Do you systematically experience biblical heartburn?
5 May 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
1 Kings 10
1 Kings 11
Luke 24:1-35
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
Do you systematically experience biblical heartburn?
Jesus conceals His identity as He treks seven miles with Cleopas and an unnamed follower. They tell the sad tale about Jesus’ death and don’t anticipate His resurrection. Our Lord then says to them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). Subsequently, Dr. Luke gives the prescription for biblical heartburn using two imperfect tense verbs, which show continual action in past time--“He talked” and “He opened” (Luke 24:32). As we open the Bible and allow the Word to speak to us, we can also enjoy biblical heartburn!
Employment Point: Regularly open the Scriptures to experience biblical heartburn.
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Reflections
“Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.”1 Kings 10:3-5 NIV
- It is apparent that wisdom is not just spoken words but also on the different aspects of our lives, which includes the food that we eat, how the official were sat, their chosen servants as well as all the actions that we do. We do see how this queen not only came to test Solomon, she was also highly observant done to the details.
- I think quite similarly, when people look at us as believers, they too want to test us, not just by our speech but by our actions and how we managed things. Because consistency is something nobody can fake. If someone talk love but everything they do did not “speak” of love, you know the love they spoke of is not true love.
- We love one another by taking action. i.e. to show love out of love. It need not be forced or taught, for love that flows is natural and is from the heart. So watch and you will know. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit.
“How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.””1 Kings 10:8-9 NIV
- For all the things we do, what are we truly aiming for? Yes, praises to the Lord our God. Solomon did it. When the queen saw everything that he has, she knew it has to come from the Lord and even she start to praise the Lord and saw how the Lord is with Solomon.
- If the things that we do or the ministry that we are in receive such praises, I’m sure we will be truly happy. Not because we are successful but that people can see that the Lord is real and He has done a great thing for us.
“King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.”1 Kings 11:1-2 NIV
- We saw whatever wisdom Solomon has, a human being is still a human being. A man with flaws. That’s why man cannot be sinless, except Jesus Christ.
- In warfare, the enemy looks for these loopholes to pull us down and away from the Lord. If he cannot keep us away from the Lord, he distracts us by whatever things that holds our attention and every little win to him is a step away from the Lord.
- We see that we cannot be complacent wherever we are. Whether we are new believers or mature Christians. It is not how long we walked but whether we can reach the goal that is set before us and lean on the Lord and keep our eyes on Jesus. Not an easy task for sure but we have to keep trying and persevere.
“Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.”
1 Kings 11:14, 23 NIV
“If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.”1 Kings 11:38 NIV
- No matter how great a person is, even if he is called by God, but however in time becomes disobedient, the Lord has ways to raise others up to accomplish His plans. For who can stop the Lord if He wants to do anything.
- His main message has always been obedience and doing what is right in His eyes. This same message was delivered to Jeroboam as did to king Solomon after king Solomon worshipped other gods.
- I felt it just reminds us that no matter what we do, we need to stay focus, obedient to the Lord. Let nothing come between us and the love of the Lord.
“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”Luke 24:15-16 NIV
- who can be so blind as not to recognise Jesus unless it is the Lord Himself who chose to “blind” their eyes? Perhaps it is the same for us too for not recognising the Lord even though He is with us. Aren’t we reminded that each and every one of us are all made in His image? And because of this, we ought to treat our fellow brothers and sisters like Christ.
“He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”Luke 24:25-27 NIV
- I wish someone can do that and explain everything to me like what Jesus did with the two men. What amazing insight it must have been for them to learn of how the Scriptures have been fulfilled. Or perhaps He already sent people to teach us but we were looking elsewhere or restricted by own limited knowledge.
“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?””
Luke 24:32 NIV
- Have you experienced situations where your heart was warmed up quite literally or you just feel the presence of the Holy Spirit rather strongly in Your midst?
- the Lord is a living God and the Holy Spirit often reveals and guides our paths. I’m sure we each have our own unique personal experiences with Christ that we can testify or bear witness to.
- May He allow us to continue to experience His presence with us and provide guidance in our spiritual walk with Him.
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Judgment through Love
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
May 05
For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household. — 1 Peter 4:17
The Christian disciple must never forget that salvation is God’s thought, not humanity’s; it is something we can never hope to fathom. Salvation is not an experience. Experience is merely the gateway by which we become conscious of our salvation. Never preach the experience; preach the great thought of God.
When we preach, we aren’t proclaiming how humanity can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God. Our role as preachers is to present his truth, not to give sympathy. We are never to sympathize with a soul who finds it difficult to get to God. God isn’t to blame, nor is it for us to find out the reason for the difficulty. We are simply to deliver his truth, so that his Spirit can show what’s wrong. The gold standard of preaching is that it brings all who hear to judgment in the Spirit. The Spirit reveals each soul to itself.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ, the element of judgment is always prevalent. God’s judgment is the sign of his love, an overflowing mercy that separates right from wrong. If the salvation of Jesus Christ is alive and active inside us, it always takes the form of a judgment, one that brings an understanding of God’s justice, even in his severest statements.
Do you find the requirements of Jesus severe? If our Lord ever gave a command he couldn’t enable us to fulfill, he would be a liar. When we make our inability a barrier to obedience, we are telling God there is something he hasn’t taken into account. We can do nothing through our own abilities; we must allow the power of God to slay every ounce of self-reliance. Complete weakness and dependence will allow the Spirit of God to manifest his power.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own.
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Reflections
I think where we all stand is liken to that of a prophet. Someone who speaks God’s truth to people and allowing them to reflect and meditate. Not so much of foretelling future though.
As children of God we are all baptised by the Holy Spirit. He lives in us and us in Him. We are one as He and the Lord is one. Therefore when we are baptised, the old is gone and the new is here! The Holy Spirit will guide us and help us to make right with God. This is an ongoing process with each of us journeying on a different path. However, our end goal is still the Heaven’s gate.
We are not here to judge our fellow brothers and sisters but to encourage them as iron sharpens iron. Which is why we are also not meant to live in silos for we need a community to pray alongside us and also for us as much as we also pray with them and for them.
As we grow in our journey of faith, we will sense how the Lord sometimes use situations or even people to sand us down, to bring about humility, obedience or even trust in Him. Proverbs 17:3 "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart." Only when we are purified will we finally be able to stand more firmly in the Lord and only He can do this for us, guiding us to this new kingdom.
As we continue to seek Him and His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33), the Lord will continue to reveal and help us to learn. However, the thing we do is to be the willing vessel or the clay in the potter’s hands in order to make things happen. If we resist, it will only result in a longer and unnecessary waste of time.
Let’s pray:
"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV. May we not be afraid of committing our lives to Him, to allow Him to take over as the potter of lives and to allow Him to shape us to the finalised version He has planned for us to be. May all who sees us sees Jesus in us and bring Him the glory. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻
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