Archives for 2020

Good morning,

Jesus is all I need! In every circumstance, all we need to do is draw close to the one who died on the cross for us. Shed His perfect blood to take away the sin debt we owed. Who died, was buried, and rose again the third day.

In our life today, we often loose perspective. We forget what Jesus did for us. We forget that the victory was won when Jesus paid our sin debt. We forget that Satan no longer has dominion over our lives. Jesus owns us. Jesus bought us with His blood.

So this devotional is a reminder.

The life-buoy!

(Charles Spurgeon, “Christ Is All”)

Whatever trials you have, my dear brother, Christ is all in all to meet them.

Are you poor?He will make you rich in your poverty by His consoling presence.

Are you sick?He will make your bed in your sickness, and so will make your sick-bed better than the walks of health.

Are you persecuted?If it is for His sake, you may even leap for joy.

Are you oppressed? Remember how He also was oppressed and afflicted; and you will have fellowship with Him in his sufferings.

Amidst all the vicissitudes of this present life, Christ is all that the believer needs to bear him up, and bear him through.No wave can sink the man who clings to this life-buoy; he shall swim to glory on it!
Jesus is all I need!  Jesus is . . .
  the living water to quench my thirst,
  the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger,
  the snow-white robe to cover me,
  the sure refuge in times of trouble,
  the happy home of my soul,
  my food and my medicine,
  my solace and my song,
  my light and my delight.

The believer can say, “Christ is mine!” No emperor is half as rich as the beggar that has Christ! He who has Christ, being a pauper, has all things. And he who has not Christ, possessing a thousand worlds, possesses nothing for real happiness and joy!

Oh, the blessedness of the man who can say, “Christ is mine!“
~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

COVID-19 is a great time to determine where we will put our trust. Today’s devotion challenges us to think about the “bitter cups” we drink. Does it cause to draw closer to Christ or the world?

Drinking bitter cups!

(Octavius Winslow)

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Oh truth most divine!

Oh words most consolatory!

All things under the government of an infinitely great, all wise, righteous, and beneficent God, work together for good.

What that good may be, the shape it may assume, the complexion it may wear, the end to which it may be subservient–we cannot tell.

To our dim view it may appear an evil, but to God’s far seeing eye it is a positive good.

His glory secured by it, and His end accomplished–we are sure it must be good.

How many whose eye traces this page, it may be whose tears bedew it, whose sighs breathe over it, whose prayers hallow it, may be wading in deep waters, may be drinking bitter cups, and are ready to exclaim, “All these things are against me!”

Oh no, beloved of God, all these things are for you!

“The Lord sits upon the flood.”
“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.”
“He makes the clouds His chariot.”

Be not then afraid.

Calmly stay your faith on this divinely assured truth, that “all things work together for good to those who love God.”

Will it not be a good, if your present adversity results . . . 
  in the dethronement of some worshiped idol;
  in the endearing of Christ to your soul;
  in the closer conformity of your mind to God’s image;
  in the purification of your heart;
  in your more thorough fitness for Heaven;
  in a revival of God’s work within you;
  in stirring you up to more prayer?

Oh yes! good, real good, permanent good must result from all the Divine dispensations in your history. Bitter repentance shall end in the experienced sweetness of Christ’s love.

The festering wound shall but elicit the healing balm.

The overpowering burden shall but bring you to the tranquil rest.

The storm shall but quicken your footsteps to the ‘hiding place’.

In a little while, oh, how soon! you shall pass away from earth to heaven, and in its clearer, serener light shall read the truth, often read with tears before, “All things work together for good to those who love God.”
~  ~  ~  ~

So how do we look at our trials in life? Temporal or eternal. God is working in each of our lives. He is preparing us for heaven.

Will we let Him?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Heaven is a wonderful place. We do not commonly refer to it as Immanuel’s land, but it is. Immanuel is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to be with Him when we die. It is Immanuel’s land.

This devotion challenges us to think about Immanuel’s land.

Immanuel’s Land!

(Gene Fedele, edited)
What can be more delightful for the weary pilgrim who is hastening to his heavenly mansion, than to meditate on the unspeakable wonders of his future home beyond the skies? There is much of Immanuel’s Land to engage our hearts in sacred contemplation, even while we sojourn and toil in this world as strangers and pilgrims.

Heaven is the most cheering and attractive occupation to which we may set our hearts. Yet I wonder why many of us fail to avail ourselves of the enjoyment and spiritual strength afforded in such a holy pursuit.

