Wednesday Morning Devotional

So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. – 2 Kings 5:14

Naaman had Leprosy. One would think that he would be wiling to do whatever he had to destroy this skin condition that would slowly and literally eat him alive. However, this was not the case. When Elisha sent a servant to tell Naaman exactly what he needed to do, he became angry. Cleansing did not come like he thought it should, so Naaman almost rejected healing.

I wonder what Naaman thought the first six times he dipped himself. Did he look at his skin after the third time and not see a difference? Did he say to himself, “This is stupid and pointless”? Or maybe, “If this God is so awesome, why can’t He do it the first time”?

Which raises a great question: Why does God sometimes require so many times? I mean Jericho had to be marched around seven times before the wall fell. How did they feel when nothing happened the first six days? Did any of them quit showing up within those first six days?

I pleaded with God to save me and make me whole when I was sixteen. Even though it was a wonderful feeling that I’ll never forget, I was absolutely no different afterwards. This worried me. I thought I would just automatically be different. I got “saved” again with the same results. Then, I got saved again, again, and again. This went on for quite a few years. If anything, I was getting worse spiritually, not better.

True, and lasting change eluded me. I began to wonder if I had “blasphemed the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 12:31) or maybe God just chose to reject me because I knew better and still chose the wide gate that leads to destruction a few too many times. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Oh the glorious day when it all changed! That wonderful day the old Adam died! That wonderful day where all things became new! It must have been well over the hundredth time I had tried. What was different about this time? What if I’d stopped one time short? On that day I stopped living my way and asked Him to place me on His lighted path. I had never read His Holy Word for myself. Sure, I’d listen to the preachers talk about it on Sunday, but never even considered studying it for myself. Nearly every day for 15 months I read The Bible a little bit at a time until I had read it all.

I didn’t know it, but I was daily dipping myself in His cleansing waters. Even today, I don’t know how He did it, I don’t even know when He did it, but somewhere during that 15-month period He washed this old sinner and made him brand new. I know how Naaman felt on that glorious day when his flesh was restored. But, I still can’t help but wonder, “What if he had quit after 6 dips in that Jordan River?”

The answer: He would not have been made clean.

I believe God allows this sort of forced perseverance to weed out the quitters who are really only looking for Him to be one more resource who gratifies their worldly desires. If I need healing, I’ll call on Him. If I need a job, I’ll call on Him. If I’m in a bad situation, I’ll call on Him. If I’m lonely, I’ll call on Him. As soon as God refuses instant gratification, most people are done with Him. I’ve heard people say things like, “I tried Christianity and it just didn’t work for me.” Others go as far as to deny His very existence, simply because He doesn’t do instant.

In reality, they just quit prematurely. What would have happened if, instead of quitting, they had continued to dip themselves in the water of the Word of God?

The Israelites who saw the walls fall down on the seventh day had one thing in common; they did not quit!

Naaman saw his leprosy removed for one reason; he didn’t quit dipping himself when the first six dips didn’t work.

If you want to see God do an amazing work in your own life . . . Don’t quit!

Never, ever quit!

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:14

Later

Adam

Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips.  – Isaiah 6:5

I have often wondered exactly why Isaiah reacted this way in the presence of God.  It seems that when a man or woman gets into the Presence of God that there is an acute awareness of sin.  Moreover, there is an awareness of specific sin.  My first encounter with the Lord was quite similar.  I was a liar.  I was keenly aware of that fact in the Presence of God, so I repented, not just of sin in general, but specific sin that had to go.  That was young adult Adam in the late 90’s.  Of course he was an idiot, but this is the prophet Isaiah we are talking about.  What was he saying that made him unclean?

I was reading Isaiah this morning and knocked out the first 8 chapters.  Until today, I’ve never seen Isaiah’s chapter 6 encounter in its context.  If you read it for yourself, I think you’ll see what I see.  Before Isaiah’s encounter with the Almighty, his friend, King Uzziah dies, and another takes the throne.  It is a time of uncertainty, and the political climate is polarized.  There is a minority on one side saying “we have forsaken God and must return,” and another side saying, “We can live however we want . . . God will not judge us.”

