Archives for 2015

Good morning,

Thomas Brooks challenges us to live holy lives because of God’s all seeing eye.

His window in all our hearts!

(Thomas Brooks, “The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness”, 1662)

“Does He not see my ways, and number all my steps?” Job 31:4

The eye of God had so strong an influence upon Job’s heart and life, that it wrought him up to a very high pitch of holiness.

The scholar writes most exactly while his teacher’s eye is upon him;
and the child walks most exactly while his father’s eye is upon him;
and the servant works most exactly while his master’s eye is upon him;
and so certainly, all the sons and servants of the most high God walk most exactly–when they see themselves as in the presence of the great God, who is all sight–who is all eye!

Ah friends! as ever you would be high in holiness–have a serious apprehension of God’s presence! Set yourselves daily as in His sight, as under His eye. Remember, though a man may easily baffle his conscience, and deceive others–yet he shall never be able to baffle or deceive God’s omniscient eye! God has His window in all our hearts, and He exactly and precisely observes all that is done within us, and all that is done by us!

If the serious consideration of His sharp, piercing, all-seeing eye will not influence us to labor after the highest degrees of holiness–then I know not what will.

“I have kept Your precepts and decrees–for all my ways are before You.” Psalm 119:168

This is a tremendous challenge to all Christians. If we know God is watching our every move, we should strive to live holy and blameless lives.

Will we?

Tomorrow we will finish our study of God’s Sovereignty and Omniscience.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This devotion comes from Charles Spurgeon.  He explains why sovereignty is God’s most hated attribute.

God’s most hated attribute!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases!” Psalm 115:3

“The LORD does whatever pleases Him, throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths!” Psalm 135:6

“All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.” Daniel 4:35

On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, as the great, stupendous–but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah!

Men will allow God to be everywhere except on His throne!

They will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and make stars.

They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties.

They will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of Heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean.

But when God ascends His throne–then His creatures then gnash their teeth! And when we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the matter–then it is that we are hissed and execrated, and then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us–for God on His throne, is not the God they love!

No doctrine in the whole Word of God has more excited the hatred of mankind, than the truth of the absolute sovereignty of God!

Opposition to divine sovereignty is essentially atheism–and were it not for sovereign grace, none of us would ever have followed the path to Heaven. I am daily more and more convinced that the difference between one man and another is, not the difference between his use of his will–but the difference of grace that has been bestowed upon him.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!” Revelation 19:6

“The great controversy between God and man has been, whether He or they shall be God; whether His reason or theirs, His will or theirs, shall be the guiding principle. If anything could frustrate God’s will–then it would be superior to Him, God would not be omnipotent, and so would lose the perfection of the Deity, and consequently the Deity itself; for that which did wholly defeat God’s will, would be more powerful than He. To be God and yet inferior to another, is a contradiction!” (Stephen Charnock)

That sums up our culture today. Spurgeon wrote this over 150 years ago.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Did it ever occur to you that nothing surprises God? He knows everything.

God knows everything about us.  Even as you read this devotion, God knows what you are thinking. Today we will look at God’s omniscience (God knows all things).

GOD’S OMNISCIENCE is defined as “the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.” For God to be sovereign over His creation of all things, whether visible or invisible, He has to be all-knowing. His omniscience is not restricted to any one person in the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all by nature omniscient.

1.   GOD KNOWS EVERTHING (1 JOHN 3:19-20) V20
2.   GOD IS PERFECT IN KNOWLEDGE (JOB 37:16)
3. GOD’S UNDERSTANDING HAS NO LIMITS (PSM 147:5)
4. GOD’S EYES ARE EVERYWHERE (PROV 15:3)
5. GOD IS WATCHING US (PSM 33:13-15) V13
6. GOD CHOSE US BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (EPH   1:3-4)
7. GOD KNOWS WHAT WE DO (PSM 139:1-4)
8. GOD MADE KNOWN TO US THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL (EPH 1:9-  10)

God’s omniscience can be a blessing or a curse. Since God never takes His eyes off us, we should be prone to obey God. Obeying God and His commandments allows God to pour out His blessings upon us. Conversely, when we choose to disobey God, He by nature cannot bless disobedience. Disobedience is sin. He will, through the power of the Holy Spirit, convict us of our disobedience and woo us back to Himself. However, we are a stubborn people. When we fail to respond to the Spirit’s gentle prod, God uses other means to get our attention.

The correct response to disobedience is to repent. Agree with God that the action was sin, confess it, and accept God’s cleansing. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

GOD’S WATCHING. WHAT DOES HE SEE?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

 

Good morning,

Did it ever occur to you that nothing surprises God? Or that God rules over everything? Or that He knows everything?