Could it be that the allurements of this world keep us from recognizing how near we are to the unseen, supernatural, and eternal state? Instead of dwelling on the glorious world to come–do we focus on the mere momentary pleasures of time? We do well to examine ourselves with judgment day honesty, that we may check the affections of our heart.

It is the influence of the future heavenly realities exercised in our hearts and lives, which gives vitality and beauty to our religion. It reveals genuine piety, as our aim is in contrast to the passing pleasures of this fleeting earth. It affords light along the path of life’s dark trials, and points to the realms of bliss, where there shall be no more tears, and sorrow is banished forevermore!

The glorious rest that remains for our earth wearied souls;
the sweet consolation of the redeemed in glory;
the unending fellowship of that precious society of saints;
the incalculable riches laid up in store for us to receive on that glorious day
–are all facets of Immanuel’s Land, that we might set an adoring eye towards the one object of our affections, Christ Jesus our Lord!

Let us, therefore, ‘set our affections on things above’ and fix our hearts steadfastly upon the heavenly joys and glory of Immanuel’s Land!

“But our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body!” Philippians 3:20-21
~  ~  ~  ~

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down. Right now our thoughts are how are we going to pay our bills, feed our families, keep sane, in the wake of staying home.

Unfortunately, Immanuel’s land may not be top priority. However, it should be. When we focus on Immanuel, Jesus Christ, we know that He knows what is going on, and has a purpose for it.

His will, will be done.

Focus on Immanuel!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning.,

The wedding feast of the Lamb is soon approaching. What is it and why do I care?

Read on and find out.

The wedding feast!

(Octavius Winslow)

“Let us be glad and rejoice and honor Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.” Revelation 19:7

Jesus sustains no relation to His Church more expressive than this. From all eternity He betrothed her to Himself. He asked her at the hands of her Father, and the Father gave her to Him. He entered into a covenant that she should be His. The conditions of that covenant were great, but not too great for His love to undertake. They were that He should . . .
  assume her nature,
  discharge her legal obligations,
  endure her punishment,
  repair her ruin, and
  bring her to glory!

He undertook all, and He accomplished all–because He loved her!

The love of Jesus to His Church, is the love of the most tender husband. It is . . .
  exclusive,
  constant,
  affectionate,
  matchless,
  wonderful.

Jesus . . .
  sympathizes with her,
  nourishes her,
  provides for her,
  clothes her,
  watches over her, and
  indulges her with the most intimate and endearing communion.

The Lord Jesus will come in the clouds of Heaven, and this will be the occasion of His public wedding of His Church. Her present union to Him is secret and unknown–invisible to the world. But He will appear, openly and visibly to take her to Himself; and before His Father and the holy angels He will solemnize her eternal union.

Oh what a time of splendor and of rejoicing will that be! Arrayed in His nuptial robes, Jesus will descend to make her His own; and she, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” will go forth to meet Him. Then will be heard the song of angels, “Let us be glad and rejoice and honor Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.”

Yes! “Blessed are they who are called unto the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Did it occur to you that God disciplines His children? Who are His children? All those who have trusted Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

Today, we will see the benefits of God’s discipline in our lives.

Perhaps He will smite you!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.” Deuteronomy 8:5 

“I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” Isaiah 48:10  

I can truly say of everything I have ever tasted in this world of God’s mercy, (and my path has been remarkably strewn with divine lovingkindness), I feel more grateful to God for the bodily pain I have suffered, and for all the trials of diverse sorts I have endured, than I do for anything else.

I am sure I have derived more real benefit, and permanent strength, and growth in grace, and every precious thing–from the furnace of suffering, than I have ever derived from prosperity.

I know not how to quite express my meaning, but even depression of spirit and deep sadness have a particular charm within them, which laughter in vain may emulate.

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted!” Psalm 119:71

Ponder and consider the much gratitude you owe to God for His chastening rod. Dwell much in your heart upon what God evidently regards as one of His distinguishing blessings. Do not lightly pass over, what God would have you consider. Count the cross and the rod to be doubly worthy of your deepest thought.

“Heed the rod and Him who has appointed it.” Micah 6:9

Remember that whenever you are chastened, you are not chastened as a slave master smites his victim, nor as a judge orders the criminal to be lashed; but as a tender father chastens his son.

Your chastisement is a sign of sonship, it is a token of love! It is intended for your good.

Accept it, therefore, in the spirit of sonship, and “Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when you are corrected by Him.”

It is the Lord your God who chastens you!

If He were not your God, He might let you alone!

If He had not chosen you to be His own, He would not take such care of you!

If He had not given Himself to be your treasure, He might not be so diligent in weaning you from all other treasures!

