, we become more stable in our walk! Let’s aim to spend more time in the Word and gain more stability in our lives.Your family in the Lord with much agape love,George, Rivka, Elianna & Ovadiah

A tri-packet of wisdom

There are three different verses that spoke to me today regarding the drought I am in right now concerning the call to ministry and it might seem they aren't related, but bear with me.......

Numbers 13:1-20. 1 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 Send men to get knowledge about the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from every tribe of their fathers you are to send a man, every one a chief among them. 3 And Moses sent them from the waste land of Paran as the Lord gave orders, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zaccur. 5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori. 6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. 7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph. 8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun. 9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu. 10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi. 11 Of the tribe of Joseph, that is of the family of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi. 12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli. 13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael 14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi. 15 Of the tribe of Gad, Gevel, the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to get knowledge about the land. And Moses gave to Hoshea, the son of Nun, the name of Joshua. 17 So Moses sent them to have a look at the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up into the South and into the hill-country; 18 And see what the land is like; and if the people living in it are strong or feeble, small or great in number; 19 And what sort of land they are living in, if it is good or bad; and what their living-places are, tent-circles or walled towns; 20 And if the land is fertile or poor, and if there is wood in it or not. And be of good heart, and come back with some of the produce of the land. Now it was the time when the first grapes were ready.

2 Thessalonians 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

1 Corinthians 9:14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

In Numbers is one of my favorite stories, and the funny thing is is that it isn't about a drought but an abundance in the land. This land that was set aside by God for His nation Israel. The time had come where it was time to prepare to claim this inheritance from Abraham's promise that God had convented so long ago.

Of course, you want to send your very best and that was what Moses did. Each of the twelve tribes had a chief sent into the Promised Land. Now, these leaders would give an accurate and detailed report when they returned, right????? NOPE!!!! All, except the two dissenters of the status quo (Judah's representative, Caleb and Ephraim's rep, Hoshea who Moses called Joshua) came back with the dismal report that the land was rich in resources but controlled by big bullies that couldn't be defeated.

In Chapter 14 of Numbers, starting at verse 6 and carrying through to verse 10, we find the proper way to respond to the Lord's blessings without fear. Joshua and Caleb said in verse 7, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey." Of course, all they wanted to do was stone these upstarts. But the "glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting". The rest, they say, is history.

In 2 Thessalonians, which ironically my home church is studying as "The Letters" fall series, Paul shows that his preaching is blessed because of the Holy Spirit and assurance within the minds of those he preached to. Here God supports Paul's ministry to the Thessalonians, who have the ability through the Spirit to discern that Paul was an emmisary of Jesus.

And in 1 Corinthians, we see that those who preach the gospel, i.e. The Good News, should be supported by those who hear it. Paul declined this, spending his time tent-making, and he made very clear why in his letters of his decision why. But, as Matthew Henry states in his commentary on this subject, that wasn't the biblical standard:

"It is not new for a minister to meet with unkind returns for good-will to a people, and diligent and successful services among them. To the cavils of some, the apostle answers, so as to set forth himself as an example of self-denial, for the good of others. He had a right to marry as well as other apostles, and to claim what was needful for his wife, and his children if he had any, from the churches, without laboring with his own hands to get it. Those who seek to do our souls good, should have food provided for them. But he renounced his right, rather than hinder his success by claiming it. It is the people's duty to maintain their minister. He may wave his right, as Paul did; but those transgress a precept of Christ, who deny or withhold due support."

So, we are to go out into the abundant land without the fear of the inhabitants, who are just big bullies, and realize that our witness of God's authority in sending us will be established through and by the Holy Spirit and finally, that we who preach the gospel should be supported by those who hear it.

Interesting.
Jim