Sound familiar?

I’m guessing that Isaiah joined in the attack of people who had taken sides.  I’m thinking that Isaiah might have been one of those people who had to be right all the time in conversation and assert his superior knowledge.  If someone said, “We must return to God,” then he would say, “Too late, we have refused Him too long and judgment is coming!”  If someone mockingly said, “Ignore the ‘God’s going to judge us’ crowd,” then he promptly put them in their place as well.  If he lived in today’s world, he might have been the king of Facebook calling out political parties, and posting articles that showed dissenting opinions precisely why they were wrong.  And, if the truth were known, he probably would have been correct in all of his assessments.

But, something about the way Isaiah communicated with others made him feel extremely unclean in God’s Presence.  Until today, I conjectured that he must have said foul words or something.  But, more than likely, he was simply convicted of the way that he did not speak to his fellow man in love.  In the presence of God, he realized just how careless he was with His words.  An angel came with a hot coal and touched his lips and purified them.  He was then free to NOT speak as he pleased, but only as God would have him speak.

Would to God that we all learn from this one.

Later

Adam

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  – Jude 1:22

God works in people’s lives in so many ways.  Every Christian is at a different place in their walk with Him.  I have come to believe that a mature Christian has allowed the Holy Trinity authority over their lives.  When I just “believed in God” it didn’t seem to make much difference in my life, at least in the decisions I made.  But then, at 16, I found out that He loved me and sent Jesus to die for me, so I “received” Him.  I still pretty much lived how I wanted to, but now I seemed to feel guilty for my poor decisions.  Years later, I would allow the Holy Spirit to fill me and I actually began to turn from my sinful ways and walk the Christian walk.

I remember catching so much flack in those early days.  I remember wearing my KISS shirt (my first authentic concert shirt) and a teacher telling me that I was “going to Hell” for wearing it.  I remember a guy just flat out telling me that I had to stop listening to rock and roll music if I wanted to go to Heaven.  Repeatedly, I remember hearing that I was a “backslider” that needed to really give his life to God.  There wasn’t a lack of people who would point that finger and tell me that certain things I was doing was wrong and that I’d be judged for it.  Looking back, they didn’t really help me.  I hadn’t progressed to living by the Spirit and had no power to actually stop my sinful ways and, if I’m honest, I really didn’t want to.

When the Spirit got a hold of me, following Jesus became a want to, not a have to.  It was only through a full year of pursuing God by going to regular church services, revival services, and reading through the entire Bible that God began to change me.  I hope I never forget that . . . God changed me.  I didn’t have to try harder.  I didn’t have to muster up the fortitude to stop sinning.  God changed my heart and I didn’t desire many of the sinful things that I desired before.  I was so grateful.  I began to actually keep the first and greatest commandment . . . to love God!

Jude lets me know in this verse that I must be merciful to others.  It is so easy to look down on immature Christians (especially Christians who have had more than enough time to at least be halfway mature by now) and judge them by pointing out their sins and condemning them.  Honestly, I have seen enough of that.  How about we show mercy to people who are at different places in their walks with Christ?  I think I would have responded a little better to someone letting me know that they’ve been exactly where I am and actually encouraging me by telling me how they got through it than just being told one more time that I’m going to Hell.

I’m sure glad God never gave up on me.  I look back and there were so many times He’d be more than justified if He had thrown His hands up and said “I’m done with him.” 

Lord, help me show others the same mercy that You have shown me.  You have been so merciful to me.  How can I not show that same mercy to others? 

Later

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Adam     

All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. – Psalm 142:10

I was reading this Psalm this morning when this verse stopped me dead in my tracks. It was just a beautiful thing in my mind to imagine a time when all of God’s creation will praise Him. How beautiful and majestic will the New Heaven and the New Earth be? John the Revelator tries to describe it in Revelation 21, but we can only imagine the glories of Heaven and a brand new Earth.

Then, I thought of the most amazing thing about the verse: All of creation doesn’t praise Him right now.

