GOD'S WARNING LABELS

Why are we always drawn to that which is forbidden?

All we need is for someone to say, "Whatever you do, don't look there," and we will look there. We hear, "Whatever you do, don't go in there," and we will go in there.
Try saying to a child, "Stay out of that room," or "Don't touch that," and that child will immediately begin to push the limits and try to see how much he or she can get away with. It is human nature.

Perhaps in our warped way of thinking, we assume that God says no to us because He is trying to keep us from something that would be enjoyable. We think, Why wouldn't God let me do that? If God really loved me, He would let me do anything I wanted to. But that reasoning is simply not true. Because God loves you, He puts up barriers and warns us, "Stay away from this. Don't do that."

The Bible tells us, "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11 NKJV). So a good thing to remember is that if God tells you not to do something, then that something is not a good thing. In a sense, God issues warning labels, and there was one clearly attached to a particular tree in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve had been placed in a veritable paradise. Talk about having a great job. Adam's job was to be in the Garden and to appreciate and discover all that God had created. He was to spend time in the presence of the Lord each and every day as the Lord came walking through the Garden during the cool of the day.

There was only one restriction God placed on Adam and Eve. Of all the trees in the Garden—and there must have been thousands—there was only one tree they could not eat from. And yet, in Genesis 3, we find Adam and Eve hanging out at the only tree God told them to stay away from. Adam and Eve deliberately ignored the warning God gave them. The devil is clever. He will try to make bad look good and good look bad. And he does a pretty effective job of it. No doubt he was trying to attract Adam and Eve to this tree to get them to eat of its fruit.
We notice three specific strategies he used to get Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.

One, he questioned God's Word. He did not deny that God had spoken; he simply questioned whether God had really said what Eve thought He had said. He wanted her to think that perhaps she had misunderstood God's command. And today, the devil still twists the truth to try and alienate people from God.

Two, he questioned God's love. He wanted Eve to think that God was holding something back from her when, in reality, God himself had placed those restrictions for Adam's and her own good to keep them from sinning.

Three, he substituted his own lie. He questioned God's Word, he questioned God's love, and then he substituted his own lie. He led them to believe that they would become like gods if they ate the fruit of the three. He was saying, "Eve, check it out. You will be a goddess. Imagine. You will know good and evil. God is trying to hold something back from you. Go ahead and do it."
Here we see a primary principle of spiritual attack: the devil works from without to within, which is the very opposite of God's method. God begins His work in a person's heart, and the changes then affect his or her outer lifestyle. But the devil will always to try to come from the outside to gain a foothold on the inside.

That strategy was successful with Adam and Eve, and their eyes were opened to the wickedness of sin, the deceitfulness of the devil, and the weakness of their own nature. They were exposed to all of the wicked depravity of the world.

Far too often, we know more about this wicked world than we should, and we know far less of the Word of God, which we desperately need. As the apostle Paul said, "I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil" (Romans 16:19 NKJV).

It all starts with paying attention to God's warning labels. Are you ignoring any today?



BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

Delight Yourself in the Lord

The word delight means to gain great pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness. Isn’t that exactly the kind of relationship you want with the Lord—one in which both you and He enjoy time spent in each other’s presence? If that sounds good to you, then I have great news. God also wants that kind of delightful friendship, which develops through commitment, trust, and patience.

First, a believer must commit his or her ways to God. This means that we welcome Him to examine our desires and plans. The Lord is invited to alter whatever does not fit His purpose or advance His plan for our life.

Second, a believer must trust God. Who is more worthy of our faith than the Father, who gave Jesus Christ to save wicked sinners? The One who would not spare His only Son will certainly provide all that His children need (Rom. 8:32).

Third, a believer must rest in God. When we fret about an issue or something that we consider necessary, we’re neither committing ourselves to the Lord nor trusting in Him. Because of our limited human viewpoint, waiting patiently is rarely easy. However, God knows when circumstances and timing are perfectly aligned for His will to be done.