But because you are His, He will withdraw your love away from this poor world.

Perhaps He will take one child after another from you, that all the love that was lavished on the children might flow towards Himself.

Perhaps He will leave you a widow, that the love that ran in the channel of a husband may run altogether to Himself.

Perhaps he will take away your riches, that the consolation you derived from them may be all derived from Him.

Perhaps He will smite you, and then lay you on His own bosom, faint and helpless, that you may derive a strength and a joy from close and near fellowship with Himself, which you would never have had if it had not been that these other joys were removed.

Bless God for your chastenings!

Let the sweetest note of your music be to Him who, as a loving father, chastens His children for their good.

“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son He receives.” Hebrews 12:6
 ~  ~  ~  ~

I am glad God cares enough about me to discipline me. Although I do not like it or understand it, God already knows how it will help me to draw closer to Him.

Do you desire a closer walk to the Lord? Allow Him to discipline you and mold you into the man or woman He wants you to be.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

When we think about the state of our world, the wickedness and corruption and want to blame someone else, look in the mirror. We are our own worst enemies.

Read today’s devotion with that in mind.

The worst enemy I have!

(Thomas Reade, “Christian Meditations”)

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24

Strange to tell, yet, no less strange than true, the worst enemy I have is MYSELF!

I may flee from other enemies, but from this I cannot escape.

Wherever I go, SELF still is there.

The inbred evil travels with me.

I may cross mighty oceans, traverse extensive deserts, plunge into the deepest recesses of the tangled forest or the caverned earth, yet, in the profoundest solitude, SELF is there!

None but the true believer knows the dreadful conflicts between the flesh and the Spirit. His cry is; “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I flee away and be at rest!”

But soon he feels the vanity of this wish; for even if he could fly on eagle’s wings to the earth’s remotest bounds, he would carry with him all the evil he deplores.

He therefore prays for present grace and strength, for present power to conquer sin, and to glorify his Savior in the place divine wisdom has appointed for him.

Lord Jesus, you alone can enable me . . .
  to vanquish the powers of darkness,
  to overcome the corruptions of my heart,
  to crucify the lustings of the flesh.

“Lord, save me from that evil man, myself!” Augustine

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The answer to the question is Jesus Christ.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

A deadly enemy!

(William Sprague, “Lectures on Revivals of Religion”)

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

Beware of the world!

Everyone who has made much progress in the Christian life, has been taught by his own experience that the world is a deadly enemy to the believer’s growth in grace.

The cares of the world are exceedingly apt to mar the Christian character.

But there are, in addition . . .
   the pleasures of the world,
   the honors of the world,
   the riches of the world,
all of which in turn seize hold of the heart with a mighty grasp.

Sometimes the world laughs and scoffs at the Christian, and tries to persuade him that he is giving himself to fanaticism and folly.

Sometimes it flatters and caresses him, and by its artful blandishments, seeks to draw him aside from the plain path of duty.

Indeed the world will assume any form, or morph into anything, to draw the Christian away from God and from duty.

How important then that you be on guard against this dangerous enemy! Beware especially against the levities and amusements of the world; for this is the point at which you are most in danger.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16
~  ~  ~  ~

Good advice.

Tomorrow, “The worst enemy I have.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

We are living in a world that is changing moment by moment. However, there is one thing in this world that does not change, and never will.

See if you can find it in today’s devotion.

Life is like a painted dream!
(Octavius Winslow, “This God is Our God”)

“For this God is our God forever and ever–He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14

“The world passes away.”

Everything here in this present world is changing.

“Life is like a painted dream,
 Like the rapid summer stream,
 Like the fleeting meteor’s ray,
 Like the shortest winter’s day,
 Like the fitful breeze that sighs,
 Like the waning flame that dies,
 Darting, dazzling on the eye,
 Fading in eternity.”

A rope of sand,
a spider’s web,
a silken thread,
a passing shadow,
an ebbing wave,
are the most fitting and expressive emblems of all things belonging to this present time’s state.

The homes that sheltered us in childhood we leave.

The land which gave us birth we leave.

The loved ones who encircled our hearths pass away.

The friends of early years depart.

And the world that was so sunny, and life that was so sweet, is all beclouded and embittered; the whole scenery of existence changed into wintry gloom.

Such are the saddening, depressing effects of life’s vicissitudes.

But in the midst of all, “This God is our God FOREVER AND EVER!“

All beings change, but God.

All things change, but Heaven.

The evolutions of time revolve, the events of earth go onward–but He upon whom all things hang, and by whom all events are shaped and controlled, moves not.

