Weekly Devotional - David Guzik | Enduring Word

David Guzik’s weekly devotional, based on a verse or two from the Bible.

New Year Predictions

January 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

At the start of a new year people offer all sorts of predictions. I believe we could take this statement from Jesus as a prediction for the year 2018 – or any year. See what Jesus predicts for this coming year.

First, In the world you will have tribulation. You can count on it – you will face tribulation this year. The ancient Greek word translated tribulation has the idea of stress or pressing. You will face stressful and pressing times this year, and Jesus promised it would be so. You will have a time of rest and unending happiness – but that is for heaven, not for earth. When we become followers of Jesus Christ we may bring fewer problems upon ourselves, but we definitely still have them.

Understanding this removes a false hope. Struggling Christians often hope for the day when they will laugh at temptation and life will be one effortless victory after another. We are promised struggle as long as we are in this world; yet there is peace in Jesus. Your current area of struggle may one day pass away, but after that there will be new territory to conquer for God.

Second, we are promised something greater than tribulation: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In this Jesus shouted out the truth of His victory. It’s an amazing statement from the Man about to be arrested, forsaken, rejected, mocked, tortured and executed. Judas seemed to overcome Him. The religious authorities seemed to overcome Him. Pilate seemed to overcome Him. The mob shouting “crucify Him” seemed to overcome Him. The soldiers supervising His crucifixion seemed to overcome Him. Even death and the grave seemed to overcome Him. But their seeming victory did not last long. The glory of the resurrection made it clear that Jesus could truly say, I have overcome the world.

Knowing all this, Jesus made a sincere offer. He offered us the gift of good cheer for the tribulation we must face. The idea of that phrase is really more “take courage” than “be cheerful.” We can take courage, knowing that Jesus has overcome the world.

Remember the circumstances surrounding this opening statement to the verse: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. This offer of peace was made in the most unlikely circumstances. At that very minute, Judas met with Jesus’ enemies to plot His arrest. Jesus knew that He would be arrested, forsaken, rejected, mocked, humiliated, tortured and executed before the next day was over. We think that the disciples should comfort Him – yet Jesus had peace for Himself and enough to give to others.

Finally, notice that Jesus did not promise peace, but He offered it. He said, you may have peace. People can follow Jesus yet deny themselves that peace. We gain the peace Jesus offered by finding it in Him. Jesus said, that in Me you may have peace. We won’t find real peace anywhere else other than in Jesus.

This is your year. We can predict tribulation. We can look back on Jesus overcoming the world. When we really receive His victory as our own, we can have peace. That’s one prediction sure to come true.

Click here for David’s commentary on John 16

A Promise for Near and Far

December 17, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

This week’s devotional is taken from a free e-book titled Christmas Thoughts. Click here to download your free copy.

Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.” (Isaiah 7:13-16)

Isaiah cried out against the rulers of Judah. They treated other people poorly, but they treated the Lord even more poorly. To rebuke their lack of trust, Isaiah promised a sign. This promise became one of the most famous prophecies in the Bible: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you as sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Beyond being famous, this word from Isaiah 7 also illustrates a principle of prophecy, that prophecy may have both a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment.

The near fulfillment of this prophecy centered on Ahaz, Jerusalem, and the attack from Israel and Syria. For Ahaz, the sign concerned a time span – before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. Simply put, God promised Ahaz a sign promising that within a few years, both Israel and Syria would be crushed. This was a sign of deliverance to Ahaz.

The far or ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy goes far beyond Ahaz, to announce the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the prophecy is addressed not only to Ahaz, but also to David’s entire house (O house of David!).

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it says the virgin shall conceive, and that conception would be a sign to David’s entire house. Those who deny the virgin birth of Jesus like to point out that the Hebrew word translated virgin (almah) can also be translated as “young woman.” The idea of these critics is that Isaiah simply said that a “young woman” would give birth, not a virgin. While the near fulfillment may have reference to a young woman giving birth, the far or ultimate fulfillment clearly points to a woman miraculously conceiving and giving birth. This is especially clear because the Old Testament never uses this word in a context other than virgin and because the Septuagint translates it categorically virgin (parthenos).

We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it says He will be known as Immanuel, meaning “God with Us.” This was true of Jesus in fact, not only as a title. Immanuel speaks both of the deity of Jesus (God with us) and His identification and nearness to man (God with us).

Jesus is truly Immanuel, God with us. This is the great message of Christmas – that God the Son added humanity to His deity and walked with us. He shared the human experience to the fullest, because He was fully human. Though as far as we know He was never called by the name “Immanuel,” He certainly fulfilled the meaning of the name.

