Brother Michael's Devotional

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What exactly is the state of man? Are we creatures that have some minor defects but all in all possess a natural good inside of us or are we totally separated from God and unable to come to Him? Friend, man is a person, which means we possess a mind, a will and emotion and all three facets of mankind's person are totally separated from God and unable to comprehend, come to or love Him.  More.	Why do we pray? That is an honest question. The first response most would give is that prayer changes things. The popular view is held that if we do not pray for our loved ones they will be lost or that if we do not pray for peace or safety there will be lawlessness and anarchy. But is this true? When we pray are we attempting to get a reluctant God to do that which is good?  More.
A friend of mine once commented that there were a lot of birds on television. Now he had not been watching the latest wildlife documentary but religious broadcasting. It seems that you can not turn on Christian television without being asked to "sow a seed" of twenty dollars, fifty dollars or more.  More.	During the first recorded war in the Bible, Lot, nephew to Abram is taken captive. When word is brought back to Abram of Lot's plight, Abram arms his trained servants and rescues Lot. Now Lot was in a situation where he could not help himself. What he needed and what God provided for him is a rich relative to help him.  More.
Here Noah is attempting to discern how much the flood waters have gone down. He first sent out a raven. The raven flew over the waters and spied the carcasses left by the flood. To the raven these dead creatures left over from God's judgment were exactly what he wanted so he stopped and had a meal. After seven days the raven had not returned so Noah sent out a dove.  More.	Do you have a pastor? Does he at times upset you? Pastors can be stubborn, pushy and meddling. Some times they can hurt our feelings by their actions. Why is your pastor so hard headed at times? It may be God's doing. In Ezekiel 3:8,9a the LORD said to Ezekiel "Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead:"  More.
Who is God. Is He some sort of force that can be manipulated? Is He the product of the imagination of some near eastern sheep herder? Maybe He is some impersonal power that set this universe into motion and now has left it to wind down like some child's top. God is a person.  More.	In the beginning God called this universe into being. When summoned even Lucifer must present himself before God. The Lord's presence causes demons to tremble and His voice caused the rocks to split at the crucifixion. And yet, in spite of all of His power and majesty, when Adam became separated from God, God went to Adam. God had created Adam as a being He may have fellowship with. When Adam sinned that fellowship was broken and Adam died spiritually. Do you see Him now going to His lost creature and calling for Him. Do you hear Him now calling for you?  More.
There is weakness in all of our lives. There are certain sins that may be a great temptation to us. Something that appeals to the flesh, is attractive to the eye or lifts ones pride. Or maybe it is a physical ailment. There are disabilities that hinder the ministry and service of God. How shall we be delivered from these things?  More.	I Peter 2:24 says "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,..." The word for tree in this verse is the same word for tree found in Revelation 22:2 "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life,..." Long before Adam sinned God prepared a way for him to be reconciled. That same tree of life there in the garden of Eden was the tree that Christ hung from and will be the same tree that shall grow in the New Jerusalem.  More.

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Why does God allow babies to die? Why does He allow war? Why does he allow some of the worst pain in the lives of those who love and serve Him but bless those that curse Him? It would be foolish to charge God in any of these situations but there can be legitimate questions in the life of a honest Child of God.  More.	Go out tonight and look at the stars. Look at the vastness of the created universe. A God that called this world into existence must be an infinite God. And if He is an infinite God he me must have infinite attributes. He must be infinitely loving, infinitely gracious but also infinitely holy. An Infinitely holy God by his very nature demands perfection.  More.
There is so much in the way of stress in the age we live in. There are the demands of work, family and church pulling us in a dozen different directions. We are also submereged in great billows of loneliness and isolation in the age of mass communication.  More.	What is Christianity? Is it a set of rules that we keep? Is it living by the Sermon on the Mount or by the Golden Rule? But lets be honest with ourselves, who keeps the Sermon on the Mount. Who never becomes angry or wrathful or never looks at something or someone to lust after them? If you have ever attempted to live up to a set of rules you know that was all it was, an attempt.  More.
Here we see David commanding Joab to number the people of Israel. Now Joab attempted to talk David out of numbering Israel but David refused to listen, so Joab obeyed the King's command. After Joab had numbered all the people David's prophet Gad came to him, rebuked him for numbering the people, offered him three different plagues and allowed him to choose the one he and the nation would receive.   More.	After His crucifixion, our Lord went to heaven with all of His literal blood to the tabernacle that was the pattern for the Old Testament tabernacle. There He placed His blood on the judgement seat thereby changing it from a place that a holy God must move in judgement against a sinful world into a place that a God of all grace could extend mercy.  More.
During this point in history man had become increasingly wicked and "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually," Genesis 6:5. So God told Noah that the end of all flesh was come and that Noah was to build an ark of gopher wood, pitch it within and without, for the preservation of his and his family's life. Here is the problem, though.  More.	Here we have Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz. After she gathers up what she has gleaned she begins to "beat out" the barley to remove the heads from the stalk. Grain, seed and old corn are frequently used as symbols for the Word of God in the Bible.   More.
For whom did Christ die for?  Has God set His covenantal love on all men or the elect only? To discover the answers to these questions we must turn to the book of Ruth. Naomi and Elimelech have left Bethlehemjudah, the house of bread and praise, and gone to Moab, God's washpot, during a famine.  More.	Most likely the first thing that comes to mind when reading this verse is the church and how our Lord was going to call out one living "fold" out of the Jews and Gentiles. But there is something else I would like you to notice. Jesus does not speak any further about the "other sheep." All He let the Jews know is that there were others and it was His business what He did with them. This brings us to the question of what happens to those around the world that have never had the privilege of hearing the gospel.  More.

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What is of primary importance in relation to the remission of sins and the work of Christ on the cross? Some may say it is the cleansing of the saint or the salvation of the sinner. But what is of more importance, the holiness of God or the salvation of man? As to the cleansing of the saint, let us look to 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." More	Have you ever wondered what your calling is? You may wonder what ministry will the Lord place you in. Though a man or woman's calling is a very personal thing there are some definite signs that God gives us to point us in the right direction. First, let us establish that God has a ministry for all of those in the Body of Christ. More
Here we have the election of the priesthood according to the Mosaic Covenant. But who was it doing the electing? If it had been a modern church, there would have been a pastor search committee established, resumes would have been reviewed and the man with the most letters behind his name would have been called. Friend, let me be plain. An education from a seminary is good, but a call from God is better. More	We hear much of "Spirit filled churches" and "moving of the Spirit" in modern Christian circles. But how exactly do we identify a Spirit filled assembly? More often then not, when we hear the phrase "Spirit filled church," we hear of miracles, healing or some other outward manifestation. But are these genuine phenomenons of the Spirit or simple showings of the flesh? What exactly is the ministry of the Spirit in this Age of Grace. More