DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24:
WORD OF WISDOM
. England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Our Unchanging God
"And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false
swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the
widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,
and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. For I am the LORD, I change not;
therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
Malachi 3:5-6
For decades, ships traveling through the treacherous waters off the coast of
Nova Scotia, Canada relied on the Church Point Lighthouse as a landmark to
make their way safely to port. Even after GPS and other tracking technology
came into use, the lighthouse still stood as a visual marker for those
traversing the seas. But in 2014, a massive spring storm with winds nearing
hurricane force swept the 140-year-old wooden structure completely off its
foundation and destroyed it. What once had been a certain landmark for
travelers disappeared overnight.
The world around us is filled with change and uncertainty. Companies come
and go, governments are replaced, and economic upheaval is the order of the
day. It seems that nothing is sure, settled, or absolute-and many people
seem to like it better that way. Yet through every alteration in our
circumstances and surroundings, God remains unchanging and faithful. Because
of His nature, we can count on Him to be consistent and reliable in every
struggle. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble"
(Psalm 46:1).
This year's science textbook may be completely different from the one
published just a few years ago because of new discoveries. This year's
history book may have been altered by archaeological findings. This year's
balance statement may be different because of new legal requirements. But
the Bible is still the same, reliable, true rock because it is God's
revelation.
If we plant our feet on the sure foundation of the Word and character of
God, we will never be shaken.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Deuteronomy 13-15New King James Version (NKJV)
Punishment of Apostates
13 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives
you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of
which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'-which you have
not known-'and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of
that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you
to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep
His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to
Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death,
because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of
bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you
to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
6 "If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the
wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices
you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known,
neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the gods of the people which are all
around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to
the other end of the earth, 8 you shall not consent to him or listen to
him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9
but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put
him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall
stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away
from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage. 11 So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do
such wickedness as this among you.
12 "If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives
you to dwell in, saying, 13 'Corrupt men have gone out from among you and
enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let us go and serve other
gods"'-which you have not known- 14 then you shall inquire, search out, and
ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an
abomination was committed among you, 15 you shall surely strike the
inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it,
all that is in it and its livestock-with the edge of the sword. 16 And you
shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely
burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall
be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 So none of the accursed
things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness
of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you,
just as He swore to your fathers, 18 because you have listened to the voice
of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you
today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
Improper Mourning
14 "You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves
nor shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people
to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for
Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the
earth.
Clean and Unclean Meat
3 "You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals which
you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe
deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat,[a] the antelope, and the mountain
sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof
split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7
Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall
not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they
chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8
Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does
not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead
carcasses.
9 "These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that
have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you
shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 "All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle,
the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after
their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the
short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the
little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion
vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the
hoopoe and the bat.
19 "Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not
be eaten.
20 "You may eat all clean birds.
21 "You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the
alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a
foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.
"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Tithing Principles
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field
produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in
the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain
and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your
flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the
journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or
if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from
you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it
for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord
your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart
desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your
heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall
rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is
within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 "At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your
produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite,
because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the
fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be
satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand
which you do.
Debts Canceled Every Seven Years
15 "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2
And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to
his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or
his brother, because it is called the Lord's release. 3 Of a foreigner you
may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your
brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will
greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to
possess as an inheritance- 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the
Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command
you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you;
you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign
over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Generosity to the Poor
7 "If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the
gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not
harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you
shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his
need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your
heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,' and your
eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry
out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall
surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to
him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your
works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never
cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall open your
hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.'
The Law Concerning Bondservants
12 "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and
serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free
from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let
him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your
flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the
Lord your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall
remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God
redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it
happens that he says to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves
you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an
awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant
forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not
seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth
a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will
bless you in all that you do.
The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 "All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you
shall sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn
of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and your
household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place
which the Lord chooses. 21 But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or
blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your
God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean person
alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not
eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.
Footnotes:
a.Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
