Our Text for today is Luke 4:16

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”

What Would Jesus Do? Well, according to this verse, it was his habit to go to the synagogue. When Jesus went home at the start of his ministry, he went to “church” as was his custom or habit. Of course the Scripture says, “synagogue” but that is what we would call today “church.”

Whether we know it or not, our lives are based around our habits. What we eat, how we react to stress, whether or not we snooze the alarm – these are all dictated by the habits we have allowed into our lives. 

Charles Duhigg wrote a best selling book called, “The Power of Habit.” In it he said that approximately 45% of everything we do in a day, every day, is done by habit. If you have good habits, then this is encouraging. But if your habits aren’t what you want them to be, then that means half of the decisions you had the opportunity to make you had already chosen by your habit.

Despite all the mistakes King David made, he kept coming back to God’s Word, readjusting his life according to what God’s word said. Paul grew up a passionate Pharisee who lived and breathed the Scriptures. 

If anyone could have taken a pass at a daily Bible habit, it was Jesus. Yet time and time again we see Jesus going off alone to pray in quiet. In Matthew 4, when Jesus faced his temptations in the wilderness, Jesus used his knowledge of God’s word to defeat Satan.

He understood, better than any of us, how deeply our humanity needs to be fueled by encounters with the divine.

If you want to have a great Bible study in your life, make it a habit to study the Bible regularly. When you do, the great part will come on its own.

Lonnie Davis

Did you ever trust in a car that left you stranded on the side of the road? How about trusting a friend who disappointed you. Today’s article reminds us about what or who we can trust. It is called Trusting Iron Chariots

As Israel entered the Promised Land, the first city, Jericho fell in spectacular fashion. The cities of Ai, Jerusalem, and Hebron were soon to follow. It was not easy but with God on their side, the Israelites conquered the enemy. 

Joshua noted, “One of you routs a thousand because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.” (Joshua 23:10)

With God’s miracles and the leadership of Joshua, nothing could go wrong. At least that is how Israel felt, but Judges 1:18-19 tells us,

 “The men of Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron–each city with its territory. The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots.”

 Notice the end of that verse, “They were unable to drive the people from the plains because they had iron chariots.” 

Think of “Iron Chariots” as tanks of that time. They were indeed formidable weapons, but it was not really the iron chariots that stopped Israel. The iron chariots made the task harder, but neither iron chariots nor tanks can thwart God.

Years earlier the Israelite soldiers had seen the mighty Egyptian army, along with her “iron chariots” perish in the Red Sea. Now Israel found it easier to leave the plains people alone than to battle against iron chariots. Israel opted for ease rather than obedience.  

Israel saw the iron chariots and decided not to put their full weight on God. Israel should have known that Iron chariots cannot stop God or God’s people. Nothing can stop God’s people as long as they are doing God’s will. Only the desire for ease can do that.

What does God want you to do? Do it.

With God as your partner, neither iron chariots nor tanks can stop you.

 Lonnie Davis

H

In Exodus 33, Moses asked God to let him actually see Him. Here was God’s Answer:

And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. “Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

Before that, Moses stood before the Pharaoh and told him to let God’s people leave Egypt. Why? Because God told him too. Moses led the people through the parted Red Sea. Why? Because that is what God said to do. Moses feats were amazing, but until Exodus 33, he had never seen God. He heard God’s word and that was enough.

“If I were Moses,” someone might think, “I would do what he did.” Moses had flaws. He killed an Egyptian. In his fear he ran from Egypt and the people of God. He made excuses why he could not lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. 

However, in the end, hearing only the voice of God, knowing his words, he did what God told him to do. He started his obedience to the word long before he ever saw God. He knew only God’s word.

We can be like Moses. He listened when God spoke from a burning bush. We can listen when God speaks through his written word. If we do, then someday we will all see God.

Job foretold that wonderful day in Job 19:26-27. He said, 

“After my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

And then he ended with these words, “How my heart yearns within me!”

Me too.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is Palms 23:1

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.”

I love the story of the little first grade girl who was asked to recite the 23^rd Psalm. She stood and faced the class before reciting, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” She paused before continuing and then added, “and that’s all I know.” The punch line is, of course, that is enough if we really believe it.”

After 60 years of knowing this Psalm, I am surprised to learn that I am still learning to look at it in different ways. It seems that this Psalm is about how we are sheep and how we act like sheep. This certainly is true, but the real point of this Psalm is that God is our shepherd.

