Angry

Angry for a Gourd

Jonah 4:9

"And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death."

In a far away village was a young man who was physically challenged. This young man spent his days gathering scraps of food. The village people would scoff at this young man because they thought he was running down their village with his presence. So, they voted that he could not gather any scraps during the daylight hours.

One day the young man died a sudden death. To the relief of the villagers he would no longer bother them. When they went to where this young man lived, they found out that this young man was not gathering the scraps for himself, but he was gathering the scraps for the elderly who had no one to care for them. These people were ashamed of themselves because they realized that they were more interested in their city looking good than they were for a person who was interested in helping people.

The story of Jonah and the gourd is very similar. After Jonah finished his day of warning Nineveh, he went outside the city to watch its destruction. You see, Jonah hated these people. He didn't want God to save the city. His hopes were that this city would be utterly destroyed. To his dismay, the inhabitants of the city heeded his preaching and got right with God. The action of the people caused God not to destroy their city. Because of this, Jonah became upset with God and went and sat outside the city. As he sat pouting, God prepared a gourd to shade him from the sunlight. However, the next day the gourd died and Jonah got upset with God over letting the gourd die. God asked Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" Jonah was more concerned over the gourd than he was over the souls of the people of Nineveh. How sad that material things were more important to Jonah than the souls of people.

Christian, are you more concerned over losing your material things than you are for people? It's amazing how angry parents get with their children when they break something of value, but they never have any emotion when someone dies and goes to Hell. It's sad that Christians are more wrapped up in their valuables than they are with people who need someone to care.

Let me ask you, are you more concerned with things or people? Are your things of more value than the souls of men? All around you are people who need someone to care. Yet, too many Christians are more wrapped up in their vehicles, clothing, houses and activities than they are with people. I'm not saying that these things are bad, but people need someone to care. David said in Psalm 142:4, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." Would David have said this if you were in his area?

Let me remind you that all around you are people who need you to care. As you go throughout your day, you will come across the path of people who need to get saved. You will come across the path of people who need someone to listen to their broken heart. You will come across the path of someone who simply needs someone to show interest in them. Don't be so wrapped up in your things that you forget that life is truly about what you can do for others. Let the importance of your things take second place to the needs of others. Let your eyes be open and your ears alert to the needs of those around you. Let your daily life be filled with caring for the needs of others.

Symptoms

Symptoms of the Backslidden Heart

Ezekiel 36:26

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

When a person gets right with God, it is a beautiful thing. To see a person change from running from God to a person who walks with God is great. To see them go from God's judgment to God's blessings is exciting. The verse above shows us what happens to a person who gets right with God. However, if you apply the opposite of these attributes, you find the symptoms of a backslidden heart. Let me show you what these symptoms are.

First, a backslidden person goes back to a worldly heart. God said that He would give them a "new heart." In other words, the person who is backslidden becomes more excited about the things of the world than they do the things of God. A backslidden person gradually loses interest in the things of God. The world has more of a lure to the backslidden person than serving God. The heart of a backslidden person will lean towards worldly affairs.

Second, a backslidden person will have a bad spirit. Notice, God gives the person who gets right a "new spirit." When you are backslidden, you will think everyone is against you. When you are backslidden, your attitude is about you and not about others. When you are backslidden, your attitude is not one of excitement, but one of complaining. Simply put, the backslidden person has an attitude problem.

Third, a backslidden person will have a hard heart. God says that when a person gets right that He "will take away the stony heart...and give you an heart of flesh." It is amazing how uncaring the backslidden person is. The backslidden person is never moved by those who are hurting. The backslidden person has no compassion for people whom they do not know. In fact, a backslidden person rarely ever shows emotion. A backslidden person will never show emotion in a church service. A backslidden person will not be excited when people get saved. A backslidden person does not think it is that big of a deal when someone comes back to God. The reason is they have a hard heart.

Fourth, a backslidden person will walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit. God says that when a person gets right that He will "put my spirit within you." When you are backslidden, you will never ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. When you are backslidden, there is minimal time spent seeking the power of God. A backslidden person can be serving God, but they are too busy to stop and spend time begging for God's power.

Finally, a backslidden person will not be concerned with obeying the Word of God. God says that when a person gets right they will "walk in my statutes." The backslidden person will come to the point when they feel they can do wrong and get away with it. It is amazing how bold they become about their sin. Their sin never bothers them because they feel God will never judge them.

Let me ask you, do you have any symptoms of a backslidden heart? Serving God does not have to be a drudge, it can be exciting. Don't be one of those who simply exists in the Christian life. If your heart is right with God, then you will find that the things of God are exciting and enjoyable. Yes, there will still be heartache, but you will still find pleasure in serving God. However, if you find any of these symptoms in your heart, then immediately deal with it so that it won't go any further in destroying your walk with God.

Fallen

The Crown Has Fallen

Lamentation 5:16

"The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!"

Sin had caused a horrible thing to happen to the nation of Israel, and that was they lost the crown of glory among the nations. Israel is God's chosen people. They saw God do mighty works through their nation. They saw God part the Red Sea and the Jordan River, defeat giants that were heroes of their day, conquer cities that seemed to be unconquerable and became the super power of their day. Yet, their sins caused them to lose all of this. Their sins caused them to become the nation that served instead of the nation being served. They became the laughingstock instead of being the revered.

It would seem that Israel would never again be used because their crown had fallen; but hold on, though their crown had fallen they were still used by God. God still used Israel as the nation where Jesus would be born. God still kept Israel in prophecy for the end times. Though their crown had fallen, they were still useful to God.

I recently heard another preacher friend of mine tell me how another pastor criticized him for using someone who lost their crown. This other pastor said that they just didn't trust the fallen person and that they shouldn't be used. What a sad commentary on that pastor's Christianity. Just because someone's crown has fallen does not mean that God won't use them again.

When you study the Scriptures, you find that there are many people who lost their crown, but God still used them. David lost his crown when he had the affair with Bathsheba, but God still used him. Moses lost his crown when he smote the rock the second time, but God still used him. Samson lost his crown when he told Delilah where his strength came from, but God still used him. Just because people lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them.

Have you lost your crown? Has sin claimed the crown from your life and you feel like you are worthless to God and Christianity? Let me assure you that God can still use you. Oh, you may never wear the crown again, but that does not mean that you can't serve in the palace of the church. That does not mean that you can't help those who still have their crown to fulfill God's purpose for their lives. So, the crown has fallen from your head, God can still use you, and He can still use you in a great way. Don't let the fallen crown be the casket of your Christian life. Don't let the fallen crown be the epitaph on your spiritual tombstone. Don't let the fallen crown be the final chapter in the book of your life. Yes, your crown has fallen, but you are still useful to God. God can use you even if your crown has fallen.

Furthermore, to those who still have their crown, be careful about judging those who've lost theirs. Just because they've lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them. Stop sitting in your self-righteousness thinking you are better than they. Don't think that the crown cannot fall from your head. Christian, because you still have your crown, you should try to help the one's who've lost theirs to be used by God again. If all you do is judge them, then you are working against God.

Finally, let the fallen crown be a lesson to you. Always remember that everyone is one decision and one act away from losing their crown. Let the fallen crown warn you that you are capable of losing yours. Beware of Satan's tactics and carefully and prayerfully live your life asking God to help you keep the crown on your head.

Servant((Tag:Devotional by Allen Domelle))

The King's Servant

Jeremiah 38:7

"Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;"

The savior of Jeremiah was an unseemly character. Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon of mire because he preached the truth to God's people. While in that dungeon, one of the eunuchs of the king heard that they put Jeremiah there and wanted to keep him from dying. This eunuch was an Ethiopian, and his name was Ebedmelech. Ebedmelech means, servant of the king. This young man, who was a servant of the king, saved Jeremiah from sinking in the mire.

Let me remind you that if you are saved, you are the servant of a King. You are not a servant of a king who rules on this Earth, but you are a servant of the King of kings. You are are servant of God Almighty. You may think that you are the least of the servants, but Ebedmelech was not someone who held high position in the land, but he was a servant who served the king and saw a need. There is a need today for people like you to realize that the King of kings needs you to rescue people who are sinking in the mire of sin. Whether saved or lost, there must be a servant of the King who will do what they can to rescue people from the mire.

