Ministry

Day 11/1 – Idolatry

November 1, 2019 By Lyle Brennan Leave a Comment

Honesty – Acts 24:16 (ESV) “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” Acts 24:16

“The only difference between a vocational Christian worker and the laity is how the ministry is funded.” Walter A. Henrichsen (“Walt H”)

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A history of these Daily Devotions along with other valuable Resources can be found at: https://lylebrennan.com.

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Idolatry

Day Three Hundred Five

“Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:11, 13

Why do people exchange their worship of the true God for the worship of gods that do not exist? Pagan gods exist to serve the people; the God of Scripture created people to serve Him. Most of our expectations are fulfilled with the aid of others; we naturally perceive others as objects to aid us in achieving what we want. Thus powerful people use others for their own ends. When God places limits on how we treat others, we want to ignore those limits, and in the process appetites become more important than God, and He is forsaken for gods that are not gods.

Your God is the object of your confidence. People reject the idea that they are created in the image of God so that they can become gods. They reason that they evolved from an animal so that they can act like animals. For this reason, they would rather be like an animal than be like God. God charges them with two crimes. First, they abandoned the fountain of living water. Like the woman at the well talking with Jesus,383 they rejected the living water and then wonder why they are thirsty.

Second, they create cisterns that cannot hold water; that is, they worship gods that cannot impart life. As our Lord Jesus told the woman at the well, only He can impart life, but to obtain it, you must serve Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, but you must bear it or you can have no part in Him. 384

383 cf. John 4:13-14

384 cf. Matthew 11:29-30

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Jeremiah 24-26 Titus 2 (New King James Version)

Jeremiah 24-26

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

24 The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that arefirst ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I [a]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

8 ‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are [b]consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

Seventy Years of Desolation

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which wasthe first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will [c]take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation andan astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when [d]seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”

Judgment on the Nations

15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of [e]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of [f]Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’

30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘The Lord will roar from on high,

And utter His voice from His holy habitation;

He will roar mightily against His fold.

He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes,

Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

A noise will come to the ends of the earth—

For the Lord has a controversy with the nations;

He will plead His case with all flesh.

He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”

32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Behold, disaster shall go forth

From nation to nation,

And a great whirlwind shall be raised up

From the farthest parts of the earth.

33 And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

“Wail, shepherds, and cry!

Roll about in the ashes,

You leaders of the flock!

For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;

You shall fall like a precious vessel.

And the shepherds will have no [g]way to flee,

Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.

A voice of the cry of the shepherds,

And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.

For the Lord has plundered their pasture,

And the peaceful dwellings are cut down

Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

He has left His lair like the lion;

For their land is desolate

Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,

And because of His fierce anger.”

Jeremiah Saved from Death

26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. 3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, [h]“This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and [i]proper to you. 15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

17 Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Zion shall be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,

And the mountain of the [j]temple

Like the [k]bare hills of the forest.” ’

19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”

20 Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. 22 Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. 23 And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the [l]common people.

24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 24:5 regard
Jeremiah 24:10 destroyed
Jeremiah 25:10 Lit. cause to perish from them
Jeremiah 25:12 Beginning circa 605 b.c. (2 Kin. 24:1) and ending circa 536 b.c. (Ezra 1:1)
Jeremiah 25:15 wrath
Jeremiah 25:26 A code word for Babylon, Jer. 51:41
Jeremiah 25:35 Or refuge
Jeremiah 26:11 Lit. A judgment of death to this man
Jeremiah 26:14 right
Jeremiah 26:18 Lit. house
Jeremiah 26:18 Lit. high places
Jeremiah 26:23 Lit. sons of the people

Titus 2

Qualities of a Sound Church

2 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; 3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

6 Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showingintegrity, reverence, incorruptibility,[a] 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of [b]you.

9 Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, 10 not [c]pilfering, but showing all good [d]fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Trained by Saving Grace

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Footnotes:

Titus 2:7 NU omits incorruptibility
Titus 2:8 NU, M us
Titus 2:10 thieving
Titus 2:10 honesty

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PRAYER REQUESTS

From Ron Brink, our Brother and missionary in Mexico: “I just received a call that a young lady, I think 20 years old, has been murdered. Her father was one of the pastors of one of our churches. Several years ago he left the ministry. Her name is Eli and she grew up in the Xochimilco church. I have known her since she was a little thing. We don’t know any of the details and there is an investigation. Please be praying for her family. Gonzalo and Triny are the parents and Alberto; Miguel and Fernando are her brothers. We will probably be attending the funeral tomorrow.”

