Latest Devotional - 2026-07-03 -
Good morning, Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to write more about heaven. To do that we will again visit the questions posed last week. 1 Why does God leave us with an incomplete picture of heaven? 2 Why does He allow our faith to be tested as it is? 3 Why are some people faithful to Him and some not? 4 Why is having God’s mark of ownership so important? 5 Why does the evil one (Satan) tempt us? 6 What is heaven like? So, this week, I’ll begin with question 3.
Obedience and trust in God are at the root of faithfulness. 1 COR 4: 2, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust most prove faithful.” PR 14: 12, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.” PR 14: 2, “Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly, but those who despise Him are devious in their ways.” In the absence of these two things in one’s life, we humans drift off into sinfulness. Faithfulness to God requires that we know what His will for us is. The best way to find that out is through regular reading of the Scriptures. PS 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” This is supported by regular attendance at church [PS 95: 6], in the many ways of serving Him [EPH 6: 7], prayer [MT 7: 7], and interacting with others around us [EPH 4: 2]. Faithfulness extends to relationships, worship and in the morals we choose to live out.
We’ve seen that God allows for trials in our lives, so that we will choose to realize He doesn’t leave us alone to face them. God’s ethos is with us to help us develop faithfulness, trust, and obedience. The problem is that some people, maybe even the majority, become truculent and rebellious in their response to these trials. This response is even in the face of 1 COR 10: 13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you van bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Those who rebel reject God’s teaching and even sometimes work against it in communities. The signs are disobedience and rebellion [1 SAM 15: 19-21], lack of trust [JAS 1: 6-8], unrighteous living [PR 28: 26], and instability in character [PR 20: 6; JER 17: 9]. That leads to war and destruction in extreme cases, as we so often see. Those who don’t live up to God’s teaching exhibit the behaviors mentioned in GA 5: 19-21. Those rejecting this kind of rebellion live up to the values reflected in the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are the basis for this entire series of messages [GA 5: 22-23], which I hope you, Dear Readers, have memorized by now. [Please consult the citations here that you don’t already know].
The effects of rebellion can be devastating, not just for those acting on it but also for those around them impacted by it. Such an impact can be the destruction of relationships, disfunction in the home, the failure of some churches, the needs of a community not met, property damage, injury, and death of innocent people. The list goes on. When we look back in history, the lack of respect for what history teaches has led to a lot of this chaos and pain. Our God is faithful and deserves better from us. DT 7: 9, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is faithful God, keeping the covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Remember Christ’s words, LK 16: 10: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
PRAYER: Dearest Father, we approach You in reverence and prayer to keep us safe from people who serially show contempt for You. You have told us, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character,” [1 COR 15: 33]. Our Lord Jesus had to make these same choices during His ministry on earth. He purposely chose to avoid being led by the Pharisees when they tried to trip Him up in so many ways. He used Your criteria in choosing who would be His friends, not the artificial ones which humans use. He told us in 2 COR 6: 14, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” We bow before You to offer You praise and eternal thanksgiving for sharing Your wisdom and making Your will clear to us, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit directs me to write about question 4: Why is having God’s mark of ownership so important? One more reason why God makes His will so clear is that He wants us to use Christ as a Paradigm for our own lives. Remember that Jesus Christ is God’s own second personality and therefore possesses all the Father’s qualities of kindness, perfection, and righteousness. PS 1: 6, The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.” What a great gift we have received in both the Scriptures (our Guidebook for righteous living) and His faithful love of us! Thanksgiving and deepest praise to Him!
Grace Be with You Always,
Lynn JS 24: 15
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