God does rule in the affairs of men. Today we will look at the sovereignty of God.  Tomorrow we will look at God’s omniscience (God knows all things).

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God.

1. GOD REIGNEST OVERALL (1 CHRON 29:11-12) V12
2. THE WORLD IS GOD’S (PSM 50:10-12)
3. GOD CREATED (GEN 1:1) V1
4. GOD CHOOSES ISRAEL DOES WHAT HE PLEASES (PSM 135:4-6) V4, 6
5. GOD IN CONTROL (1 SAM 2:6-9)
6. GOD CONTROLS RULERS (PSM 75:6-7) V7
7. GOD DOES HIS PLEASURE (IS 46:9-10)
8. CAN NOT FLEE FROM GOD (PSM 139:7-10) V10
9. GOD’S WORD WILL NOT RETURN VOID (IS 55:11)
10. GOD REIGNS OVER DEATH (JOHN 5:21)
11. GOD ‘S COUNSEL (EPH 1:11)

These verses show why God has the right to rule in our lives. Please look up the verses and see what they say. You might be surprised what you find.

God has given each one of us a free will to make choices. He has given us His precepts in the Bible to guide us through this life. We choose to follow God by faith or rebel against God and serve Satan. Satan is the enemy of God. There are consequences for following or rebelling against God. God rules over both Godly believers and wicked unbelievers.

Tomorrow we will see that God not only rules but knows everything that has happened past, present, and in the future.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning, 

Today concludes our study of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Solomon gives us a description of what he saw in his life. His assessment is “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

He then proceeds to walk us through what he experiences. He explains that the things of this world hold no true meaning. They are all vanity. Finally, Solomon concludes by stating, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

His conclusion was spot on. Do we believe verse 14? God wants us to fear and obey him. If we will do that, He will take care of the rest.

Please do not seek the things of this world, for they are vanity.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 will be our study this week. Solomon gives us a description of what he saw in his life. Chapter 3 describes the specific periods of time during our lives. Good aspects contrasted to bad aspects. Today we look at verses 7-8.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;”

Rending of clothing is a sign of great mourning. The rending of the veil from the top to the bottom at the crucifixion of Jesus opened the way to the Father for all believers.

Matthew 27:51 “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

The sewing of this very curtain had been ordained of God. This curtain was sown with thread of beaten gold. No man could have rent it. It had to be Almighty God.

The following Scriptures tell of times to be silent.

Habakkuk 2:20 “But the LORD [is] in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”

We see in the following Scriptures, that there is a time to speak, also.

Luke 19:37 “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;”

The most important time of all to speak, is in the following Scriptures.

Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Ecclesiastes 3:8 “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

Hate is a word I do not like, but God says there is a time to hate. Look, with me, at the following Scripture.

Revelation 2:6 “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Notice, He did not hate the Nicolaitans, He hated their deeds. We are to hate the sin, and love the sinner. God wants us to love everyone, even our enemies, as we read in the next verses.

Matthew 5:43-44 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

Jesus gave us two commandments that cover all. They both have to do with love.

Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” “This is the first and great commandment.” “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Love is the greatest positive emotion we can have. God is Love.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The condition of the world is, and has been, the fact of wars and rumors of wars. This will not change, until Jesus the King of Peace comes and sets up His thousand year reign of peace upon the earth. God is not against war, when it is preserving the right.

One of the most interesting examples of God blessing in war is found in chapter 17 of Exodus. Joshua fought while Moses lifted his arms in praise to God. Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, until the battle was over and Joshua defeated Amalek.

Exodus 17:12-13 “But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” “And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

There is a day of peace coming when Jesus reigns.

We read in Micah 4:3 “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

We need to answer two questions. First, do we know the love of God, through Christ’s atoning blood on the cross? Second, if we do, are we telling anyone about it? If the answer to either question is “NO”, please contact me so we might discuss this.

Tomorrow we conclude our study of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 will be our study this week. Solomon gives us a description of what he saw in his life. Chapter 3 describes the specific periods of time during our lives. Good aspects contrasted to bad aspects. Today we look at verses 5-6.

Ecclesiastes 3:5 “A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”

A very good example of a time to cast away stones is when you are clearing a field for cultivation. The time to gather stones is when you are building a stone house. Embracing is a way of showing passion, or affection.

When two friends meet, it is alright to embrace in greeting. The negative side of this would be under the classification of passion. It is not, however, a very nice thing for a man and a woman to passionately embrace in public.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 “A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;”

Material things have been put on the earth for the use of mankind. One of the most vivid Scriptures about getting and losing is in Mark 10:29-30

“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,” “But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

The story of Job tells of a man who had received great wealth and blessings from God. Satan caused Job to lose them. God gave twice as many blessings back to Job, when he proved faithful.

