However, as I began to read today’s verses, I stumbled upon something I don’t remember ever seeing before:

Two sons were born to Eber. One of them was named Peleg because the earth was divided during his lifetime, and the name of his brother was Joktan. (1Chron 1:19 HCSB)

Tucked into all those names is a comment that almost sounds like a parenthetical remark. “Oh, by the way, the continents separated while during this guy’s lifetime.” WHAT???

Modern science tells us that Abraham Ortelius postulated the theory of continental drift in AD 1596. So how could the author of 1Chronicles(Ezra?) have known about continental drift some 1000 years before Ortelius? And then, as I looked into it, I discovered that Moses says the same thing in Genesis 10:25 when he wrote his account about 1000 years before Ezra!

Yet again, we see that God gently guided the authors of the Bible to record historical facts that wouldn’t be discovered until many years later (1Peter 1:21).

Application:

Do you believe the Bible is an outdated book? Do you have reservations about taking the Bible at face value? Only a Divine Hand could guide Moses and Ezra to write such profound statements so many years before they were “discovered” by modern science! Take up the Bible and eat! Psalm 34:8.

“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord [all] night. (1Sam 15:11 HCSB)

God gave very specific instructions to Saul: kill everything and everyone in this battle. Saul told Samuel that he had followed God’s instructions, but Samuel pointed out that he had kept some of the animals alive.

Many application points can be seen in this passage. Here are a few.
1. When we hear a specific word from God, He intends us to carry it out to the fullest. Saul said that he had saved the best animals for sacrifice. But Samuel says that, “To obey is better than sacrifice”. (verse 22)
2. When Samuel heard that God regretted choosing Saul as king, Samuel was angry and cried out to God all night. It’s ok to be angry. It’s ok to cry out to God. He can take it.

However, when we get angry, it should be about the right things. We don’t know if Samuel was mad at God or at Saul’s disobedience. Regardless, his response was right: cry out to God.

Application:
Are you angry about something? Have you cried out to God about it? Remember, He can take it. But be ready to hear and heed what He tells you in response.

A case in point is in today’s Bible reading from Matthew 27:20 Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent of all charges brought against him by the Jewish leaders and was hoping to release him by letting the majority of the crowd decide for him. The chief priests and elders were aware that Pilate might do this, so they whipped the crowd into a frenzy to ask for Barabbas’ release rather than Jesus.

Thankfully, I have never witnessed a similar situation in a church, but I have heard horror stories. A small, disgruntled group goes into a business meeting with an “agenda”. Perhaps they want to fire the pastor because he parts his hair on the wrong side, change the carpet color (or not), or something like that. But they don’t have sufficient support for their ideas to be approved. They go through the church rolls and contact everybody who has ever been a member of the church, hoping to gather a group large enough to vote their way. When the meeting is called to order, a great deal of energy must be spent to verify that everyone that wants to cast a vote is eligible to vote; many of those in attendance haven’t darkened the church doors in years.

This is especially true when most Baptist churches have upwards of 50-60% “non-resident” members. What this means is that we have the names of people on our rolls, but we don’t have a clue where or who they are. But as long as their names are on the roll, they are eligible to vote. And thus, the majority rules; their agenda carries … and God’s doesn’t.

Application

Are you seeking God’s agenda, or do you seek out people who will side with you and your agenda?

Don’t rest on past reading. Read your Bible more and more every year. Read it whether you feel like reading it or not. And pray without ceasing that the joy return and pleasures increase.

Three reasons this is not legalism:

1. You are confessing your lack of desire as sin, and pleading as a helpless child for the desire you long to have. Legalists don’t cry like that. They strut.
2. You are reading out of desperation for the effects of this heavenly medicine. Bible-reading is not a cure for a bad conscience; it’s chemo for your cancer. Legalists feel better because the box is checked. Saints feel better when their blindness lifts, and they see Jesus in the word. Let’s get real. We are desperately sick with worldliness, and only the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, can cure this terminal disease.
3. It is not legalism because only justified people can see the preciousness and power of the Word of God. Legalists trudge with their Bibles on the path toward justification. Saints sit down in the shade of the cross and plead for the blood-bought pleasures.

So lets give heed to Mr. Ryle and never grow weary of the slow, steady, growth that comes from the daily, disciplined, increasing, love affair with reading the Bible.

Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.

Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading. (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 136)

“In Exodus 16:3, the Israelites begin complaining about how hungry they are.  What happened to all of the animals that they had in Egypt?  I don’t recall reading that anything specific happened to the animals.  Do you think they left them behind for sake of speed?”

Ex 12:38 says that “many other people [Gentile Egyptians] went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.” as they left Egypt. No doubt, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Pharaoh’s Army, (foot soldiers as well as horses & chariots [Ex 14:9-10]) to overtake the people with their slow-traveling livestock.