Please continue to Pray for Miguel’s salvation, a confessed murderer and drug dealer, who lives in Mexico.

Please continue to Pray for a Las Vegas woman that currently is working in an abortion clinic who is very discouraged with what she is doing and seeking counseling as to what to do. Pray God opens her eyes and saves her. Also, regarding the same abortion clinic, Pray God sends Godly women to that clinic daily to be available to minister to the women going in and out of that clinic daily.

Please Pray for the Touch Baja ministry. Touch Baja is a Christian ministry based in Mexico touching the saved and unsaved lives of the Mexican people focused on real discipleship; truly changing lives through Christ. From church planting discipleship ministries to half-way houses for the Mexican youth, Touch Baja needs our Prayers, support and physical involvement. One person can make a difference… whether an individual or a group, if you are interested in seeking an international missionary opportunity that’s not that far from home, here it is… you are needed and welcome. Please check out Touch Baja and consider becoming a real partner and getting involved: http://www.touchbaja.com. (I am personally available to share with you about the ministry… I have 20+ years of stories and history.)

Pray for the salvation of Brother David Frear’s parents.

Please Pray for Brad and Regena Mitton and their family. Regina has been diagnosed with cancer and Brad has put his landscape business on hold to be with his wife. Pray God will move in the Mittons lives and that He will be glorified.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Nathan Findlay‘s top salesman, Silas Walker’s son , Preston, and family. Silas has been driving through the night to Texas where Preston is in ICU with brain bleed and multiple other injuries as the doctors have confirmed that he was run over by a vehicle. Preston is still clinging to life in a coma. Due to the severity of the injuries only the Lord knows if he will survive.

Please continue to Pray for Jeff from Oregon that has cirrhosis of the liver and has been given only six months to live. He is unsure of his faith and trying to fill in his remaining days traveling. Please Pray God awakens Jeff’s spirit to His Salvation. (Like Jeff, we are all terminal…“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalms‬ ‭90:12‬)

Please continue to Pray for Larry who has been diagnosed to have leukemia. Pray God would bring Larry and his love ones closer to Him and His Blessed Hope of Glory.

Please continue to Pray for Lisa Long and her family … UPDATE as 10/9/2019: Lisa is a young woman that has been recently blinded with several added severe medical complications. She’s currently in an assisted living facility that seems like a jail to her and she’s seemly losing what she has left of her mind.

Please Pray that God performs a miracle and allows her to see and heal her other medical problems and for Him to move mightily in her life, to reveal His plan for her.

Please continue to Pray for Darrell Blalock who has Parkinson’s disease. Pray for Darrell to become closer to the Lord.

Please continue to Pray for John LaPorte whose doing ministry at UNLV … a student named Tyler is propaganda machine for the enemy… he continuously interrupts their ministry. Pray God will intervene and radically save Tyler and that our God will use Tyler to bring many to Christ. (Please continue to Pray for God’s supernatural strength of the witnessing group members as several are weakening.)

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Brother JohnLaPorte reports… Bryce, a UNLV student who recently received the Lord and came from occult background is engaging Tyler and defending the Faith. Recently, Bryce has come under intense attacks and heckling from unbelievers on campus. Please Pray for God to Grow and Strengthen Bryce and use him in a Holy Mighty Way.

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Remington, another UNLV student, says he is a new catholic… not a Believer, yet, but says he is a seeker. Pray God reveals His Truth, His Salvation to Remington.

Please Pray that our families and Brothers and Sisters in Christ will gather together to Pray… Jesus says in Matthew 18:20 (NKJV) “… For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Please pray for Lisa Greene who is having both her hips replaced… Pray for her surgeon and her quickly for coverage and that God will be seen in her.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Lance going through perilous times. Pray he would let God’s strength and peace show through his weakness and his testimony be a Blessing to many.

Please continue to Pray for our unSaved family members and those around us that we have relationships with. Or, is that you? … Have questions &/or need Prayer?… If yes, please reply or call (702) 592-4098.