There are a number of things we are admonished to keep. The most important of all, is keep the faith. We should cast our cares upon Jesus. We must cast off our sins and idols of this world.

As we meditate on these verses, think about what it means to serve God. What are our stumbling blocks, things or ideas we embrace, material things that hinder us from serving God, and the areas in our lives that need to be cast away.  Are our lives totally surrendered to God?

These are important questions. Ask God and He will show you His direction for your life.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 will be our study this week. Solomon gives us a description of what he saw in his life. Chapter 3 describes the specific periods of time during our lives. Good aspects contrasted to bad aspects. Today we look at verses 3-4.

Ecclesiastes 3:3 “A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;”

The 6th commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill”. Then how, can this Scripture say a time to kill?  Thou shalt not kill, means thou shalt not commit premeditated murder. It does not mean that you are not to go to war to protect your family, or your country. A very good example of a time to kill is shown by God killing the firstborn in Egypt.

Exodus 12:12 “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.”

Most of Jesus’ ministry here on the earth involved healing. Everyone who had faith enough to receive his healing was healed by Him.

I Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Why did God not allow David to build His temple?  We read in I Kings 5:3 “Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.”

The very next verse tells when it was the right time for Solomon to build it. I Kings 5:4-5 “But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.” “And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.”

Sometimes things have to be torn down to the foundation, before they can build on the spot.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

The shortest sentence in the Bible is in John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

Jesus is our example in everything, so we know there are times for us to weep. When we lose a loved one, it is a natural thing to weep. You have heard the expression {laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone}. This is very true.

Psalms 126:2 “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.”

A story of contrast of mourning and a time to dance quickly reminds us of David, when he danced before the Ark of the Covenant.

2 Samuel 6:14-15 “And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” “So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.”

David’s mourning came at the loss of his firstborn child. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then he had her husband killed in battle, so he might marry her. In punishment, God took their first child.

2 Samuel 12:14 “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

The verses today come right of today’s newspaper. Take each verse and pin it to an event going on locally or nationally. God’s word is relevant for today.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

 

Good morning,

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 will be our study this week. Solomon gives us  a description of what he saw in his life. Chapter 3 describes the specific periods of time during our lives. Good aspects contrasted to bad aspects. Today we look at verses 1-2.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks of an appointed time. Not only does God fix the standard and withhold or dispense satisfaction, 2:26, but He also appoints “times”. Earthly pursuits are good in their proper place and time, but unprofitable when pursued as the chief goal.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”

This is saying that God arranges even the smallest details of our surroundings. Verse 1 is speaking of all the things collectively, that he will detail in the next few verses. God’s timetable for this earth is perfect. Certain events are ordained from the foundation of the earth.

Jesus will come back to the earth as King and reign in perfect peace for 1000 years. Things, like when we are born and when we die, are foreordained of God. The thing that is not already destined to be is what we do with Jesus. We, of our own free will, accept Him, or reject Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:2 “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”

We see that we have no control of the day we are born. We have no control of who we are born to. We have no control over our gender. We have no control over the way we look, when we are born. All of these things are destined of God.

We have no control over whether we are born into a wealthy family, or a poverty stricken family. All of these things are determined of God. We do not have control of the time of our death either.

Isaac is a very good example of God having a precise time for us to be born.

Genesis 21:2 “For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

Death is the same. God has set a time for each person’s death.

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

The following Scripture tells us the very best, what our life is.

James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Here is a project for us to do. Take your life and break it down into segments of time. Mine would be:

• Birth through school               5 years
• School years                            12 years
• War years                                3 years
• University years                      4 years
• Ministry years                         8 years
• Military years                          27 years
• Contractor                               5 years
• Ministry                                   1.5 years

This will help you see how your life has had different seasons. Enjoy.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

 

Good morning,

This week I would like to look at Joshua, the successor, to Moses. We will be looking at Joshua Chapter 1. Today we will look at how the people responded to Joshua.

Response of the People (V16-18)

¹⁶ And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. ¹⁷ According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

So the people agree to follow Joshua’s leadership. This is in stark contrast to how the people rebelled during the time of Moses. When you read the book of Joshua, the soldiers are all in one accord, willing serving, and fighting to possess the land.  It was only late into the book, that we see hints of fatigue and rebellion. Joshua tells each tribe they must drive out ALL the inhabitants of the land. They were unwilling to do so. Today the remnants are the cause of the bitter conflict in the Middle East.

So what did we learn about leadership this week?

CONCLUSION:

Leaders must:

1) Be full of the spirit of wisdom

2) Follow God’s leading

3) Go

4) Be strong and courageous

5) Obey the word of God

6) Meditate on the word of God

7) Prepare

Remember, as long as you are living, breathing individuals, you are prime candidates for leadership. Follow Joshua’s example.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001