For “large droves of livestock” to die in the desert would have been a big deal, but yet we aren’t told about it. When we come to 19:13, God warns Moses to not allow people nor animals to touch Mount Sinai. In 21:21 and 22:1-5, 10-15, God gives instructions on how to handle situations with animals. In 24:5, Moses and the young Israelite men “offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings”. Now, how would all of this be possible if the people had no animals (16:3)?

It seems that Pharaoh and his army (14:17) weren’t the only ones whose hearts were hardened; it appears that repeatedly, the Israelites’ hearts were hardened as well. But in 14:31, the people repented and pledged their undying allegiance to Yahweh and Moses. Yet again, in 15:24, the people are back to grumbling because their lack of water. Even after witnessing the mighty hand of God in drying up the Red Sea, and seeing the recent abundant provision of the Lord in 15:27 in providing fresh springs (not ponds, rivers or lakes), as well as shade (though it would have been difficult for very many of the 3 Million+ people [16:37] to be able to enjoy the limited shade of 70 palm trees). In 16:2-3, the people are grumbling again. It was a vicious cycle that we see the people living throughout the Exodus.

It’s easy for us to point out their faults and overlook our own similar vicious cycles.

Application: Are you grateful for God’s abundant provisions? Or are you, once again, grumbling?

Why did God accept Able’s offering, but didn’t accept Cain’s?

Good question! What do you think?

How bizarre!

But is it?

Two things emerge as noteworthy.

1. A “man of God” allows himself to be bought to aid in someone’s sin.

2. A “believer” feels that God will bless him in his sin because he has a good luck charm in having a “man of God” assisting him.

A few questions:

What would cause a “man of God” to compromise his integrity and his calling? Perhaps he was burned out from the work of ministry. Perhaps he had been terminated from his previous position. Regardless, here was a man who needed work and Micah offered him a regular paycheck.

How could someone knowingly run headlong into sin, expecting God’s blessing?

In answering both of these questions, let me just say that it happens every day in the Twenty-first Century for the same reasons. As Solomon wisely said, "There is nothing new under the sun."

People see their vocation simply as an occupation rather than a calling. Since it’s merely a means to the end of putting food on the table, they don’t see anything wrong with using their God-given abilities to make a quick buck. The sad thing is that it is worse when the vocation is “ministry”.

As a case in point, in my lifetime we have seen an agenda emerge from a minority group in our society. We were told that 10% of our population is “gay”. Because we bought this lie, we were told that we needed to tolerate their existence. Next we were told that we needed to accept their lifestyle as normative. Currently, we are being told that we need to endorse homosexual unions by changing the centuries-held definition of marriage and promote adoption of children by these “loving couples”. After all, we are told, orphans are better off being raised by a loving homosexual couple than a dysfunctional heterosexual couple. The implication is that there are few non-dysfunctional heterosexual couples, and that because they have had to overcome society’s intolerances, homosexual couples are more committed in their love for each other. Some of the most outspoken supporters of “gay marriage” are members of the clergy in mainline denominations like the United Methodists and Episcopalians. These denominations have been rocked by division as they have begun ordaining/endorsing clergy who live openly as homosexuals. Somehow, homosexuals expect God’s blessing by having members of the clergy assisting in their pursuits toward legitimacy of sin. Like I said, Solomon was right: nothing is new. We just change the words.

People try to manipulate God all the time in an attempt to get His blessing. They would probably deny it, but people frequently try to make deals with God. “God, I’ll go to church, read my Bible, go to the mission field, etc. if You will bail me out, answer my prayer, etc.” And how much of this deal-making actually involves an expectation of God’s blessing of sin?

According to Joshua 1:9-11, God’s blessing comes through obedience to His written Word. So how can people expect God blessing when they actively oppose what is clearly taught in the Bible?

Application: In what areas are you compromising your integrity and calling? What lies have you believed? In what ways are you attempting to make deals with God?

There is grace, forgiveness, and blessing as we submit ourselves in obedience to God. And having experienced God’s grace, forgiveness and blessing, we can — and should — extend grace and forgiveness to others who live in disobedience, helping them to line up their lives with God’s plumb line.

This was a great concern to Paul and Barnabus, as well as the other disciples. After praying about the matter, the apostles decided that grace was enough; the brothers from Judea were wrong in requiring Gentiles to become Jews to be considered Christians.

What do you consider is required to be a “good Christian”? Church attendance? Baptism? Adherence to a code of conduct (prohibition of dancing, drinking, etc.)? Being a member of a particular denomination (or non-denomination)? Holding a particular theological position? Aligning with the teachings of specific group of teachers, preachers, writers, or denominational leaders? Aversion to the teachings of specific group of teachers, preachers, writers, or denominational leaders?