A growing relationship with the Lord is not drudgery, though it can be hard work. But the effort is a labor of love, because humans are designed to derive joy from being in God’s presence. The greatest pleasure we can experience in life is walking hand in hand with a Father who adores us.

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!


DAWN

The Desires of Your Heart

Context is very important to our understanding of God’s Word and His ways. But I repeatedly hear one promise quoted apart from its scriptural framework: "God said He would give me the desires of my heart, and so I’m trusting Him to do that." I would not dispute the Lord’s promise because He certainly did commit to blessing His children. However, believers must ready themselves to receive God’s blessings by doing some spiritual housekeeping.

A person’s capacity to desire is from God. Aspirations motivate people to hard work and achievement. Our yearnings can also inspire and energize us. Just think how boring life would be if we had nothing to work toward. The nature of one’s ambitions reveals that person’s character and sense of purpose. Furthermore, the way in which someone goes about fulfilling them says a lot about his or her understanding of God and His providence. Righteous desires are the result of a growing relationship with the Lord.

In today’s passage, believers are told what is required before they can lay claim to God’s promise of fulfilling their desires: they must delight in Him (v. 4), commit their ways to Him (v. 5), trust Him (v. 5), and rest in Him (v. 7). All of these spiritual activities are part of a maturing faith.

If we disregard the context of God’s promise, our hearts will be troubled rather than blessed. People get to fretting when their requests seem to go unnoticed. But believers can’t ignore scriptural directives. We must submit our desires to the Lord and patiently trust Him to fill them, if that is His will.

Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.

Psalm 37: 1-8

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

FAILURE TO YIELD

Do you remember when we used to have those yellow triangle yield signs at intersections? Have you seen one lately? Unlikely. The traffic police had to make them all into four-way stops. Why? Because we stink at yielding. Each person drives up to the corner and thinks, "Clearly it's my right to go and clearly he needs to yield." So we have an epidemic of traffic crashes because no one wants to yield.

More important than a crazy traffic sign, how good are you at yielding to God? Do you think, "Clearly, my way is better. If I go that way, that will take my life in a direction that isn't in my plan so I'm going to run the sign." Ever stop to think, "What if that way signals God’s plan of taking my life in a different direction?"

Hebrews 12:9 says, "Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?" The Greek word for "be subject to" is hupopaso, translated "submission" in other places in the New Testament. It’s got a special twist in the original language, which means "submit yourself," as in, you’re the one who willingly makes this choice.

God wants you to yield to His direction by your own choice, willingly yielding yourself to God so that "the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:3). Following Christ into unfamiliar territory binds your heart to Him. Trusting Him in uncertain situations will make you irreversibly devoted and committed to Jesus Christ.

Submission doesn't come easily in a culture of individuals. But the only way through is to yield to God. You're headed for a wreck, until you let Him go first. "This isn't where I thought my life would be today, but I'm going to yield. I'm stopping, God. You go. I'm going to fall in behind You." Let God have His way; yield to His purposes for your life.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials

of various kinds, for you know that the testing of

your faith produces steadfastness."

James 1:2-3

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

UNLIKELY INSTRUMENTS

Stephen, the first martyr of the church, died at an early age. Some might look at the way he died and think, What a waste! But in the words of Jim Elliot, another young martyr for the faith, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

What kind of person does God look for to use for His glory? What qualifies a person to be selected by God to be His instrument? Is it a towering intellect or how many PhDs a person has on the wall? Do you have to be physically attractive? Do you need to be a born leader? How about someone who is a little timid? What about the person who isn't the most physically attractive? What about people whom many would classify as ordinary? Is there a place for someone like that?

I would suggest to you there is. Because one of the things that stands out from the pages of Scripture is that God seems to go out of His way to use people whom you'd never imagine He would. And if my life is evidence of anything, it is evidence of that.
So why does God do this? We find the answer in 1 Corinthians 1:27–29:

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God is looking for unexpected people to use for His glory. Are you willing to be one of them?

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

DIVINE DISCIPLINE

This may sound strange, but the time to put up your guard as a Christian is when things are going well.