The question is, “Is Jesus God with you?” Remember the promise of James 4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Click here for David’s commentary on Isaiah 7

Let Alone

December 10, 2017/1 Comment/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. (Hosea 4:17)

After the people of God split into two nations – Judah and Israel, the largest and most influential tribe in the northern kingdom was Ephraim. Therefore, it isn’t unusual to find the prophets addressing the nation of Israel as “Ephraim.” Here in Hosea 4:17, we have a vivid – and tragic – example of this address: Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.

When the people of God went after idols, it wasn’t because they got a thrill out of bowing down to a statue. It was because the longed for the things the idols represented. Baal was the weather god, and in an agricultural community, farmers often felt they needed to make the weather god happy to ensure rain. Astoreth was the goddess of sex and fertility. People “worshipped” her for the sake of illicit pleasure with a temple prostitute or to appease her for more fertility in the family, flocks, or fields.

When the people of God went after idols, there was rarely a conscious rejection of the Lord God. More often, they just believed they were “adding” the worship of a local deity to their worship of Yahweh. In their minds they said, “We still love the Lord, it’s just that we also want to honor these other gods.” But the Lord God of Israel would have none of it. When He saw that Ephraim was joined to idols, He pronounced His judgment: Let him alone.

On the face of it, it seems like a pretty mild judgment. Let him alone – it doesn’t seem very tough. Most criminals would be happy if the police and courts would just leave them alone. Any debtor would be thrilled if their creditors simply left them alone. But when God leaves us alone, it is judgment.

In the case of ancient Israel, it was judgment because God knew what was coming. When the mighty Assyrian army comes against them, they may fight for themselves – God will let him alone. When a crisis like that comes, suddenly we don’t want God to leave us alone. We desperately beg for His help. But sometimes God says, “You didn’t want Me, so I will respect your wishes. You handle this one on your own.” That’s a bad place to be in.

We don’t want God to leave us alone because we need Him to protect us against our spiritual enemies. Satan wanted to sift Peter like wheat, but Jesus did not leave Peter alone to face the attack. Jesus prayed for Peter, and he emerged victorious (Luke 22:31-32).

We don’t want God to leave us alone because we need Him to protect us against ourselves. Left to ourselves, with our own sinful hearts, we will surely drift away from the Lord. All God must do to make certain a man goes to ruin is to simply let him alone. Our prayer should always be, “Lord, don’t leave me alone. Keep working on me.”

In fact, He never leaves us. It’s just that sometimes He will respect our desire to be left alone. At the end of it all, if you don’t want God to leave you alone, then don’t leave Him alone. Pursue God like the widow who wouldn’t quit (Luke 18:3-5) and you’ll never have to worry about being left alone.

Click here for David’s commentary on Hosea 4

Chariots, Horsemen, or the Lord?

December 3, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

Dear Reader of Inspiration by Email: This quick note is a reminder that the non-profit work of Enduring Word is donor supported. I appreciate your prayerful consideration of a generous year-end gift to support our work of providing free Bible resources world-wide. To give, please click here. Thank you – David Guzik

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! (Isaiah 31:1)

The threat was real and was approaching Jerusalem fast. It was the mighty Assyrian army, infamous for its cruelty and destruction. Because of this threat the leaders of Judah felt they had to do something, but sadly they did the wrong thing. More precisely, they were wrong in what they did and wrong in what they did not do. The Prophet Isaiah confronted both wrongs in this single verse.

The first wrong was the sin of trusting in Egypt and their military might. The second wrong was the sin of not looking to the Holy One of Israel. Therefore he said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots.” God had called the tribes of Israel to a very special relationship with Him, and He promised to protect them in the Promised Land as they trusted in Him. Yet in this circumstance, the leaders of the Kingdom of Judah found it easier and better to go down to Egypt for help instead of trusting the God who was already with them.

To be fair, Judah felt they had a reason to trust in chariots. They looked at the chariot count of Egypt saw that they are many. So, surely many chariots could save Judah from Assyria and be their deliverance!

They also felt they had a reason to trust in horsemen. They inspected the horsemen of the Egyptian army and saw that they are very strong. Surely the strong horsemen of Egypt would deliver them!

While they could find these two reasons, yet they couldn’t seem to find a reason to trust in the Lord. It is important to see that in a sense they did not abandon faith. We might say that everybody lives by faith. Here, the leaders of Judah had plenty of faith, but they put that faith into the chariots and horsemen of Egypt.

In this sense faith is simply part of the human condition. Financial wizards trust market forces. Military leaders trust bombs and weapons. Scientists trust the natural order. According to the same pattern, Jerusalem’s leaders trusted in Egypt.

