He's Got the Whole World In His Hands

# 311 - Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 21:7-9, “Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. 8 And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste." 9 So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it . For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me." Why is it necessary to insert this information about Doeg into the story? Why is it so important that his presence be noted? It's because Doeg is a key figure in events that lead to God's judgment against the house of Eli. ( See 1 Sam 2:33). What I find interesting here is that Doeg was “detained” before the Lord. The word means enclosed before the Lord. The Lord was in effect saying, “I want you here and you ain't moving.” He was trapped here. He couldn't have been anywhere else at this time if he had tried. God wanted him here. God wanted him to be a witness to this exchange between David and Ahimelech. God knew Doeg was a lying rat fink, and so He needed him here, for this time in history (read that this time in His story) as His promised judgment was about to fall. One thing we can take from this incident, and that is, God is in control. He knows. Everything! History is never out of His control. He doesn't sit up in heaven and wring His hands , hoping that His plans don't go awry. They never do! Armed with that knowledge, we can be assured that He is aware of your situation today! Even though your situation may not make any sense to you, it makes perfect sense to God and He will work it out for eventual good. Ro 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. So hang in there, keep trusting and obeying Him. As the song goes, “He's got the whole world in His hands” and that includes you and I. Thank You Father, that we don't have to figure it out. Help us to just keep trusting You.

Sin Has Consequences

# 170 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 13:13 “And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. (1 Sam 13:13) Sin has consequences. Those consequences are in the hands of God who says in Ro 9:15, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." Don't ever try to get into the game of questioning God's punishment for sin. Just know and believe that He is the Father and He knows the perfect amount of discipline for every situation. Know and believe that, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28) Because of Saul's disobedience, he would be the first and last of his line to serve as king in Israel. Saul's disobedience cost him, but God used this punishment in order to enthrone a king who would be a man after His heart, namely David, and of course out of the lineage of David would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But even as we mention David, there were consequences for his sin with Bathsheba as well. He was forgiven when he confessed his sin, but 2Sa 12:10,11 tells us that the sword would never depart from David's house. His life would be earmarked by violence, and his own wives would be caught up in unfaithfulness, and the child conceived with Bathsheba would die. (2 Sam 12:14) These were all consequences that God allowed in David's life because of his sin. Sin has consequences. Thankfully through faith and forgiveness in Jesus Christ, these consequences are not eternal. They are temporal, and even those temporal consequences work out ultimately for God's eternal purposes and glory. You and I both know that our sins have altered circumstances in our own lives. Sin exacted a price. Some pay seemingly steeper prices than others, but we dare not get into the comparison game here. Rather we need to seek God's grace and strength to help us deal with those ramifications. Looking to Him, to help us endure and finish the race.

He Does All Things Well

# 482 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:36,37 “Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

Jesus brings the formerly deaf man back to the crowd. This miracle is just another in a series of miracles he performed among the people of the Decapolis. In Matthew's account of this incident we see that Jesus also caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the maimed to be made whole.

I can't help but think of the people who have disabilities in this life. Whether they were born with them or picked them up along the way through this minefield we call life, we know that one day, through faith in Jesus Christ, they will be in heaven with perfectly restored bodies.

And on THAT DAY, when all who are in Christ, stand on that glassy sea, we will join in the chorus that was sung right here in Mr 7:37, “He has done all things well!”

Well, it won't be those exact words, but it'll be close! Re 15:2b,3 says we will be “standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”

Isn't that just another way of saying, He does all things well! But why wait until that final day. Why not join in the chorus today, praising our God who indeed does all things well. For we among all people should know “ that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word,

Why Does God Allow Violence

# 372- Today's Living Word comes from Mr 5:13. ”And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.”

Two thousand pigs belly up in the sea. Just moments ago they had been peacefully foraging on a hillside. Just moments ago six thousand demons had occupied one man. The man, now completely at peace, the pigs now completely dead. It all happened so fast!

One thing we can learn from this episode, the devil is into violence. (The word violently, here in the Greek, speaks of a desire to cause injury.) First of all, we had the demoniac, who often injured himself by cutting himself with stones and now the pigs with their irresistible plunge to death.

Jesus had the devil pegged right when He says that the devil was a “murderer from the beginning.” (Jn 8:44) If the devil had his way, he would kill or harm every single God created creature. Let that truth sink in for a while as you contemplate the degree of God's merciful protection. None of us deserve it, but He provides it on a daily moment by moment basis.

So why does God allow any violence and mayhem at all?

I don't know. I just know that everything eventually works out for His glory. (Rom 8:28) I'd rather think of it this way: What if the devil didn't need permission to cause injury? How bad would our world be then? Think about the ramifications for such a world. Then be thankful, that there is a God who is able to restrain and seek to worship Him.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word