When we are facing times of crisis, we are usually looking to the Lord. When a hardship hits, when a difficulty comes, we say, "God, if you don't come through for me, I am not going to make it." Those are not the times to be extra careful.

The time to be extra careful is when things are going reasonably well, when the bills are paid, when the health is good, and when there is no crisis looming on the horizon—at least that you know of.

Sometimes we can get a little lazy and forget God. It is not that we turn against God. We just forget about Him.

That is exactly what happened with David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had set the scene for his defeat with things he had already done in direct disobedience to God. David had multiple wives and took concubines after he became king (see 2 Samuel 5:13), even though God specifically warned in Deuteronomy 17:17 that a king was never to do this.

David's heart was slowly but surely turning away from God, and he was allowing lust to consume his life.

Perhaps David thought he was above the law. Yet the Bible warns, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18 NKJV).

Sins we commit today may not have their full impact until much later. In other words, some people are sowing the seeds of sin today and may not see immediate repercussions. So they mistakenly conclude that they won't have to pray a price for what they are doing.
But Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (NKJV).

David's sin with Bathsheba was the outcome of earlier sins that he had committed. He didn't fall suddenly. It was a process, as it is with everyone.
David should have been leading his troops into war, which is what a king in his day would do. But David wasn't in battle; he was in bed.

There is nothing wrong with taking a vacation, but we need to remember there is no rest from the spiritual battle. The devil never takes a day off. The Bible describes him as "a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV).

David was kicking back, lowering his spiritual guard. So when he saw the beautiful Bathsheba, he took immediate action to have her brought into his chambers. As David was driven by his lust, all rational thinking went out the door, along with any regard for the repercussions or his reputation.

The sin was committed. The wrong had been done. Then a little time passed, and Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant.

At that point, David should have said, "I have sinned against God." But David would not come clean. He thought he could cover up what he had done.

But the Bible says, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13 NKJV). David had not considered one important thing: he had displeased the Lord (see 2 Samuel 11:27).

Despite his extreme wickedness, David was still a believer—a very disobedient one, but a believer nonetheless. And in Psalms 32 and 51, he wrote about the tortured state he was in as a result of the unconfessed sin in his life. For 12 months, he fought the conviction of the Holy Spirit and was not experiencing the presence of God as he had before. He described it as having his strength evaporated.

David's life serves as a reminder that God simply will not allow His children to get away with sin. And as His children, He will tell us what is right and what is wrong.

If we are crossing the line as His sons or daughters, then He will tell us. Hebrews 12:11 says, "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (NKJV).
So if you start to go the wrong way and roadblocks are placed in your path, if conviction kicks in along with guilt, then rejoice. It means that you are a child of God. And God is disciplining you because He loves you.



BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

A FULL LIFE

Today people are thinking about what to do to prolong their lives, whetherit is through stem cell research, cloning, cryonics, or the latest potionor lotion. I find myself laughing at some of the things I see advertisedwith the implication they will help me live longer. I realize that peoplecan eat all the tofu and wheat germ they want, but their lives will endwhen they are going to end.Yet some people become obsessed with the concept of living longer.According to a LIFE magazine cover story, there are some scientists whosuggest that we can and will stop aging. But the article went on to askwhether we would really want to stop aging.

In other words, do we reallywant to live forever? I guess it comes down to what kind of life you areliving. Medical science can seek to add years to your life, but only Godcan add life to your years and give you a life that is worth living.Our objective as Christians should not be to merely live long lives; ourobjective should be to live full lives, meaningful lives, and purposefullives.Jim Eliot is one example of a Christian who did this. As a young man, hefelt God was calling him to take the gospel to a tribe in Ecuador thenknown as the Auca. Tragically, Jim was martyred along with four othermissionaries in their attempt to share the gospel. Jim once wrote in hisjournal,

"I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus."That is a good thought: Life is not a matter of years; it is a matter of what we do with them. What are you doing with the years God has given you?

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with

the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake

I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage,

so that I could gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN