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Our Scripture for today is Exodus 10:20

“But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.”

We know the story of Moses going before the Pharaoh and demanding that he let the Hebrews leave Egypt and go worship God in the desert. Each time God would motivate the Pharaoh by sending a plague upon Egypt: water turned to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, pestilence, etc. Time after time, the pharaoh would agree and then renege on his word. 

Six times the Bible would then add, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” Skeptics have used this to prove that the Pharaoh wasn’t the bad guy. It was God who was making him change his mind.

This is foolish reasoning. God never leads us to do evil. 

One writer explained how the Lord hardened the Pharaoh’s heart.

Take a piece of wax, a piece of meat, some sand, some clay, and some shavings, put them on a fire. Each of them is acted upon by the same agent, yet…the wax melts, the meat fries, the sand dries up, the clay hardens, and the shavings blaze.

Another version of this is to imagine taking a pound of butter and a pound of clay and put them both on a sidewalk in 100 degree weather. What would happen? The same sun that dries and hardens the clay would melt the butter.

What happens depends on the essence of the butter and the clay. 

In life, the same circumstances makes one person better and one person bitter. One person hears the Word of God and is made better.  Another hears the same word and is made angry. 

It is not what is done to us, but what we do, that determines our destiny. 

Lonnie Davis

Facing a Hard Journey?

Our text today is  Luke 2:1,3

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his town to register.”

Simple words, but these words turned the world upside down. The decree required Joseph to take his young, pregnant wife, Mary on an eighty-mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The trip was a hard week’s journey over rough and dangerous terrain. They would not return for more than two years and when they did, their world and our world would be changed. These words begin the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Reading the story of this journey teaches me that even hard journeys can have great lessons. Here are three:

 First. God works behind the scenes.

Since the Son of God was to be born on earth, don’t you think He would come in some grand scene on the most famous stage on earth? Perhaps he would be born in a palace to parents who were royalty. I might have worked it that way, but God often works in small places and in little ways. He had His son born in a tiny village called Bethlehem to a carpenter and his teenage wife.

Second: Don’t judge too soon.

Can you imagine the consternation of Joseph when he heard that he had to make the difficult journey with a pregnant wife? Mary could not have been excited either. Though now we know that the trip was necessary, they certainly thought it was a bad idea. Don’t judge the trip too soon. God knew what was best. He still does.

 Third: God’s will, will be done.

Joseph and Mary didn’t complain. They obeyed and did the will of God. When faced with hard circumstances, one only needs to make sure what God’s will is and then do it. God never asks you to do a thing without giving you the means to do it. That was true for Joseph and Mary and it is true today.

Are you facing a hard journey? Remember the journey of the carpenter Joseph and teenage Mary. As He was with them, He will be with you.

Lonnie Davis

Our scripture for today is Genesis 1:1.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This verse is only ten words long. Atheists rail against these ten words. Why? Because if you establish these words as true, then what else can you deny? If God created the universe, if he spoke it into existence, then surely he can heal the sick, make the blind see, or even raise the dead at the end of this world.  

I enjoy hearing bright people, learned people explain why we can have faith in God. One of these men is Dr. John Lennox, a scientist and mathematician. Sometime back, he was speaking to a group of professors and students at Oxford University in England.

One of the unbelieving professors said that God is like Santa Claus and that one day everyone would find out.

Dr. Lennox objected. God is not like Santa Claus. He asked the group of 2,000 adults who were in attendance, “How many of you came to believe in God after you became an adult?” Hundreds of hands went up. Then he asked, “How many of you believe in Santa Claus?” No hand went up.

He then added, “Your assertion is an insult to the intelligence of the people here. When an adult studies the question, he is often led to believe in God, never in Santa Claus.”

It is sad that people who think they are brilliant conclude that smart people can’t possibly believe in God. Really?

Let me list a few people who believe in God. 

1. Isaac Newton – Physicist and mathematician known for developing the laws of motion and gravity. He said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” In a word, God.

2. Galileo – An astronomer who played a major role in the scientific revolution. He believed science and religion could coexist. 

3. Louis Pasteur – Pioneering microbiologist who made groundbreaking discoveries in germ theory and immunization. He was a devout Believer.

4. Francis Bacon – A philosopher and scientist known as the father of the scientific method. He believed science was a way to understand God’s creation.

