Posts Tagged ‘Trusting God’

A Word of Warning

Posted: May 14, 2013 by Pam Larson in 2 Samuel, Devotionals/Commentaries, May
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Bob Deffinbaugh comments in a sermon, “What an Amalekite is Dying to Tell David”  in 2 Samuel 1-

It is a word of warning to any who may be trusting in his or her own righteousness for eternal salvation, who expects that God will surely welcome you with open arms though you have rejected His provision for salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.

The young Amalekite takes Saul’s life thinking he is doing Saul, David, and himself a favor. He supposes he is putting Saul out of his misery, that he is getting Saul out of David’s way, and that he is in the process of gaining David’s favor and gratitude, perhaps in the form of a reward. Instead of being rewarded, he kindles David’s wrath and is put to death. We are tempted to be more shocked that David had this young man killed than that the young man killed Saul. David was right to put this Amalekite to death, on more than one count. First, he could and should have killed him simply because he was an Amalekite (see1 Samuel 15, 31). Second, he was obliged to execute him for killing God’s anointed. David was right to be angered by the Amalekite’s treatment of Saul, and he was right to put him to death.

Many people know that Jesus Christ claimed to be God incarnate, God’s Son. They know that He died on the cross of Calvary, and that He rose again from the dead. They know that He claimed to have died for their sins, and that He alone is the way to eternal life. In spite of all this, they reject Him as their Savior. They suppose there are other ways of salvation, in addition to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. They think that when they stand before God, He will accept them on the basis of their good deeds, or their faith in some other method of salvation. They expect God to receive them warmly into His kingdom and to reward them with eternal life. They are greatly deceived.

If David was right to be angry because a man had killed Saul, God’s anointed, how do you think God will deal with those who reject Jesus Christ, His anointed? If there was more than one way for God to save men from their sins, do you think He would have sent Jesus Christ to die an agonizing death on the cross of Calvary, as one option among others? Those who trust in any other way of salvation reject Jesus Christ as God’s anointed One. And those who reject Him as God’s anointed are as guilty of putting Him to death as those who stood before Pilate centuries ago, crying, “Crucify! Crucify!” How foolish to expect God’s approval and acceptance when one has rejected God’s only provision for salvation. As David dealt harshly with the Amalekite who slew Saul, so God will deal harshly with those who reject His Son, Jesus Christ. The way to receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life is to trust in God’s anointed One, Jesus Christ. He is God’s King, who will reign forever and ever. He is also the Lamb of God, who died for the sins of men. All who trust in Him will be saved. All who do not await God’s eternal wrath. If you have never acknowledged your sin and trusted in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on your behalf, will you not do so today?

To read the rest of this sermon by Bob Deffinbaugh, click here:

Triple help

Posted: February 22, 2013 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February, Psalms
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…for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.

You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!
Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me. —Psalm 44:3-6

In the Treasury of David, Spurgeon quotes David Dickson on Psalm 44

The less confidence we have in ourselves or in anything beside God, the more evidence have we of the sincerity of our faith in God.

~David Dickson.

Spurgeon also said:

  • The divine hand actively fought for them,
  • the divine arm powerfully sustained them with more than human energy,
  • and the divine smile inspired them with dauntless courage.

Who could not win with such triple help, though earth, death, and hell should rise in war against him?

Spurgeon: Faith has clearer optics to behold things as they really are

Posted: February 14, 2013 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February, Psalms
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    Trust in the LORD, and do good;
        dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Psalm 37:3 ESV

C.H. Spurgeon:

Glasses on Open BibleTrust in the Lord.  Faith cures fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they seem, hence her envy: faith has clearer optics to behold things as they really are, hence her peace.

And do good. True faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for fretting. There is a joy in holy activity which drives away the rust of discontent.

January 21 Psalm 20

Posted: January 21, 2013 by Pam Larson in Bible Passages, January Bible Readings, Psalms
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January 21

Psalm 20 (ESV)

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.

Do not be anxious

Posted: January 16, 2013 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, January, Matthew
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Do Not Be Anxious

do not be anxiousMatthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, ……. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

J.C. Ryle with some words of encouragement:

He offers us a gracious promise, as a remedy against an anxious spirit. He assures us that if we “seek first” and foremost to have a place in the kingdom of grace and glory, everything that we really need in this world shall be given to us. It shall be “added,” over and above our heavenly inheritance. “All things shall work together for good for those who love God.” “He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.” (Rom. 8:28. Psalm 84:11.)

Abraham: Trusting God and Holding to His Convictions

Posted: January 5, 2013 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Genesis, January
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Pastor Steven J. Cole of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship comments on Genesis 14, a part of our reading for today:

The test of how we handle success is usually greater than how we deal with crisis. According to Ezekiel 16:49, Sodom was very rich. So when the king of Sodom offered Abram the spoils of battle, which consisted of all the wealth of Sodom, it was no small prize. Abram could have become fabulously wealthy by accepting this offer.

