Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints: September 2007

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Devotional: The Sentence of Death

The Sentence of Death

By Marsha Iddings

2 Corinthians 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in

God which raiseth the dead:

I picked up the newspaper last week and saw this headline: " 'Dead' Man Struggles to Get Life Back". Two men with similar names were recently mixed up. Now it wouldn't be so bad if it was just someone mixing their names up at a party, but that's not what happened. One man died and the living man was declared dead by mistake. A death certificate was issued and the ball started rolling. Social Security now has him listed as dead. Department of Licensing has invalidated his license. He is considered dead by all the legal institutions. He is legally dead and the dead man is legally still alive. He has had to hire an attorney to help prove that he is alive and the dead man is dead. It's a legal nightmare. He has the sentence of death on him legally. He is trusting his lawyer to resurrect his life legally.

We all have the sentence of death in us physically. Each day our bodies age and decay a little more. We are moving closer to physical death. Some of us seem to be moving that direction at a faster rate than others. J That's why the Psalmist says in Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Are you trusting in God who raises the dead? This is the wisdom the Psalmist refers to. If we are not trusting God who raises the dead, then we have the sentence of death in us spiritually as well. Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

The Apostle Paul encountered many physical trials that brought him close to death. He said the purpose of it all was so that he wouldn't trust in himself, but in God who raises the dead. Who are you putting your trust in? Are you self-sufficient, trusting in yourself and your own works or are you trusting in God who raises the dead? Put your trust in Him and your life will end in victory.

1 Corinthians 15:52, 54-57 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Saturday, September 22, 2007

Devotional:None of These Things Move Me

None of These Things Move Me

By Marsha Iddings

Acts 20:22-24 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

These verses came as a great encouragement to me this week. I was becoming discouraged and really needed this. Here we have the Apostle Paul knowing that afflictions and trials of his faith are coming and his response is, "But none of these things move me..." His eye was on the goal. He wanted to finish his race with joy. He wanted to finish the ministry God had given him to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Most of us are not persecuted for our faith in Christ, but we have other trials that test our faith. Many of us have the chains of physical impairment and pain that keep us from doing things we want to do or should do. However, God has given us this course to run and none of these things need to move us from His purpose.

Think for a moment. What are your bonds and afflictions in life? Is it your health? Is it the health of a family member? Perhaps it's a boss that is hard to deal with or some other person in your life that is difficult. Maybe it is financial difficulty. Whatever it is, you could consider it to be your bonds and affliction.

Now think of Paul's attitude. "But none of these things move me..." Whatever your bonds or afflictions are, determine in your heart like Paul that none of these things will move you away from your faith in God, and away from finishing your course with joy or your ministry that the Lord has given you. Keep your eye on the goal.

So often, we get side-tracked and begin to look at the course someone else is on and begin to complain that their course is so much easier than ours. God has given you the course you are on for a reason and if you get side tracked comparing your course to someone else's you won't finish your course with joy. So we need to stay in our own lane and keep our eyes on the goal.

Think about your ministry. Perhaps you feel you don't have a ministry. Think again. We all have a ministry. In whatever we do we are to do it to the glory of God to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Even if we just clean toilets, it's the ministry that God has given us and we can do that job in such a way that it testifies the gospel of the grace of God to others.

The challenge this week is to think like the Apostle Paul did about our hardships and trials and say with him, "But none of these things move me..."

Sufficient Grace Publishing --books by Marsha

Monday, September 17, 2007

Devotional: God is My Strength & Power

God is My Strength & Power

By Marsha Iddings

2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

What do you think of when you think of strength and power? I think of protection and safety. I also think of one who comes along side to help when I am weak and have no physical strength or power of my own to keep going.

God is my strength and power. Many trust in their money, their jobs, their husbands or wives, friends and churches to be there and give them strength in time of trouble. All of these will fail us at times, but God won't. He will always be there to hold you up in time of trouble. His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)

How does God make our way perfect? I don't know about you, but there are many times when I think of my life as less than perfect. There are twists and turns in life. Health problems come; our bodies seem to fall apart. Things go wrong in our days and we wonder how this could possibly be perfect. Of course this is from a purely human point of view.

The word perfect in the Hebrew can also mean the following: complete, full, sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), or whole. Psalm 138:8 says, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands." God will bring to completion His perfect plan for your life. His way may take twists and turns that we don't understand and see as anything but perfect, yet He is working out to perfect completion His plan for your spiritual growth for His glory to be seen in you.

So take heart. Be encouraged. He will be your strength and power, your place of protection and safety as He uses the twists and turns of life to bring your way to perfect completion in Him.

Sufficient Grace Publishing --books by Marsha

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

Devotional: God is Eternal;God is Our Refuge

God is Eternal; God is Our Refuge

By Marsha Iddings

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:…

I love this verse. God is the eternal God. Eternal signifies from ages past to eternity future. He is called the "eternal God" to show that He is different and superior to all the other puny gods of man's making. Isaiah 9:6 speaks of Him as the "Everlasting Father".

God is our refuge. Refuge speaks of a habitation, a dwelling place. As Christians our dwelling place is in Christ. John 15:4 says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." Another word for abide is dwell. Philippians 3:9 says that we are to be found in him. Our dwelling place is in Christ. Proverbs 18:10 says, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe."

God upholds us with His everlasting arms. I have a tee shirt from my physical therapist that has a picture of a shield with a muscular arm breaking through. The caption says, "Feel the Power". The arm is a symbol of power. God's arms never give out…they are everlasting in power. Isaiah 26:4 says, "…in the LORD Jehovah is everlasting strength…" God is able to uphold us through our trials and when we falter in our faith. I think the following verse is a fitting conclusion to these thoughts.

Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Devotion: God is a Jealous God

God is a Jealous God

By Marsha Iddings

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

God is a jealous God. When we think of someone being jealous, we often think of it in the negative sense. God is jealous for His people like a husband or wife would be jealous for their spouse that they would be faithful to their marriage vows. God does not want His people worshipping other gods or putting other gods before Him. He wants us to be faithful to Him alone. Exodus 34:14 tells us, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"

God wants us to put Him first in our lives. If we are too busy to spend time with Him alone each day, then we are too busy. What is it that keeps you from spending time alone with God, reading His Word and talking to Him? Make a list and see what you can cut out to make time for God. Many times we are involved in good, worthy things like volunteering at church or in the community, however, if we take on too many of these activities we find that we are pressed for time, stressed out and then our quiet time with God takes a back seat. We may think we are doing good serving God, because those things we are doing might be church things. But if our time alone with God is neglected, then our work at church has become our god. If our volunteer work in the community takes so much time we neglect our personal time with God, then the volunteer work has become our god. If God isn't first then something else has become our god.

This has been a challenge for me to come to grips with and I still struggle to keep God first. There are so many things that need my attention. But if God isn't first, then I have allowed all these things to take His place. Jesus said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." When I seek His face first, then all my other priorities should fall into place. Sometimes we need to just step back and make a list of all we are doing and decide if we are doing too much or if we just need to reorder our priorities so that we have the time we need to spend with God alone.

Are there any gods that have taken the place that God should have in your life? Seek His forgiveness and set about to make Him first in your life.