I could expand this list with hundreds of examples. May we never be intimidated by someone who thinks they are too smart to believe in God. Maybe they are just too blind.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is 1 Corinthians 13:5

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)

Love “does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.”

Everyone says we need to love one another, but that statement begs the question of “what is love?” To answer that vital question, God has given is 1 Corinthians 13. In verses 4 though 8 of that chapter, we have the great definition of love. It is important to note that the these verses do not define love, except that they define what love does. Those who say they love you but do not treat you with love, do not love. I don’t mean that we don’t sometimes act temporarily in a non-loving way, but rather that love has a long view of how we treat one another.

One of my favorite verses on defining what love does is verse 5.

I call your attention to the last three words of this great verse. It says simply, love, “thinks no evil.” What does it mean to “think no evil?”

I was reminded of this behavior of love recently when I called my sweet sister-in-law back because I had asked a personal question and did not want to be offensive. Her response warmed my heart. I’ll quote it. No, I “know you asked only because you care about my well being. Thank you for asking.”

Too many times when we hear something that might be either offensive or caring, we jump to the worse way we can take it. Love doesn’t do that!

One time my former youth minister told me that he had commented to our secretary that even when he did not agree with me, he knew that I only wanted what was best for him. That too warmed my heart.

The people who take everything you say or do in the worst way it can be understood, do not really love you. They may say they do, but according to the Holy Spirit, love “Thinks no evil.”

To love someone means to look for the best way to understand. When that six-month old baby cries in the night, no loving parent things the baby is being mean. We know they are hungry, or scared, or hurting. We look for the best. To love others means do the same thing for them.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is Acts 8:26:

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.

It seemed like a simple command to just go to a certain road. There was no “I have a person for you to talk to,” or “there you will lead someone to Christ.” Later, God did give Philip the opportunity to tell someone about God, but when the command came, it was a “just do it” thing. Just go!

 Philip did “just do it.” There were many human reasons why he should not have gone. (1) He was doing a great work of evangelism where he was. (2) Where God told him to go was out the middle of nowhere. Surely he could do more good with all the people where he was. (3) It was an 80-mile trip and he had to walk.

Being a follower of God sometimes means doing what we do not understand. This was one of those times. For all the good that Philip did while he was converting people in Samaria, we know nothing of their stories. Because he went to this deserted place, we have this great story of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. For 2,000 years, people have proclaimed this story and led people to Christ.

Contained in this story is the real secret to being a great Christian. The secret? Whatever God wants you to do, just do it!

Over the years, I have reminded Christians of one great law: “When you know what God wants you to do, then the decision is over.” After that, everything else is how, not what! 

 Lonnie Davis

Does God Give Up on Us?

Romans 1:28 

“Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.”

Does this verse tell us that God gives up on us? No! God does not give up on us, but he will not force himself upon us. 

One modern translation captures this thought well by translating it as “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking.” God does not force you into a reprobate mind, but rather he just sadly leaves us where our mind has already gone.

One can tell this has happened when reprobate things no longer trouble us. Isaiah 5:20 warns, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”

Years ago I worked for a large company that would send us out to work as teams. This meant we were all far from our families. Many of the “family men” who found themselves far away from their families would go to bars at night and give themselves over to a “reprobate mind” and do things they ought not to do. I have my own flaws, but that was not one of them. I would stay in my hotel room alone and study. One night one of the other men came back early. He stopped by my room to say hello. He was a former minister and a family man. He talked about how he had been successful with women that night. I asked him, “Doesn’t it bother you to do these things?” He thought for a second and then said, “What bothers me is that it doesn’t bother me.” 

God will never give up on us and push us away, but he will give us our free choice. Choose wisely.

Lonnie Davis

Our Text for today is Romans 1:28 

“Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.”

Does this verse tell us that God gives up on us? No! God does not give up on us, but he will not force himself upon us. 

One modern translation captures this thought well by translating it as “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking.” God does not force you into a reprobate mind, but rather he just sadly leaves us where our mind has already gone.

