Monday, April 2, 2012
Weekend Speaker: Pastor Ben Sigman
Theme: Beyond: Next Level Living, Week Three - Honesty
READ: Genesis 20: 1-18
THINK: How fitting for Pastor Ben to be speaking on the topic of honesty while my mind is planning how to trick the family for April Fool's Day. The idea was to tell our adult children that the twin siblings they used to beg for were finally on their way in about 7 months. Thanks to Pastor Ben's message, the prompting of God for the topic and of course the Conviction of the Holy Spirit I do not think there will be any April Fools pranks coming from this humbled writer of devotions…
In the suggested reading today we have the account of a very old couple, much older than my husband and myself, who finally become parents well into their 90's. While traveling through a foreign land they practice the same deception as earlier in their lives. (See Gen. 12) God had made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation---Israel. God fulfilled his part, performing an amazing miracle pregnancy long after it was physically possible. Yet, even with that experience, Abraham lied to escape consequences because he had so much fear and need for self-preservation. My judgmental spirit condemns Abraham for lack of faith after experiencing such clear intervention of God in his life. At the same time, I am convicted that I have clearly seen God work in my life, yet too often I try to work things out before waiting for Him to plan and direct.
I looked up the word "honest" in my Bible concordance (reference guide in the back). The first three entries dealt with weight, measure, and scales. Interesting that in contemporary society many of us struggle to be honest in our assessment of weight----is there agreement between the number on our driver's license and the one on our physician's chart? How about measure----how big was that fish you caught, depth of snow shoveled, or distance ran? Lastly are scales----I picture the scales of justice or those used in the science lab to find equality and accuracy. God commands us to be honest in our dealings with others in business, in personal relationships and with Him. Pastor Ben's final thought has stayed with me, "before you can ever be honest with yourself or others you must first be honest with God."
DO: May you and I take time to reflect on the weight, measure and scale we use in life. Choose with me to determine to be honest in all our ways.
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, fill my heart with a desire to be like you. You are faithful and trustworthy. What you say, you do. May I begin to see the resemblance between Father and child when I spend time with you in reading my Bible, quietly pondering your thoughts and praying. Thank you for loving me and promising to never leave me. AMEN
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.