When God was creating He said, “Let there be light” and light praised Him. It shined so brightly, piercing the darkness at 186,000 miles per second. He said, “Let there be dry land and let the mighty ocean waters come only this far” and the sounds of the ocean roared in praise. He said, “Let there be plant life and animals,” and the birds sang and still sing their praises to their Creator. All of His works praised Him!

Then, He made man in His own image.

He said, “Love me and obey me” and we almost immediately said “No!” The first man had one command, “Do not eat from one tree,” and he refused to obey. Thousands of years later, He asks another man named Adam to do so many things for Him; sometimes I obey, and sometimes I put off and put off until I have disobeyed. As I pray and spend time with Him this morning, I want so badly to live a life that praises Him and honors His Holy Name.

Herein lies the beauty of the Gospel: Christ came to restore His creation. Yes, everything went downhill after the fall of man. But after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, everything is now going back uphill. People are giving their hearts, minds, bodies, and lives to Him and learning to obey Him, learning to hear Him, learning to do His will, and learning to follow Him wholeheartedly.

And one day . . . one day . . .

All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You.

Later

Adam

2 Kings 3:6-20

Go ahead and take the time to read these amazing verses. This is such a cool story! The three kings from Israel, Judah, and Edom planned to go destroy Moab, but were so bad at planning that they ran out of water in a week. Just like most of us did at some point in our lives, they ran straight to God when they had no place else to turn. They went to the prophet Elisha. He didn’t really want to help them, but knew he was supposed to.

I love how Elisha inquired of the Lord. I think this is such a key for many of us. He asked for a harpist. This was the equivalent of putting on some Praise and Worship music today. He set his mind on the Lord. God spoke to him and gave him the solution. He told the kings to have their men dig ditches in the desert! Now that sounded like the dumbest solution ever, but that’s what they were to do. They did, they won, and God got all the credit.

So many people are just stuck in life. They’ve wandered away from God and are just dry. When you are dry, meaning, you don’t feel God’s presence, “stuff” becomes more important in your life than anything else. Dry people are focused on themselves, their boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, their job, their television sets, their video games, or other hobbies. They’re basically “bored” all the time and will verbalize this. God doesn’t even make the top 10 list of their lives, which is not good considering the only place He accepts is first place.

So, what do you do? This story tells you the answer. You have to dig some ditches. Elisha told them that if they would dig the ditches, God would fill them with water and everything would be fine. He goes on to say, and don’t forget this; this is EASY for God! If you are in a desert, meaning, you don’t think about God on a daily basis, much less feel His presence, you’ve got to start digging some ditches. You are to carve out some time daily to focus on God. It may be in the morning when you first get up that you “ditch” 10 or 15 minutes of extra sleep and give that time to God and His Word. It may be in your car that you “ditch” the radio and talk to Him on your way to work. You might need to “ditch” the secular stations and listen to Christian radio for a while. You may need to “ditch” the TV and read your Bible for a bit. You may need to “ditch” that boyfriend that is pressuring you to do things that you know go against His Word. You may need to “ditch” those friends that when you get around them, you use language you don’t use around anyone else. The point is, “ditch” those things that are keeping you from Him!

You may be thinking, “Why in the world would I want to do that?” Well, because if you will dig the ditches, then He will fill them with water. He will fill them with His Holy Spirit and His presence. When He sees you faithfully carving out time for Him (digging ditches), He can’t help but show up! The key is for you to expect Him to fill those ditches with His presence. Don’t treat it like a checklist that is making Him happy and giving you more “credit” that other people. Expect Him to show up for you! Elisha didn’t hope God would show up, he knew that if he put on that praise and worship and focused on God, He would be there. Why? Because he had been carving out time for God his entire life! He decided long ago that he would never stop digging ditches.

To that army, digging ditches seemed like the dumbest idea ever. Not to mention, it was a lot of work. Plus, can you imagine somebody walking by and seeing ditches being dug in the desert? They would have made fun of them like crazy! However, it was God’s way.

