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Deep Creek Java Devotion–January 25, 2010

January 24th, 2010 Pastor Ben No comments

Righteousness 101  

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:6  (HCSB) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.  

Devotion & Meditation: I Have been to the point in life that I did not have sufficient food to eat.  I’ve also been on enough fasts to know the feel of hunger pains. One thing I’ve learned from these moments is that true hunger has no prejudice — all foods are equally tasty and satisfying when one is truly hungry.  Even the blandest and bitterest foods are succulent and sweet when you are truly hungry.   

There have also been times in my life when I’ve been spiritually hungry. The hunger in my soul is such an ache that I search desperately in God’s Word and through prayer to quench it. Like the physical hunger, the spiritual hunger in our souls needs to be fed with the bread and water of life to be satisfied.  Contentment is not necessarily the sign of a healthy spiritual life. We need a spiritual appetite that challenges us to search and to move forward in pursuit of God’s Word and His will for our lives. Spiritual hunger drives us to pray, to search the Bible, to listen to God’s Word, and to open our hearts to the “Man at the well” who can give us living water that satisfies our soul.

We should be thankful if we are spiritually hungry, for then we are motivated to search for spiritual food to satisfy this hunger. God will open our hearts, feed us with His daily bread and give us spiritual water so we will never thirst again. Through the example of Jesus Christ, we can find life abundantly. 

All of this can be as simple as “Wash your hands”.  As I am in and out of the hospital this week, I see this sign everywhere.  It is to protect us from germs and from spreading germs to others. This rule is imprinted so deeply into the minds of those who work there it is second nature.   Just as it is important to wash the hands, it is important to cleanse the mind (heart) by removing thoughts that pollute the control center of our body. The way we think determines the way we relate to God and to other people, and ultimately, how we feel about ourselves.  So let me ask you with a clear mind, What are you hungering and thirsting after?

 Keep the Son in your eyes,

Dr. Ben J. Lahay

Phil 1:21

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Deep Creek Java –January 22, 2010

January 24th, 2010 Pastor Ben No comments
January 22, 2010

Frozen Lemons

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 5:46  (HCSB) For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

Devotion & Meditation:
Ice-cold folks are among the toughest we encounter. Nothing moves them. Nothing seems to break through their frosty exterior. And if we’re honest, their coolness repels us. They’re hard to love. But are we excused? You know the answer. We are not. Not only are we called to love those who love us, we are called to love those who do not. The Titanic was an engineering marvel: the largest, fastest cruise ship ever built. Her designers boasted that she was unsinkable. But history records that the great ship encountered an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sunk to the bottom of the sea, claiming over 2,000 lives. The iceberg was sighted before the collision, but the ship met it “full speed ahead” with disastrous results. Sometimes we meet the “iceberg” folks in our lives in much the same way: we go full speed ahead, hoping to overpower them.

We meet their barb with one of our own. We try to disarm them before they can disarm us. We match their chilly ways with our own brand of cool. But there is another way to deal with an iceberg. In time, the ice that wrecked Titanic broke away from its moorings and floated out to sea. Surrounded by the warmer waters of the ocean, it eventually melted away. When we love the unlovable with the warm and steady love of Christ, amazing things can happen.  Who is it in your life that needs to thaw out or melt?  There is nothing worse than a frozen lemon.  These are the “saints of the Lord”, who have been baptized in lemon juice and left to freeze with their old cold, stale heart….  Give them over the Lord and let Him thaw them out!  Hey, it might even be your attitude toward another or perhaps even you!

Keep the Son in your eyes,
Dr. Ben J. Lahay
Phil 1:21

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Deep Creek Java Devotion — January 13, 2009

January 12th, 2010 Pastor Ben No comments
Drawing the Dregs

Scripture Reading:
Luke 15:1  (HCSB) All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him.

Devotion & Meditation:
Does it seem strange to you that irreligious, ungodly people were drawn to Jesus? Does that strike you as unusual? What did Jesus have that drew the sinners and tax gatherers—the “dregs” of society—to Him? I believe it is the same appeal Jesus would have if He were alive in the flesh today, an appeal that would draw people who are fishing, hunting, playing golf, cutting their yards, or living under bridges or in jails or flophouses. What would it be?
First, supernatural power. Imagine that in the nightly news broadcast they told of a man in a nearby town who walked through a hospital and healed everyone of their sickness. That would be a draw, would it not? Jesus had supernatural power, and people saw it, and wanted to experience its benefits. Second, Jesus had hope about Him. He talked about life after life. He said this world is not all there is…there is more to life than this. All kinds of people want to live forever. All kinds of people are interested in life after life. Also, Jesus spoke truth. His words had a ring of reality about them, and He was honest and candid and open. The naked truth is a powerful thing, and even the ungodly are drawn to someone who speaks the unvarnished truth. Finally, Jesus’ life was permeated by love. They saw in Him a kind of supernatural love that was pure and sacrificial and revolutionary. And these are appeals that are still operative today.