Please continue to Pray for family members and those relationships around you who say they are Saved, but their lives don’t show it. And, if that’s happens to be you, the Holy Spirit can change you into a New Creation, Christ in you… but, you must totally surrender everything to Him. (As long as you think you can do it on your own, He’ll let you; and, you will fail.) … Have questions &/or need Prayer?… If yes, please reply or call (702) 592-4098.

Please continue to Pray for our nation that God would open all our eyes to the sins that are drowning us. Lukewarmness, abortion, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, hatred & divisiveness, greed, pride, rebellion, covetousness, etc. Please Pray and Fast for our nation to turn from this evil that is enveloping us.

II Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

… AND YET, God is Sovereign and has called us to live in such a time as this and to be His Light in the darkness… to give Hope to some. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Please continue to keep Sister Fabiola and her children in Mexico in our Prayers. This Sister and her family, in a short time period, have been hit with a more tragedies (persecutions) than most of us have in our entire life time… the murder of her husband, x-husband and one of her children. And, recently, her modest home (a shack by any American standard) was burnt to the ground. …Her neighbor’s house caught fire and due to the closeness of her home, it caught fire, too. Brothers & Sisters, please Pray for God’s Holy touch on Fabiola and her family.

Please continue to Pray for Geo, a banker, who was deployed by the military to the Mideast. Pray God would keep him safe and that God would bring Geo closer to Him; and, that Geo would share God with all his company and those who come in contact with him.

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I’ve been told by one Geo’s co-workers, Lorraine Flores, who says she considers Geo a son, that the day Geo was deployed to the Mideast, his girlfriend delivered his new baby. Please Pray Geo would Walk in God’s Light and be a Godly husband and father. And, please Pray for Geo’s family. (Also, please Pray for both Lorraine Flores and her biological son that was deployed the same day as Geo, but to Africa.)

Please continue to Pray for Brother Mark Pedder, a missionary in the Philippines. Please Pray for Mark, Mark’s wife for strength in their trials, tribulations and persecution.

Please continue to Pray for Gemma that she be delivered from evil and receive Jesus as her Savior.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Walt to be reconciled with his son and his son’s family.

Please continue to Pray for Brother John LaPorte’s roommate, Brother Freddy, whose commitment to Christ caused his wife to separate from him for 6 years. The couple have 2 daughters. Both parents has stayed single all this time of separation… Within the recent past, it appears his wife, Arlene, has been Saved and the couple are beginning their reconciliation process. They are planning to reunite the family again under one roof in the next few months. Please Pray for their total reconciliation with God at their helm.

Please continue to Pray for a group of well-known Southern Nevada commercial real estate brokers and associates recently in a one-car accident. The occupants had all been drinking alcohol. One passenger died leaving 3 young daughters, one suffered serious head trauma, two had mild trauma, and the driver has been charged. Please Pray for the driver and all those effected by this tragedy …that God would direct their eyes to Him, The King of Mercy, Grace and Salvation.

Please continue Pray for our President and ALL our government leaders of both parties. Pray they would submit their authority to His Authority and ask for His Wisdom in directing the affairs of our nation. Please Pray that God would open their eyes and they would be obedient to His Will.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Frank Sun, a Taiwanese, that owns several businesses in China and Taiwan. Please Pray Frank will be bold in his sharing Christ in his companies and that he will be faithful to disciple the new Believers.

AND, let each of us use Frank’s example and share the Love and Salvation of Jesus to our coworkers, employees, family, friends and acquaintances … Invest in the Eternal!

Please continue to Pray for Brother Walt and His Friday Bible Study.

Please continue to Pray for the Women’s Pro-Life ministries in Las Vegas that they would lead women to the Lord and continue to assist in saving babies’ lives.

Please continue to Pray for Jim Nelson and family ministering in China.

Please continue to Pray for Dave Ubank and his family. They are ministering and rescuing children and families in Syria directly affected by ISIS – Pray for their protection and their ministry. For a short 2 minute video about Ubanks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_htIgIvgDM[/embedyt

Please continue to Pray for our Brothers’ and Sisters’ struggling with various addictions. Pray that God would reveal Himself to them that all things are possible through Him… He can Cure any addiction … He is our Great Creator, He is our Savior, He is our Healer …He is our All and All!