“I, the Lord, do not change.“

Our affairs may alter.

Our circumstances may change.

Our relations and friends may depart one by one.

Our souls in a single day pass through many fluctuations of spiritual feeling.

But He who chose us to be His own, and who has kept us to the present moment, is our covenant God and Father forever and ever, and will never throw us off and cast us away.

“For this God is our God forever and ever–He will be our guide even to the end!“ Psalm 48:14
~  ~  ~  ~

God does not change! His word does not change! We can rely on it to be true, faithful, and God’s communication of His will for us.

Trust in the Lord.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

The resurrection changes everything.

The Resurrection Changes Everything (1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 13-18)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵ And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶ After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: ¹⁴ And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ¹⁵ Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ¹⁶ For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ¹⁷ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸ Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

God made it very clear: no resurrection, no salvation! Now that is a scary thought. The good news is that Christ is resurrected from the dead. There were over five hundred witnesses. The Holy Spirit lives within each believer. Our eternal destiny is secure.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

What Is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

April 23, 2019

Leaven is repeatedly emphasized in the Bible. It is mentioned more than 70 times from the time of Abraham to the life of Moses to the histories of the kingdoms to the former prophets, major prophets and minor prophets. Jesus Christ talked about it during His ministry, and He emphasized it on the final night before He was crucified.

Why? Because leaven is a powerful spiritual symbol.

The biblical book that mentions leaven most frequently is Exodus. Exodus 12 records God commanding millions of Israelite slaves in Egypt to keep the Passover, in part by eating lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The next night, God miraculously freed them, and they joyfully left Egypt. Verse 34 notes that they “took their dough before it was leavened.” Seven days later, with the Egyptian army in pursuit, God miraculously divided the Red Sea, the Israelites walked across the seabed on dry land, and the returning waters destroyed the Egyptians.

God commanded His people to memorialize these events—and their spiritual meaning—by keeping annual observances: Passover at sunset, the Night to Be Much Observed the following sunset, and the feast of Unleavened Bread over the next seven days.

“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. … [F]or in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt …” (verses 15, 17).

Jewish believers still keep a form of this observance. But it is actually commanded for God’s Church today. The Apostle Paul wrote to New Testament Christians that “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). New Testament Christians keep the feast of Unleavened Bread! (see Acts 20:6).

There is nothing inherently wrong, unhealthy or evil about leavening. But during this unique one-week period, God uses leavening to represent sin. God commands that we get it out of our lives during this time—every last loaf, slice and crumb!

Jesus warned against “the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” in Matthew 16. The Apostle Paul focused on leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven ….” The Bible links the way leavening puffs up dough and the way sin spreads and permeates our life. It only takes a pinch of leavening to raise an entire loaf—and it only takes a single compromise to fill our life with sin.

Sin means breaking God’s law of love (1 John 3:4; Romans 13:8-10). It ultimately results in death (Romans 6:23). Every particle of human failure and suffering is caused by breaking God’s law, just as failure and suffering are caused by breaking the laws of biology, chemistry and physics. Let sin into your thinking, and it quickly spreads from one part of your life to another—to another to another. It subtly infuses you with selfishness. It puffs you up with vanity. And it takes God’s miraculous intervention, combined with your effort, to put sin out of your mind and completely keep it out!

Just as with the ancient Israelites, God focuses us on “cleaning house” during the Days of Unleavened Bread: removing every crumb of bread with leavening ingredients like yeast, baking soda and baking powder from our homes, our workplaces, our vehicles and every nook of personal property in between. This symbolizes ridding our lives from every bit of sin and keeping it out. Physical deleavening is no easy task, but neither is getting sin out of our lives. It takes real effort and sweat to deleaven your possessions, just like it is a constant, lifelong battle to remove sin and keep it out when it inevitably begins to creep back in.

However, simply getting the leavening out doesn’t completely fulfill the command in Exodus 12:20. For seven days we not only avoid leavening, but we also eat unleavened bread, representing God’s way of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8). That bread symbolizes Jesus Christ Himself—the “bread of life,” the bread we must eat if we are to inherit eternal life (John 6:35, 48). As we ingest that and allow Christ into us, He transforms us into a new and different person. This is another beautiful lesson of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

For God’s people, from Moses and the Israelites to David and the kingdom of Israel to Jesus Christ and His disciples to New Testament Christians through the ages, one of the greatest highlights of the year is the meaningful, exciting, inspiring feast of Unleavened Bread.

To learn more about this annual sacred festival, read Exodus 12-13.

Thanks to the Philadelphia Church of God for a clear and concise description of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001