No sheep ever worried at night about how tomorrow would turn out. No sheep ever fretted because it didn’t know if he might be hurt tomorrow. No sheep every went to sleep angry with other sheep. Since we are sheep and God is our shepherd, we ought to turn those concerns over to our shepherd. 

Of course, we should plan and do all we can, but when we have reached our limits, we know that our Shepherd will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Consider comparing   Matthew 28 and John 11. In John 11, Jesus comes to the tomb with Mary and Martha. At Lazarus’ tomb, he tells the people to “Roll away the stone.” In Matthew 28, the women come to the tomb of Jesus and find that God has already rolled away the stone. In Matthew 28, the people could move the stone. In John 11, the women could not move the stone. What the people could do, God required it from them. What they could not do, God did it for them.

That is the point of Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” As our shepherd, God will help you do what you cannot do for yourself.” You are never powerless, because your Shepherd is never powerless.

Lonnie Davis

I wish you an “F”

Our text for today is Luke 15:17-20. It is the story of the Prodigal Son, serving as a pig-pen attendant and deciding to go home.

“But when he came to himself he said…I will arise and go to my father…and he arose and went.”

I love these words because they tell us a person can make life better. A person who has made poor choices can turn those choices around. He decided to go home and then he did it.

A fellow once asked, “If 10 men were sitting on a porch and three of them said, ‘I am going to go to town.’ How many men are left on the porch?” The answer is 10. Just because they say they are going to go to town, doesn’t mean they are going to do it.

In Jesus’ story, the Prodigal arose and went. He followed through on making a good decision.

Why do I wish you an “F” in you life? Actually, I wish you five F’s Because an “F” represents a good decision. One wiseman said that there are five F’s that each person must seek.

1. F for Faith. Hebrews said, “With out faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6).

2. F for Family. Get this one right or in the end, nothing will have been right.

3. F for Finances. There are rules for dealing with finance. Learn them and use them wisely. If you don’t then you will have be financially stressed. Your life will be filled with anxiety.

4. F for Friends. 

5. F for Fitness.

To build successful lives, we do not choose which of these to build into their lives. We have to have all five F’s. I do not wish you just an F for your life. I wish you five F’s. 

Faith – Family – Finances – Friends – Fitness.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

When we read this, it seems hard to believe. It is saying that no matter what you have to do today be thankful. What if I have to have surgery? What if I have to beg for a job? Even then you should be thankful.

One wise person noted that there are three levels of gratefulness. What you can be grateful for depends on how spiritually mature you are.

1. You can be grateful for the things you have IN a storm. I am thankful I have a roof over my head. This level of thankfulness is for things and stuff. 

2. You can be grateful for God seeing you THROUGH the storm. God is God who helps you get through the storms of life.

There is nothing wrong with gratefulness in either of these levels. If fact, you should feel gratefulness for what you have IN the storm and that God will get you THROUGH the storm. There is however another level of maturity. It is made clear in James 1:2

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” 

3. Be grateful FOR the storm.

It takes spiritual maturity to be grateful FOR the storm. It takes maturity to think and be grateful for all the things you gain from the storm. You build strength for the next storm. A storm helps you build patience with life. In other words, a storm helps you grow your spirit.

There is nothing harder to live with than an ungrateful person. Let’s make sure we are not asking God to deal with an ungrateful person when he deals with us.

Let’s all strive to grow in our gratefulness until we can learn to be grateful FOR the storms that come our way. They can help make us who God wants us to be.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is Romans 14:7
“None of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.”

Among other things, this verse teaches that we must not think only of ourselves in whatever action we take. We do not live or do anything, just for ourselves alone.

Ask the man on the street about Jonah and he will tell you about a man who was swallowed by a whale. Bible students will tell you that it was not a whale, but a great fish. There is a more important lesson to learn from the first chapter.

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach (1:2). Verse 3 tells us Jonah’s response, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord.”

As our story continues, Jonah goes to the sea and gets on a ship headed away from where God told Jonah to go.