I know you want God’s Presence to be real in your life. If you really want Him, you have to do some things that most people will look at you and say, “You are an idiot that is wasting your time.” You have to carve out some time for Him and expect Him to eventually fill that time with His presence. Don’t give up, don’t give in, don’t listen to the people that will discourage you and maybe even make fun of you . . . just keep digging! He will fill those ditches up with His Holy Spirit!

This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord! (2 Kings 3:18)

Later

Adam

The Value

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant.  “Why this waste?” they asked.  – Matthew 26:8

Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, pours out some very expensive oil upon Jesus.  In His last few weeks, Jesus tried to get the point across that His time was drawing near.  Nobody wanted to believe Him.  Mary believed Him.  Because she believed Him, and loved Him, she didn’t mind giving Him her very expensive oil.

Apparently, this oil was worth about a year’s wages.  In today’s money, even at an approximate $8 minimum wage x 40 hours x 50 weeks is $16,000.  When she poured it all out on Jesus, the disciples became indignant.   Why?  Because that stuff was expensive.

The thing is, they were right about the value of the perfume.  It could have been sold, maybe for $16K and certainly with that much money a lot could have been done for the poor.  However, they missed the value of Jesus.

You see . . . He is worth infinitely more than $16,000.

I remember when I first began to tithe.  I had been a Christian for probably 8 years.  Up until then, I was a “tipper” of God.  I’d give Him a $5 or a $10, and then on occasion give Him a $20 and think He was talking it up in Heaven about His super-servant, Adam Hopkins.  When confronted pretty hard about this, I decided to tithe.  I decided to tithe on my net earnings, not my gross.  It came to around $200 a month.  I tithed 10 out of the 12 months.  I was so proud of myself.

Then, out of the blue, the weirdest circumstances landed a check in the amount of $2,000 into my hands.  At first, I thought tithing was the greatest thing in the world because God finds a way to give it all back to you anyway.  However, the more I thought about it, I began to think it might have been God throwing it back at me and saying, “Adam, check your heart!”

I had the same problem as the disciples.  I didn’t see the value of Jesus.  He’s worth more than all that I have.  I’d now rather have Him than have millions of dollars, but it took a lot of years to get to the point where I could honestly say that.  When we can’t make time to worship Him and learn about Him because we need to sleep, rest, work, play golf, or go to the lake, we are telling Him He isn’t worth our time.  When we can’t give an offering to Him because we have bills to pay and stuff to buy, we are telling Him He isn’t worth the investment.  What does that say about our priorities?

It says that Jesus isn’t valuable.

He is.

Later

Adam

The Name

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name given among men, whereby we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

I was listening to “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong. I have heard the song several times before on His Radio and even listened to the Lifeline praise band play it. Something just happened. I was so surrounded by the presence of God all I could do was just weep, tell Him I’m sorry, and tell Him that I loved Him. I look so forward to a resurrected body that can take His Presence for a lot longer than I can take it now.

After this experience, I have become hyper-aware of how misused His Name is. It’s not like I haven’t heard people misuse it before. It’s not like I haven’t misused it myself. But, there is just this sense when I hear His Name used out of exasperation, frustration, or anger that makes my soul cringe for a moment. How is it that no other god, goddess, or deity has his or her name attached such blasphemy? It is only “Jesus”, “Jesus Christ”, or “God” that gets thrown out there.

As I read Acts 4:12 I begin to understand. In a world that is currently preaching tolerance, Christianity is a very intolerant religion. Jesus Himself said that He was the only way to Heaven in John 14:6. He didn’t say He was a way to Heaven, but the only way to Heaven. Therefore, if the enemy can get a person to misuse that Name when simple circumstances are less than desirable, then what a victory he has won. It must bring him so much pleasure to watch people, even many Christians, use so wrongly the only Name that can save them, change them, and grant them eternal life.

Lord, help me to truly honor Your Name. If I’m going to call myself a Christian, help me live in such a way that others would be ashamed to use it in vain around me. Help the lost come to the realization of just how beautiful Your Name is. My prayer is that all who read this would be saved before it before it is too late. I am so sorry it has taken me this long to really appreciate You and Your Name. Even now, I know I’m just scratching the surface. Give me as much of You as I can stand.

Amen

Adam