Please continue to Pray for Alejandro Corral, his son Alejandro Jr.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Steve Venable dealing with ALS.

Please continue to Pray for our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters and their families that are suffering and giving their lives for our Faith.

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Please stand with your Brothers and Sisters in Prayer and Support. (See: The Voice of the Martyrs: https://www.persecution.com)

Please continue to pray for Biblical “headship” in families.

Please continue to Pray for all our children.

Please continue to Pray that there would be a resurgence of Biblical “Fear of the Lord” in the church and in each of us… “to fear the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.”

Please continue to Pray for Brother Ron Brink’s son who had 3+ military tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and who is now suffering brain damage and PTSD. Pray for God’s Healing Power to fall upon Johnathon. (Ron is a 20 plus year missionary in Mexico and heads up Touch Baja.)

Day 10/10 – Viewing Sin

October 10, 2019 By Lyle Brennan Leave a Comment

His Provision – Philippians 4:19 (ESV) “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

“If you perceive your vocation as the means whereby you earn your living, Jesus says you will not be able to adequately seek His kingdom… Christ wants all of His followers to seek His kingdom and righteousness. In this sense all are in the ministry, for the kingdom of God consists in the rulership of God in the lives of people. Luke 17:20-21 To seek His kingdom means you seek His rulership first in your own life and then in the lives of others. The only difference between a vocational Christian worker and the laity is how the ministry is funded.” Walter A. Henrichsen (“Walt H”)

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A history of these Daily Devotions along with other valuable Resources can be found at: https://lylebrennan.com.

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Viewing Sin

Day Two Hundred Eighty-three

“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15

One of the most heated debates in the history of Christianity revolves around the definition of sin. One group argues that only that which involves the will can be called sin. If you do not will to do something wrong, then you have not sinned, irrespective of the act. Another group agrees that you involve the will in sin, but also much more. Sin includes such things as anger, indifference, greed, and selfishness. You awaken in the morning preoccupied with the day’s responsibilities, and act in a thoughtless manner with the family. En route to work you realize what you did and phone your spouse to apologize. The first group would say that this is not sin; the second group insists that it is. The first group says people can live sinless lives, the second group insists that they cannot.

How you decide on this matter will appreciatively influence your view of the Christian life. Your sense of guilt over wrongdoing, your feeling the need to seek forgiveness from God and others, plus much more, will be affected. Paul called

himself the least of the apostles during his ministry.362 Later he said he was the least of all saints.363 Toward the end of his life he said he was the number one sinner. If sin only involves the will, you would have to conclude that Paul became increasingly willful in his relationship with God the longer he walked with the

Lord.

If you define sin incorrectly, you will lose touch with your depravity. And if you lose your sense of depravity, you also lose your gratitude for so great a salvation.

362 I Corinthians 15:9

363 Ephesians 3:8

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Isaiah 34-36 Colossians 2 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 34-36

Judgment on the Nations

Come near, you nations, to hear;

And heed, you people!

Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,

The world and all things that come forth from it.

For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,

And His fury against all their armies;

He has utterly destroyed them,

He has given them over to the slaughter.

Also their slain shall be thrown out;

Their stench shall rise from their corpses,

And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,

And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;

All their host shall fall down

As the leaf falls from the vine,

And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;

Indeed it shall come down on Edom,

And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,

It is made [a]overflowing with fatness,

With the blood of lambs and goats,

With the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

The wild oxen shall come down with them,

And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;

Their land shall be soaked with blood,

And their dust [b]saturated with fatness.”

For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance,

The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Its streams shall be turned into pitch,

And its dust into brimstone;

Its land shall become burning pitch.

It shall not be quenched night or day;

Its smoke shall ascend forever.

From generation to generation it shall lie waste;

No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

But the [c]pelican and the [d]porcupine shall possess it,

Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.

And He shall stretch out over it

The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,

But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

And thorns shall come up in its palaces,

Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;

It shall be a habitation of jackals,

A courtyard for ostriches.

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [e]jackals,

And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;

Also [f]the night creature shall rest there,

And find for herself a place of rest.

There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs

And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;

There also shall the hawks be gathered,

Every one with her mate.