There needs to be servants like Ebedmelech who see that truth has been squelched, and do what they can to defend the truth. Ebedmelech was not just rescuing Jeremiah, he was rescuing truth from being silent. Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." You can think that someone else will eventually stand and defend truth, but if everybody has that mentality then nobody will defend the truth. Ebedmelech wasn't the only servant who knew that Jeremiah had been thrown in the dungeon, but he was the only servant who got involved while truth was under attack. You can take the position that you don't want to become involved because of the consequences, but while you allow truth to be attacked, it sinks in the mire of sin's voice. You need to be that servant who will defend truth.

Let me take this a step further and say that Ebedmelech was a person who defended the falsely accused. As a servant of the King, you need to become a person who defends those who are falsely accused. When you hear of someone being accused, you would be better off defending them than to let them be falsely accused while you stay silent. When an accusation is hurled at someone, your first reaction should always be to defend the accused, for you do not know whether or not they are guilty.

Moreover, Ebedmelech got others involved in rescuing people. Christian, it is your responsibility to involve others in rescuing people from the mire of sin. I am talking about you bringing someone with you when you go soul winning. Soul winning is rescuing people from sin's mire. You should follow Christ's command to train others to become His disciples.

Christianity is in a desperate need of more people who are like Ebedmelech. You don't have to have "position" to be a servant who defends truth and rescues the falsely accused from the mires of sin, but all you have to do is get involved. You may think that you are not that great of a person, but let me remind you that you are a servant of the King of kings. As a servant of the King, make it your life's journey to rescue as many people as you can from sin's mire.

Hatred

Your Need of Hatred

Psalm 119:128

"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."

Everybody loves to be a winner. If you were to ask the average person who plays sports if they love to win, you would certainly get a positive response out of them. However, how much a person hates to lose will determine how great they become. If a person hates losing more than they love winning, then they will work harder to be sure that they win.

The Psalmist says, "...I hate every false way." The Psalmist loved truth, but he also had a hatred for things that were false. He says in verse 127,"Therefore I love thy commandments above gold: yea, above fine gold." He made it clear that he loved God's Word, but his love for truth caused him to have a hatred for untruth.

One of the biggest problems I see in Christianity is that people don't love truth enough to cause them to hate sin. I believe that one of the reasons sin is so prevalent in our churches is because there are people who want to do right, who say they love truth, but they don't have a true hatred for sin. One of the attributes of God is that He hates sin as much as He loves truth. God loves it when His people do right, but He hates it when they do wrong. Don't mistake God's hatred for sin as a hatred for the person who commits the sin. God loves the person, but He hates the sin that the person commits.

The proof of how much you love truth and hate sin can be found in whether you are willing to divide with loved ones over truth being attacked. Luke 14:26 says, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Is God saying here that we should hate our family? Not at all! What God is teaching in this verse is that if we love truth, then we will be willing to separate from our parents, spouse, siblings and friends when truth is attacked. In other words, you will hate sin so much that you will stand against the ones you love so that truth may prevail.

Let me ask you, are you one who sweeps sin under the carpet when it comes to your family? Are willing to allow sin to continue so that your family is not hurt? A love for truth will cause you to deal with sin, even if it is your own family. This is tough, but a love for truth will cause you to do the tough things. It is never joyful to have to deal with sin, but sin that is not dealt with will eventually hurt worse. That is why you need a hatred for sin. If you will hate sin to the same degree that God does, then it won't matter who has done wrong, you will deal with it and not sweep it under the carpet. I'm not saying that you should go about slandering people, what I am saying is that your hatred for sin will cause you to love truth so much that it will motivate you to properly deal with sin.

Christian, this world needs people who have a hatred for sin. Yes, I'm glad that you say that you love truth, but the test of your love for truth is how much do you hate sin? You will salvage more lives if you hate sin enough that false ways must be dealt with, even if it is your family. Don't ever be guilty of changing the definition of truth because a person near you has done wrong. By dealing with sin properly, you can help those near you in the best way. Always remember this, a great hatred for sin will produce a great love for truth.