Application: Be careful. Be very careful as you view other believers through your personal preferences. Be careful what labels (“liberal”, “fundamentalist”, and especially “false prophet” and “heretic”) you apply to someone with whom you disagree. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Col 4:6 (NIV)

One of the great benefits of vacation is that there are no deadlines for being done with devotions. I can start and go as long as I want. If the Bible plan says four chapters (which it does), I can read eight. If it takes 20 minutes to read four chapters, I can take two hours. That’s the way I really like to read the Bible. Roll it around in the mouth of your mind before you swallow it down into your soul.

Reading Acts 12

So one morning in the book of Acts, I was reading chapter 12 where Peter is about to be killed. Herod had just killed one of the Sons of Thunder, James, with the sword (Acts 12:2). I suppose he beheaded him like another Herod did John the Baptist. Just like that, James is gone. James! As in Peter, James, and John. You’d think time would stop. But everything moved on.

Killing James pleased the people — at least some of them (Acts 12:3). So Herod decided to do the same thing to Peter. Peter was put in prison with four squads of soldiers keeping watch (12:4-5) — two chains on his hands and a soldier on either side — and more at the door.

The night before his execution, an angel from God woke him, and “the chains fell off his hands” (Acts 12:7). Just like that. The soldiers stayed fast asleep. Peter thought he was dreaming. But he obeyed. That’s a good sign. I hope I obey God in my dreams.

The Gate Opened. . .

But here’s the part that slowed my devotions way down. “The iron gate leading into the city opened of its own accord” (Acts 12:10). Of its own accord? Gates don’t have any accord. No will. No desire. No decision. No accord. Is it an odd translation? Actually it’s a pretty good translation of the Greek automatē. You can even read that. Automatic. Auto: self. Mate: an impulse. So, the gate opened of its own impulse.

And, of course, we know it’s a figure of speech. Gates don’t have impulses. God opened the gate. I wonder if that figure of speech was used to remind us that even if the gate had a mind (like the soldiers had minds) those minds would swing on the hinges of God’s will. The soldiers’ minds slept. The mindless gate opened. That’s the way it works — mind or no mind — when God means to get something done. Peter’s work was not done. So, no mere king (and no mere soldier, or mere gate) could stop Peter — not yet. His hour had not yet come.

What Is Between You and God’s Call?

So I sat there a long time thinking. Gates. Locks. Iron bars. All mindless, decision-less, volition-less. They can’t decide to do anything. How many of these are between me and God’s call on my life? How many of these mindless obstacles are between you and God’s call?

A good friend had just been hospitalized with a virus attack on his heart. That’s dangerous. So I thought, and later wrote, “I take heart and pray for you that this mindless virus will, like the gate, ‘of its own accord’ get out of your way. I’m counting on ten or twenty more years of camaraderie in the great warfare before we give our account.”

Here’s the point. God has a good plan for every one of his children. No exceptions (Romans 8:28–30). But there are innumerable bars of iron in the way. Gates. Fallen trees. Canyons. Maybe it’s money. Maybe disability, cancer, virus, aging, hostile adversaries, lack of training, discouragement, fear, anger, unjust policies, prejudice, lost hope.

Mindless Obstacles Will Not Stop Us

But these obstacles do not have a mind of their own. The gate didn’t. And they don’t. Why is that story in the Bible? It’s there to show that, until God’s good purpose is done for you, mindless obstacles will not stop us.

The soldiers did not wake up. Peter’s chains fell off. And the gate opened. Mindless material obeys the mind of God. Mindless states obey the mind of God. If God has a good purpose for you — and he always does — every gate will open of its own accord. That is, we can’t make it open. We pray. We work. And we wait. The accord belongs to God.

Let’s trust him together. Let’s believe that there are no locked gates he cannot open. Let’s believe that he will open them because he loves us and has an amazing, Christ-exalting plan for us. Don’t look at the locked gate and despair. Look at the locked gate and say, “Excuse me, I have work to do.” Look at the soldiers and say, “Sleep on.” And then move forward. You may think you’re dreaming. You’re not.

God gave Gideon a task and he repeatedly asked God to confirm what He had said. It’s amazing that God extended to Gideon His grace and mercy instead of killing him on the spot.

Instead of being a model of faith for people, Gideon stands as a glaring example of what not to do when God gives us a task. Of course, it’s nice to have confirmation of what we have heard; in the New Testament, it’s called “testing the spirits”. However, when it comes down to it, God desires simple childlike obedience.

Application: How do you respond when you feel God’s leading to do something or say something?