“Search from the book of the Lord, and read:

Not one of these shall fail;

Not one shall lack her mate.

For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

He has cast the lot for them,

And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.

They shall possess it forever;

From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”

The Future Glory of Zion

The wilderness and the [g]wasteland shall be glad for them,

And the desert[h] shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,

Even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

The excellency of our God.

Strengthen the [i]weak hands,

And make firm the [j]feeble knees.

Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then the lame shall leap like a deer,

And the tongue of the dumb sing.

For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,

And streams in the desert.

The parched ground shall become a pool,

And the thirsty land springs of water;

In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,

There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and a road,

And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

The unclean shall not pass over it,

But it shall be for others.

Whoever walks the road, although a fool,

Shall not go astray.

No lion shall be there,

Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

It shall not be found there.

But the redeemed shall walk there,

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord

36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah thatSennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the [k]Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.

4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are[l]mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’ 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in [m]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

21 But they [n]held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Footnotes:

Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith
Isaiah 35:1 desert
Isaiah 35:1 Heb. arabah
Isaiah 35:3 Lit. sinking
Isaiah 35:3 tottering or stumbling
Isaiah 36:2 A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor
Isaiah 36:5 Lit. a word of the lips
Isaiah 36:11 Lit. Judean
Isaiah 36:21 were silent

Colossians 2

Not Philosophy but Christ

2 For I want you to know what a great conflict[a] I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attainingto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, [b]both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [c]to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [d]in it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone [e]cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [f]bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all [g]principality and power.

Not Legalism but Christ

11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body [h]of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the [i]handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a [j]festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the [k]substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has [l]not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

20 [m]Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and [n]neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Footnotes:

Colossians 2:1 struggle
Colossians 2:2 NU omits both of the Father and
Colossians 2:5 Lit. and seeing
Colossians 2:7 NU omits in it
Colossians 2:8 Lit. plunder you or take you captive
Colossians 2:9 in bodily form
Colossians 2:10 rule and authority
Colossians 2:11 NU omits of the sins
Colossians 2:14 certificate of debt with its
Colossians 2:16 feast day
Colossians 2:17 Lit. body
Colossians 2:18 NU omits not
Colossians 2:20 NU, M omit Therefore
Colossians 2:23 severe treatment, asceticism

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PRAYER REQUESTS

Please Pray for C… he is going through some very difficult times with his marriage and his business.

Please Pray for Jeff from Oregon that has cirrhosis of the liver and has been given only six months to live. He is unsure of his faith and trying to fill in his remaining days traveling. Please Pray God awakens Jeff’s spirit to His Salvation. (Like Jeff, we are all terminal…“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalms‬ ‭90:12‬)

Please Pray for Larry who has been diagnosed to have leukemia. Pray God would bring Larry and his love ones closer to Him and His Blessed Hope of Glory.

Brother David Porter requests: “My stepdaughter Brittany and her husband Jose are raising support to go on a Mission trip to Mumbai, India in early November. The focus will be to encourage church planters and share the gospel. They need $2800 each and are about 40% of the way there.” There link is: https://hopechurchonline.focusmissions.com/!/#/12416/south-asia-november-2019/participants/134351/donate

Please continue to Pray for Lisa Long and her family … UPDATE: as you know, Lisa was scheduled to have surgery Wednesday, September 18, on her eyes… awaiting an update as to the results of that surgery, we found out she did not have the surgery. Prior to the scheduled surgery, she fell out of bed resulting in dislocating her shoulder, and because of the bleeding and swelling, the doctor postponed the surgery. We continue to Pray for His Miraculous Holy Touch on Lisa and those surrounding her.

Please continue to Pray for Darrell Blalock who has Parkinson’s disease. Pray for Darrell to become closer to the Lord.

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Remington, another UNLV student, says he is a new catholic… not a Believer, yet, but says he is a seeker. Pray God reveals His Truth, His Salvation to Remington.

Please pray for Lisa Greene who is having both her hips replaced… Pray for her surgeon and her quickly for coverage and that God will be seen in her.

Please continue to Pray for Brother Lance going through perilous times. Pray he would let God’s strength and peace show through his weakness and his testimony be a Blessing to many.

II Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Please Pray for Brother Robert traveling to preach in several churches in several states.