Believers know that you cannot run from God. Jonah was going to try anyway. No one knows how far they were out into the sea when God sent a storm. The ship was tossed and the sailors thought they were going to sink in the raging water. They cried to their gods and threw their cargo overboard to lighten their load. Nothing helped. They were caught in a storm. There was, however, one on board who was not afraid. Verse 5 tells us, “But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.”
In the first five verses of this great book, we see a great truth. We all get caught in storms and it is not always our fault. These sailors were innocent. The one who was responsible for the storm was sleeping.
Though it is not often observed in this story, herein is a great truth. That storm that Jonah caused was inflicting pain on those around him.
In life, I have caused a few storms. We all have. It is the human experience. Those storms were never suffered by me alone. The pain was also felt by those in the boat with me.
Never say, “It is my life.” There are others in your boat. We must think of them. As our verse said, “None of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.”
Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Proverbs 22:7

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

We live in the richest country in the world and at the richest time in history.  Despite this, in 2016, one study showed that 66 million people have zero savings for an emergency. That is nothing, nada, zilch, or zero for an emergency. That means they are one emergency away from being in a panic. Can you guess what percentage of people will face an emergency? If you said 100%, then you are right. Of course, they can probably borrow, but then, “The borrower is slave to the lender.” At least, that is what the Bible says.

After 50 years of preaching and decades of counseling folks who deal with financial struggles, I’ve heard a few rules. Here’s one:

While I was still in college and living in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, a salesman drove to my house to sell me some expensive cookware. I couldn’t afford it, so I listened but declined to buy what he was selling. When he was leaving, he looked at me, a young, newly married, broke, college kid, and offered me these “wise” words: “People say that if you can’t afford to pay for what you want, don’t buy it. They are wrong. As long as you can make the monthly payments, then get it.”

He sounded wise to me, but now I know he was either financially stupid or lying. According to today’s Bible verse, he was saying that it is okay to be a slave to the lender. Maybe he just did not know the number one rule of being a good money manager. Here it is:

“If you always spend all you earn, you will always be broke.”

You may know someone who seems to be an exception to this rule, but wait until tomorrow, or the next tomorrow. The emergency is on the way. That’s life.

These are not scare words. They are reality. The Bible tells me so!

Lonnie Davis

Our text is Romans 8:26

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

The standard commentary on this is  that “Even when you don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, and God answers.” I accept this understanding but would like to add an additional thought. 

A small child has no problem knowing what to pray about. If you have ever heard children pray at the dinner table, they will pray for every item on the table. At night they pray for each loved one by name. A simple child’s prayer is surely loved by God. As adults, life is a little more complicated. When one gets older life has more struggles. There are days and times when you want to pray but do not know what to pray for. At times like these, God knows what we need just by hearing our groaning to God.

If that sounds odd to you, I challenge you to think about the knowledge of a mother. A mother with a baby does not need to hear the baby say what it needs. A mother can listen to a baby’s cry and tell whether it is hungry, or hurting. She can even tell when the baby is simply throwing a fit. She knows her baby and can interpret its cry.

This verse is telling us the same thing about God. He knows us and knows our groaning. His spirit intercedes for us to answer the prayer when we didn’t know what to ask or what we needed. 

In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” That is a profound thought, but isn’t it sweet to know that it works the other way also. My God knows my voice also. Because he does, he answers my prayer. So when you don’t know exactly what to pray, pray anyway. God knows exactly what you need.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is  Matthew 4:1–4.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Did you ever wish you had just the right word to say at just the right time.? Of course, we have all been there. As Solomon said, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” It is a beautiful and valuable thing to have.

In today’s text we will see that Jesus had the right word. He knew just what to say to overcome temptation. He could heal the sick and raise the dead because he was God. Having just that right word of Scripture at just the right time, I think is different. He had just the right word because he had put Scriptures into his heart. 

We often long for more information about Jesus as a child, but we do know that as a Jewish child, he grew up being instructed in the Old Testament. 

This was God’s command for all Godly Jewish parents (See Deuteronomy 6:6-9). I cannot imagine that God would call two parents to raise his child who would ignore this.

More evidence of this is the fact that when he was 12 and lost in Jerusalem, he went to the temple. In fact, when Mary and Joseph hunted him elsewhere, he asked them, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  (Luke 2:49).

Because of this kind of upbringing, when Jesus was confronted with temptation by the Devil, he had the Word of God in his heart to answer the devil’s twisting of the Scripture. He had just the right word at just the right time.

We need to let that be a lesson for us on how to have the right word.

Lonnie Davis