Don't Let God Say, “It's too late.”

Sometimes God says “It's too late.”

In Numbers 13 and 14, ten Israelite leaders refused to believe God's promise to give them a land. They incited rebellion, longed for Egypt, and talked of stoning Moses. 

They'd seen abundant proof of God's faithfulness, but they refused to trust and obey God. 

“How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me?” (14:11) 

God is slow to anger, abounding in love, mercy, and forgiveness. However, if we stubbornly refuse to do the things He asks, we forfeit blessings (14:18).

The ten faithless leaders died for their unbelief. And the rest of the people still refused to repent. They attempted to take the land without God's help and were soundly defeated.

Using their story of lost promises, Hebrews 3 says: “Encourage one another daily...so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness” (v. 13).

Let's not test God's patience. Let's trust and obey and receive every blessing He has for us before “it's too late.”

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For further insights into this situation in Numbers, see Grasshoppers or Giants and Major Warnings in Old Testament Narratives.

 

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Sowing Seeds of Truth

By Marika Marton

We all know that it takes time for a planted seed to sprout, grow, become a plant, and bear fruit. Yet we often forget this when waiting for spiritual seeds to produce results, and we become impatient.

As Christians, we should sow “seeds of truth” around us whenever we can and patiently wait, even if we do not see immediate results. Sometimes we share a truth with someone, but other believers may “water” it, and a third person might reap the harvest.

We are called to be “co-workers for God’s service,” as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:6–9. God is the One who gives the growth after we have done our part.

Ways we can sow seeds of truth:

1. Share the gospel with unbelievers or give them a tract. Mark 16:15

2. Encourage a Christian friend with a relevant Bible verse. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

3. Share a truth about God on your social media profile. Romans 10:14-15

4. Use every opportunity to share biblical truth in conversations with people. “Water” previously planted seeds with additional truth. Even if we do not always share the whole gospel, but only portions of truth, it can still make people think. It may be like “putting a stone in their shoe.”* Ephesians 5:15-16

We never know which seed will fall into good soil and bear fruit at the end. So let us faithfully do our part, pray, and wait on God to make them grow.

We have nothing to lose by sowing seeds of truth, but those who hear it have everything to gain.

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For more on this subject, check out We're Not all Gung-Ho Evangelists and  Listening for Opportunities.

*This concept is from the book Tactics by Gregory Koukl: “I want to put a stone in his shoe. All I want to do is give him something worth thinking about. I want him to hobble away on a nugget of truth that annoys him in a good way, something he can’t simply ignore because it continues to poke at him.” (source)

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Facts or Feelings: Faith or Failure

What matters most to you: how something makes you feel or whether it's right and true? This is actually a very important question because it's a clear reflection of character.

It rarely feels good to be corrected or admit we're wrong and ask forgiveness. And it doesn't feel good to stand up for what's right in a group that rejects us. 

No one likes feeling bad, ashamed, responsible, hated, or vulnerable—but sometimes we're all of those things. 

Accepting correction and genuinely repenting are important aspects of maintaining a healthy relationship with the Lord.

God says, “I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope.” Isaiah 57:15

Doing what's right and speaking up for biblical truths proves our loyalty and protects us from false teachings: 

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him...See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy...”  Colossians 2:6-8

Very often the things that make us “feel” bad are the things that make us spiritually healthy. So let's quit basing our values on feelings.

See Faith Should Fuel the Engine, with Feelings in the Caboose.

Would you like to do a short Bible study on this devotion? Check out today's Bite Size Bible Study.

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Lies in Disguise: The Beginning of the New Morality

“When Romans 1:18–32 describes the depravity of mankind, sexual sins play a prominent role. We are rightly concerned with the personal and cultural damage that comes from approving LGBTQ+ lifestyles, but our moral decline did not begin there.” Chapter 13 in Lies in Disguise

How did we get to the point described in Romans 1:30 where people are “God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil”? 

The answer is found in reading the context (Romans 1:18-32). It's a process starting when people “suppress the truth” in any area. For example, fifty years ago, sex outside of marriage was considered ungodly and damaging by both Christians and non-Christians in America.

When people began suppressing that truth, they still knew that LGBTQ lifestyles and abortion were damaging. But accepting one sin always leads to accepting other more destructive sins.

If we think mankind has reached the final limit, we're naive. We may not be able to turn things around, but we must not remain silent or give in to compromise. God's morals are healthy, protective, loving, and wise. 

Whenever people suppress the truth, they develop lies-in-disguise (half-truth arguments) to approve them. 

So let's stick to the whole truth and trust God's Spirit to give us the strength and wisdom to repent of our own sins and speak up graciously but firmly about the sexual sins destroying our nation and destroying people's lives.

May God give us wisdom and courage!

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This is one important reason I've written Lies in Disguise, Half-Truths Many Christians Believe. It's time for us to understand how to address these sins unashamedly. It's time for us to realize that loving someone means warning them of spiritual danger. 

Lies in Disguise can equip you to understand and address these important issues. And it's even more valuable if you study it with a friend or small group because it offers “Digging Deeper” questions to help you apply the truths in practical ways. 

 💙 Currently available from the publisher with a discount: Lies in Disguise. Also available on Amazon and CBD. And in the UK: CLC-UK or Eden UK.

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Lies in Disguise: Intolerant Tolerance

 “Our culture has gradually accepted and promoted increasingly immoral views about sexual intimacy, and those views have led to a new half-truth definition of tolerance. This new definition is used as a self-righteous shaming tool to promote uniformity of thought.” 

The quote above is from Lies in Disguise, Chapter 12: “Half-Truth: Tolerance Means Approval.”

You may not realize how much hatred this new kind of tolerance produces, but it basically condemns every Bible-believing Christian who is unafraid to graciously share God’s loving warnings.  

Chapter 12 provides a clear definition of true tolerance, points out some serious contradictions in the view I call “intolerant tolerance,” and helps us defend our freedom of Christian speech. 

Remember that God placed us in this time and place of history (Acts 17:26-27). One responsibility we have is to share the message of Christ with others, and the message includes warnings about sin. We must not keep quiet to accommodate intolerant tolerance! 

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  Luke 9:26

Lies in Disguise is incredibly helpful in explaining a variety of the half-truths that are negatively influencing the church, giving us Scriptural and logical ways to refute these lies.  

It's a much-needed book, and it's ideal for individual or group study, with questions at the end of each chapter.  

💙 Currently available from the publisher: Lies in Disguise. Also available on Amazon: Lies in Disguise. And in the UK: CLC-UK or Eden UK.

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