It makes us think carefully about ourselves. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we need more faith when really we have plenty of faith; we just put our faith in the wrong things. In our own way, we trust in the chariots and horsemen of Egypt instead of trusting in the God who made a covenant promise to be our God, if we would be His people.

How much better to have the heart of the Psalmist in Psalm 20:7: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Still further, our trust should only be in the Lord. I like what the old Puritan writer John Trapp said: “He that stands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish as certainly as he that stands with both feet on a quicksand.”

Make sure that you have both feet on the rock of real trust in God.

Click here for David’s commentary on Isaiah 31

Trading Gold For Bronze

November 26, 2017/2 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. (1 Kings 14:26-27)

Solomon’s temple was one of the great achievements of ancient Israel – this beautiful building was filled with treasures that reflected the blessing and glory of Solomon’s kingdom. Understanding that makes it all the more sad to read of what happened to Solomon’s son Rehoboam: He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. Solomon left great wealth to his son Rehoboam, both in the temple and in the palace. After only five years, that wealth was mostly gone.

1 Kings 10:16-17 tells us more about this, mentioning these 500 shields, 200 large and 300 small. These shields made beautiful displays in the House of the Forest of Lebanon, but they were of no use in battle. Gold was too heavy and too soft to be used as a metal for effective shields. This was an example of the emphasis of image over substance that began in the days of Solomon and worsened in the days of Rehoboam. Because all they were interested in was image, the substance wasted away. These gold shields were given over to the Egyptians. By some estimates, Rehoboam gave over $33 million that was invested in gold ceremonial shields – and was now in the hands of the Egyptians.

We read, King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place. The replacement of gold with bronze is a perfect picture of the decline under the days of Rehoboam. We also read that he committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard. In the days of Solomon, the gold shields hung on display in the House of the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 10:16-17). Under Rehoboam, the replacement bronze shields were kept in a protected guardroom until they were specifically needed for state occasions.

We can almost picture King Rehoboam walking through the hall of these shields in his palace, assuring himself that there really wasn’t much of a difference between gold shields and bronze shields. Despite his attempts at self-assurance, this was really a sad attempt to simply keep up former appearances.

This may describe our spiritual condition. We are robbed of spiritual strength and honor by our sin, compromise, and all they open the door to. Yet we work hard to keep up an outward appearance of spiritual interest and busyness. Ritual replaces relationship. We serve God on autopilot instead of a real love. Bronze replaces gold.

Think of how far Rehoboam fell in just a few years. He inherited an empire, and five years later he could only protect his small kingdom by bribing his enemies with the treasures inherited from his father. It was said of Solomon’s court that they despised silver (1 Kings 10:21); now his son had to settle for bronze. The dynasty of David went from gold to bronze in five years.

2 Chronicles summarized Rehoboam like this: “And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 12:14) This speaks to the lack of his of personal relationship with the Lord. It’s a sure way to go from gold to bronze.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Kings 14

Where To Live

November 19, 2017/8 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)

By nature, we are often attracted to something just because it is new. We almost always think of new as better. But when it comes to truth, new is rarely better. That which you heard from the beginning is better. Paul put it well in Galatians 1, where he told us that even if an angel from heaven should bring us a new gospel, we are to reject the angel. It isn’t easy to do this, because we are tempted to be “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14). We sometimes itch for something “new” and “exciting” even if it departs from that which you heard from the beginning.

But which you heard from the beginning doesn’t describe whatever teaching any Christian might receive when they just begin to follow Jesus. The beginning, for John’s first readers, described the time when they were under the teaching of the apostles, which is now recorded for us in the New Testament. It is the message of the Bible in general, and the New Testament specifically.

Simply said, we abide in what is from the beginning when we stay close to our Bible. If that was your environment when you were a young Christian, that is wonderful. But if it was not, then put yourself in that environment now. This is John’s point when he wrote, let that abide in you. It doesn’t mean just knowing it, but living in it. When we live in the simplicity of the truth of Jesus Christ, then we will abide in the Son and in the Father. Our world is filled with people searching for God, some sincerely and some insincerely. But if someone wants to really live in God, John tells us how to do it: let the message of the apostles (which you heard from the beginning) live in you.

John didn’t say “if you know God’s word, you know God,” because someone can have a bare, intellectual knowledge of God’s word. But he did say, “if God’s word lives in you, God lives in you.” We can come to a living, growing, relationship with God through His word.

Abiding in Jesus (living in Jesus) is not a passive thing; it is active. We must give ourselves, mentally and spiritually, to living in Jesus. Charles Spurgeon said, “We abide in him, not by a physical law, as a mass of iron abides on the earth; but by a mental and spiritual law, by which the greatness of divine love and goodness holds us fast to the Lord Jesus.”