If you put yourself in Lot’s sandals, this was an ironic turn of events. He had picked the best land for himself and left Abram the barren land of Canaan. He went for the money and ended up being taken captive and losing all he had. Abram had opted to trust God, and now he is given the opportunity to have not only all of Lot’s possessions, but all the possessions of the whole city of Sodom! Can you imagine how shocked Lot would have been, who sought the riches of Sodom, to watch as Abram was offered all those riches? But he must have been even more shocked when Abram refused them! He probably thought old uncle Abram had slipped into senility!

But Abram wasn’t senile. He knew God as “the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth” (14:22), who will give him what has been promised without the world’s help. Abram had thought this through beforehand in the presence of God, and had decided that he wouldn’t take anything from the spoils so that he wouldn’t be indebted to the king of Sodom. In other words, it was a settled decision on Abram’s part not to be in bondage to things, but to trust God to provide according to His promises. Convictions like that are the sort of thing you need to work out before you face temptation. If you make up your convictions as you go, you’ll be destroyed by the temptations of success. But if you determine up front to hold to God by faith, you’re more likely to be able to resist those temptations.

Note one other thing: Abram held his convictions for himself, but he didn’t force them on others who weren’t yet where he was at. He told the king of Sodom to give his men who went with him their share of the booty (14:24). These men were on Abram’s side and they were probably learning about Abram’s God. But they weren’t at Abram’s level of conviction concerning the spoils of battle. If Abram had forced his convictions on them, they would have gone away grumbling, and it would have been a barrier to their later coming to the same point of faith as Abram had come to.

Trusting in God…completely

Posted: December 18, 2012 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Job
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Though the fig tree do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like hinds’ feet, he makes me tread upon my high places. —Habakkuk 3:17–19

Here is a part of a sermon from John Piper on Habakkuk 3:

In other words, no matter how severe the tribulation when the Chaldeans invade the land, Habakkuk will never stop trusting God. Even though God himself has roused this “bitter and hasty nation” (1:6), Habakkuk is confident that in wrath God will show mercy to those who trust him and rejoice in him alone when all else fails.

When a man and a woman marry, they pledge their love and faithfulness to each other “for better or for worse, whether rich or poor, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.” And if that’s true between husband and wife, how much more between us and God! That consecration is so important to Noël and me that we used Habakkuk 3:17–19 as a wedding text 14 years ago. We are each other’s, and we are God’s, no matter how severe the tribulation. We trust each other, and we trust him absolutely.

The Main Point of Habakkuk

Now as we step back from our survey, it shouldn’t be too hard to see what the main point of this little book is. Negatively it is this: Proud people, whose strength or ingenuity is their god (1:11, 16; 2:4, 19), will come to a woeful end, even though they may enjoy prosperity for a season either as God’s chosen ones in Judah, or as the victors over Judah. All the proud, whether Jew or Gentile, will perish in the judgment. But Habakkuk stresses the positive side of his main point, namely, “the just shall live by his faith.” He states it as a principle in 2:4, and then he celebrates it as his own song in 3:16–19. When Habakkuk says, “Even when all the fruit and produce and flocks and herds are destroyed and my very life is threatened, yet will I rejoice in God,”—when Habakkuk says that, he shows us what he means by faith in 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith.” He means banking your hope on God no matter what.

To read or listen to the rest of the sermon, click here:

Job’s wise investment advice

Posted: December 9, 2012 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Job
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“If I have made gold my trust
or called fine gold my confidence,
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because my hand had found much,
…
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above. Job 31:24,25,28

Job knew that rich men often found it easy to trust in riches. He insisted that he had not trusted in his gold, or placed his confidence in it.  In addition, Job didn’t rejoice in his abundant wealth.

His investment advice? Be wise. It is ok to have gold or not to have gold.  The key question to ask is, “What or who am I trusting?”  Don’t trust in your gold.  Have no confidence in fine gold. If you place your trust in anything other than in God, you are sinning.  Isn’t it ironic that the statement “In God We Trust” is printed on our money?

Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings;

Posted: November 20, 2012 by Pam Larson in Daniel, Devotionals/Commentaries, November
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Even when times were tough, God  had not given up on His people. The book of Daniel is an encouragement that  God has a future  and a plan for His people, all His people.

Today we read Daniel 1-2. There are at least three statements in Daniel 1 which reveal the sovereignty of God (His control over men and creation).  God also intervenes for the sake of His people:

  1. “The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand” (verse 2);
  2. “God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials” (verse 9);
  3. and, “God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom” (verse 17).

As we read through Daniel this month, keep your eyes and heart open to see more of God’s wise, loving sovereignty.  Be encouraged to trust in God even when it seems our world is spinning out of control.

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” (Daniel 2:20-23)

Holding on to Hope

Posted: November 7, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Job, November
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After losing two children to a rare disease, Nancy Guthrie has become an unofficial spokesperson for finding God’s hope in the midst of suffering.  She said,

I’ve experienced one of the worst things that can happen, and I haven’t found I’m strong and I can handle it. But I have found out God’s promise is true, His grace is sufficient. Now when I read ‘My grace is sufficient’ (2Cor.12:9), I believe it not only because Jesus said it in the Bible—I believe it because I’ve experienced it.

In her book, Holding on to Hope, Nancy writes:

Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness—this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all.

See this article in Today’s Christan. 

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