Keep the Son in your eyes,
Dr. Ben J. Lahay
Phil 1:21

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January 10th, 2010 Pastor Ben No comments
Checking Your Resolutions

Scripture Reading:
Proverbs 29:9 (HCSB) If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.

Devotion & Meditation:
Perhaps by now you have already given up on your resolution.  It has only been 11 days into the new year, but hey, just like last year you broke the resolutions again.  It is a lot easier and always better to let your yes be yes and your no be no.  Do not obligate yourself to a resolution… Usually in the end, you end up keeping the resolution only for the sake of keeping the resolution.  Once you reach that point, I would have to ask, “Is it worth it”?  Why would you obligate yourself to something in which you no longer have a vested interest nor a stake.  Is it merely for appearance sake?  Let’s take a look at a simple one many Christians make–to read my Bible through in a year.  This is in and of itself a very doable task, however we attach an obligation of completion to it when we assign it as our daily duty.
When this happens we lose our joy.  We are no longer reading for pleasure or enlightenment, but rather to check the box.  This at best becomes “cookie-cutter” theology (thank you Dr. Swindoll).  The simple task and enjoyment we should experience from reading the Word of God becomes a burden or perhaps even a millstone around our neck.  Be careful of the vows and promises you make to the Lord.  Deuteronomy 23 is a strong caution.  Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin.

So my friend you see, we become like the fool with our incessant rantings and ravings in the court of the most high God.  Is it not better in the long run to just read your Bible everyday and not make an oath or promise to God other than our obedience to Him.  Far too many Christians believe we must impress God and others with the who, what, where, when and even how.  I believe we must simply be real and genuine and never forget we are in the hands of a “holy God”.  His will is supreme; His voice is creation; His compassion is love; His Son came for us…Do you know Him friend?  I call Him the Lord Jesus Christ.  In a world when too many churches have lost their evangelistic appeal; turned their back to outreach and dismissed the possibility that Jesus Died for all–I say we are a ”dry-eyed Church in a hellbound world”!  What have you or your church done to advance the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost, broken, discarded and dismayed in your world?  If you mad a resolution, I pray it was to be more like Christ…WHO have you touched today?

Keep the Son in your eyes,
Dr. Ben J. Lahay
Phil 1:21

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Deep Creek Java Devotion

January 2nd, 2010 Pastor Ben No comments

Mana for 2010  

Scripture Reading: Philippians  4:19 (HCSB) And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  

Devotion & Meditation:

When the Israelites fled Egypt and were making their way to the Promised Land, they subsisted on a very unusual diet. It was called “manna,” and it fell from heaven every day. The Israelites were instructed to gather only enough for that day…and the next morning, manna would fall again. Those who disobeyed and gathered more found that the “extra” spoiled, and became unusable. Thus, they depended on God day-to-day for their survival. And so do we. I’m a rather particular eater. When I travel, I’m faced with the challenge of finding food that I like (and recognize!) that will be good for me. I remember being in a restaurant in Hong Kong, and pointing to different dishes saying “What is it? What is it? What is it?” The word “manna” literally translated means “What is it?” Can you imagine eating “what is it” every day for forty years? God has promised to supply all of our needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He does this daily…but sometimes we don’t recognize His provision. It looks like nothing we’ve seen before, and we say, “What is it?” Regardless of what He provides, we can be certain of two things: first, that it comes from a loving, wise Father, and second, that it will be good for us. What more could we ask?    As we move into a new year and a new decade, we wait with anticipation for what the future may bring.  My umbrella and my sunglasses are ready.  I know there will be times when I need my shovel to dig up worms and also times when I may be like the worm digging for my own hole to hide into.  Whatever the Lord has in store, I am assured He will provide me with my daily bread.  Wow what an amazing promise from a wonderful Savior.  I can’t speak for you, but… “I love Jesus, Yes I do…I love Jesus, How about you?”

Keep the Son in your eyes,

Dr. Ben J. Lahay

 Phil 1:21

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