Where are you living today? Live in His word, and you will live in Him.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 John 2

Forgetfulness and Fruitfulness

November 12, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

Stop Pretending

November 5, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

How to Trust God’s Promises

October 29, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not. (Isaiah 30:15)

Isaiah 30 was written in the context of a terrible invasion by the cruel Assyrian Empire. They threatened to destroy the Kingdom of Judah, even as they had other kingdoms stronger. In the shadow of this threat, Judah chose to not trust God and instead chose to trust in an alliance with Egypt.

God wanted them to know that He really could protect them against the Assyrians. If they would only trust in Him, then “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” God offered to Judah the promise of protection from Assyria. They didn’t need to look to Egypt for help. They could have trusted God for His promise. Isaiah 30:15 shows us how to trust God’s promise.

Trusting God’s promise means returning. If there is known disobedience in our lives, we must return to the Lord’s ways. Outright sin is never consistent with real trust in God’s promise. Returning also has the idea of drawing close to the Lord.

Trusting God’s promise means rest. When we trust God, we don’t have to strive to protect and guard ourselves. We have the best Protector and Guard in God. We can rest in Him, and when we do, it shows we are really trusting in His promise.

Trusting God’s promise means quietness. You don’t need to argue for your side when God is on your side. Be quiet before Him and before others. It shows that you really trust Him.

Trusting God’s promise means confidence. You aren’t given to despair or fear, because you trust God’s promise. You know He can and will come through, and you have a profound confidence in the God who loves you.

All of these things together mean a real trust in God’s promise, and it means that we shall be saved, and it means that we will find strength. There is no person walking this earth more powerful than a child of God boldly and properly trusting the promise of the living God!

Sadly, this was not the case with Judah in the days of Isaiah. He describes the sad fate they faced in rejecting God’s promise: “But you would not.” If they would have trusted God’s promise they would have had no reason to flee and would have seen the Lord’s salvation and strength instead.

How much better it is to simply believe God and His promises for us; to know that “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” He is good enough and great enough to keep that promise.

Click here for David’s commentary on Isaiah 30

The Man of God and the False Prophet

October 22, 2017/0 Comments/in Weekly Devotional/by David Guzik

He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. (1 Kings 13:18-19)

It is one of the strange passages in the book of 1 Kings. The Lord spoke to a man of God from Judah and told him to go and rebuke King Jeroboam of Israel. God also told this anonymous prophet to refuse any invitation to hospitality as he delivered his message; he was to say his word from God and then return directly to Judah.

Then came another anonymous prophet, but he was from the northern Kingdom of Israel. He spoke to the prophet from Judah, and when he spoke he was lying to him. The prophet from Israel gave a false word, trying to persuade the man of God from Judah to change his course from doing exactly what God told him.

Perhaps the Israelite prophet saw the tired and weak prophet from Judah sitting under an oak tree, faint with fatigue and a lack of food and he felt sorry for the famished man of God. Perhaps the lying prophet was motivated by misguided compassion. No matter what his motivation was, his sin was great because he not only lied, he also represented God as a liar, contradicting His previous word.

He lied convincingly, claiming that an angel spoke to me. Perhaps that was true and it was a deceiving angel. Satan and his messengers can appear as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:14-15). One way or another, the deception worked and he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. The man of God from Judah listened to the lie from the prophet of Bethel. He did this for several reasons:

The prophet from Israel was probably older (an old prophet, 1 Kings 13:11) and had the respect of the man of God from Judah.
The prophet from Bethel identified with the man of God from Judah (I too am a prophet as you are).
The prophet from Bethel claimed a spectacular experience (an angel spoke to me).
The prophet from Bethel claimed to speak for the Lord (by the word of the Lord).
The prophet from Bethel did not seem to be an idolater who should be shunned (Bring him back with you to your house).
The prophet from Bethel offered no reward, other than simple food (he may eat bread and drink water).

No matter how natural and seductive this enticement was, it was the duty of the man of God to resist it. He had a word from God to guide his actions, and should receive no other word except through dramatic and direct confirmation by God’s Spirit. His failure at this point ended his usefulness as a messenger of God.

F.B. Meyer well applied the lesson to our life: “When we have received a direct command fresh from the lips of Christ, we must act on it, and not be turned aside by a different suggestion, made to us through the lips of professing Christians… Deal with God at first-hand.”

There may be many reasons why it seems sensible to disobey a command from God, but it is our place to simply trust and obey. There really is no other way.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Kings 13