One can tell this has happened when reprobate things no longer trouble us. Isaiah 5:20 warns, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”

Years ago, I worked for a large company that would send us out to work as teams. This meant we were all far from our families. Many of the “family men” who found themselves far away from their families would go to bars at night and give themselves over to a “reprobate mind” and do things they ought not to do. I have my own flaws, but that was not one of them. I would stay in my hotel room alone and study. One night one of the other men came back early. He stopped by my room to say hello. He was a former minister and a family man. He talked about how he had been successful with women that night. I asked him, “Doesn’t it bother you to do these things?” He thought for a second and then said, “What bothers me is that it doesn’t bother me.” 

God will never give up on us and push us away, but he will give us our free choice. 

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is John 13:34-35.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – Jesus

Samuel Augustus lived from 1803 to 1870. He was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. 

That is a great resume, but it gets more interesting. As a land baron, he was also a rancher. Either he did not believe in branding his cattle or else he was just forgetful. While all his rancher neighbors branded their cattle, Samuel usually did not. The neighbors finally got used to his strange ways and when they found his cattle mixing with theirs, they knew which were his and didn’t complain. They just referred to an unbranded cow as “Mavericks.” You see, Samuel’s last name was Maverick and the unbranded cows were considered to be “Maverick’s.” 

This idea stuck and even today is applied to people who go their own way and do their own thing. They are sometimes called mavericks.

I thought this was interesting because in Christianity there should be no “mavericks.” 

Oh, we are uniquely ourselves, but as Christians, we all have characteristics that show we are Christians. That is what Jesus said in today’s scripture reading, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciple.” 

Pauls recognized this and said, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” (Galatians 6:17). 

We also need to live our life in such a way that people can see that we are disciples of Jesus.

Lonnie Davis

Our text is Matthew 16:13-15.

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Do you see the two questions that even we have to answer?

1. Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I am?” 

Your answer to that question depends on the kind of people you have around you. If your friends and associates cannot answer this question, then you need to involve yourself with people who know Jesus. Of course we should not drop every acquaintance who does not know Jesus. If we did, then we would never lead anyone to Jesus. So that you can lead people to Jesus, associate with those who do not know Jesus. So that you will not become spiritually weak, associate with people who do know Jesus.

2. “Who do you say I am?”

The answer to this question involves two parts: 

First, do you know who Jesus is? Peter knew the answer, “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). Everything we know and love about Peter is because he knew that answer. If we too know that answer, it will define who we are.

Second, although the text does not openly ask it, I believe it is implied by the task that Jesus gave them. That question is Do you believe what you say you know, that Jesus is the Christ? Their answer and your answer is not one that you have to express, it is one that you show by how you live.

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Hebrews 9:7

“Into the Most Holy place went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.”

If you are a student of the Word, then you know that they temple was divided into two parts. The Holy Place where the priests would go daily. It contained the table of bread, the alter of incense, and various other items that were used daily by the priests. The second room was special. It was called the “Holy of Holies” and only the High Priest could enter and then only once a year. (Hebrews 9, Exodus 30). 

The second room, The Holy of Holies contained only one piece of furniture – the Ark of the Covenant. There was no place on earth more dear to the Israelites than the Holy of Holies. If anyone other than the High Priest tried to enter that room, they would put to death. Before the High Priest would enter the room on that once a year sacrifice, the other priests would tie a rope around his foot so that if something happened to him, they could pull him out of the room. 

As you can see, this was a serious and holy place. There was only one time this was violated. We know this from the historian, Josephus. In 63 AD, the Roman general Pompey went to Jerusalem to quash a rebellion and settle other matters. While there he decided he want to see this Most Holy Place that he had heard so much about. He wanted to see the God that the Jews worshiped. As he and his men tried to enter  the temple they faced resistance from Israelite guards. Of course they were no match for the Roman army. Some of the Israelites committed suicide rather than see the Temple violated.

Pompey entered the Holy Place, saw all the gold, then pulled back the curtain and looked into the Holy of Holies. He briefly looked and then walked away. 

What did he see? He saw nothing! For hundreds of years, the room was empty. The Ark of the Covenant was gone. Presumably lost at the beginning of the Babylonian captivity more than 500 years earlier.

For hundreds of years, the High Priest would go into an empty room and make atonement before an Ark that was missing. Even during the time of Jesus, the Holy of Holies was empty.

It is wonderful that today we do not enter into an empty room to pray or worship, but rather enter into the presence of the Lord. As Ephesians 3:12 says, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

Lonnie Davis