Fear And Reverence

Fear And Reverence by Kirk Hunt

So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.

Jonah 1:15–16 NKJV

Jonah hit the water and everything changed. The murderous storm instantly dissipated. The howling wind became a whispering breeze. The towering waves that threatened to smash the hull vanished. God’s demonstration of His naked power and command over creation invoked fear and reverence from the sailors.

Fear can be defined as “profound reverence and awe especially toward God.” The sailors watched someone switch off a major tempest like flipping a switch. That is not the action of a mere man or an accident. The God who can do that has my awe, for sure.

Father-God loves us like a father. Like any good father, He is often gentle and tender with us. But God so much more than a mere father.

God’s power over all creation demands our awe. His holiness deserves our reverence. The level of awe and reverence you feel toward our all-powerful God should be overwhelming at times. Call it fear if you must. The sailors would.

They responded, the way I hope you respond, to seeing God’s power at its most unrestrained. Reverent worship and awestruck adoration is the only reasonable response to all that God is and can do. With a little more fear of God in his life, Jonah may not have wound up overboard.

Think: Does God have my reverence? Does God have my awe?

Pray: “Lord, You are worthy of all of my awe and reverence.”

 

Copyright © January 2020, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Calm Your Storm

Calm Your Storm by Kirk Hunt

Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Jonah 1:14–15 NKJV
Please also read Jonah 1:1–17

Rank pagans trembled while God’s prophet stood in calm stillness. The deck pitched violently as the storm continued to rage, threatening the lives of all aboard. To restore calm, all the sailors had to do was throw a man overboard.

Jonah, a prophet of God, had attempted to flee from his calling and assignment. God had sent him to Nineveh (see northern Iraq) but Jonah willfully tried to sail to Tarshish (far eastern Mediterranean). The storm that enveloped the ship was only a small reflection of God’s judgment and displeasure with his disobedient man.

What task has God given you? Are you working toward your assignment or trying to run away? Following God’s purpose will lead to calm and peace. Sin and rebellion will generate storms and turmoil in your soul. And the people around you may have to suffer along with you.

God’s purpose is rarely the easy way, but there is always joyous calm on His path. His love for us is great and He wants us to experience the blessings of obedience. And there is love in His correction. He will patiently and lovingly discipline you as long you think it is necessary.

Father-God loved Jonah too much to let him continue in sin and disobedience. The sailors were ready to be obedient and save the ship and their lives. Finally, Jonah decided he was ready to throw his sin and rebellion overboard. Are you ready for calm in your soul?

Think: What do I need to throw overboard to restore God’s calm in my life?

Pray: “Lord, help me throw distraction, sin and error out of my life.”

 

Copyright © January 2020, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

See With His Eyes

See With His Eyes by Kirk Hunt

Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.

Judges 16:21 NKJV

After all of the damage Samson had inflicted on the Philistines, they took poetic revenge. They put out his eyes, which led him once and again, into error and sin. Then, the burner of fields made flour for his enemies (for the rest of his life).

Walking in a circle, in the darkness, Samson had time. Time to think. Time to remember. Time to get serious with God.

Mortal men or women might have left Samson alone and defenseless, in the hands of his tormentors. God instead came close, then embraced and spoke with the man he still loved. Despite his rebellion and disobedience, Samson remained God’s beloved son.

Samson’s eyes were not restored, but his relationship with God was healed. Alone among his enemies, he dwelled securely in the hands of the Most High. A good father loves all of his children, not just the well-behaved ones. A father loves most when he disciplines his children.

Look at yourself through God’s eyes. He sees your sin. He sees your error. Still, He loves you. As you serve your sentence, He looks out for you, even when you cannot (or will not) look out for yourself.

Samson served his prison sentence with Father-God at his side. His eyes never looked away from Samson. His eyes will never look away from you. Are you looking to Him?

Think: Despite my circumstances I can have relationship with God, if I choose Him.

Pray: “Lord, forgive my sin. Help me to draw close to you.”

 

Copyright © January 2020, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

He Did Not Know

He Did Not Know by Kirk Hunt

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

Judges 16:20 NKJV

Samson woke up and engaged with his enemies, but he did not know. As a man of God, he should have known that God’s Spirit and power had left him. His education and experiences should have told him that he was being set up, again, by a betrayer. He ran headlong into a trap and defeat.

Samson’s humiliation (and mutilation), at a minimum, should have impossible or at least more difficult. Instead he has become a byword for wasted potential and squandered opportunity. A man born a Nazarite ignored his upbringing. Intended for greatness in God, he ended humbled in prison.

Samson used God’s power and strength through God’s mercy and grace. God is full of love and tenderness for us, but He is also a God of justice and judgment. God eventually moves against deliberate sin and error. Psalm 103:9 warns us: He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.

So God withdrew from Samson. He allowed Samson to operate without Him. Deliberate sin and disobedience is a way of telling God you do not need Him or you know better. And Samson learned the truth.

We have all sinned and fallen short. After your error, do you repent and try to do better? Do you deliberately sin again and assume God is still with you? You may not know the truth when you start, but you will know at the end.

Think: Do I know the truth of how close I am to God?

Pray: “Lord, forgive my sin. Help me to be Your obedient child and know Your truth.”

 

Copyright © January 2020, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Clothed By God

Clothed By God by Kirk Hunt

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:21, 24 NKJV

The forbidden fruit had been eaten. Adam and Eve had lost their place in warm, safe Eden. Despite their sin and error, Adam and Eve had not lost Father-God’s love. With His own hand, God expertly tailored clothes then carefully dressed His children. They entered a cold, dangerous world clothed by a loving God.

No matter what you did wrong, Father-God goes right on loving you. You may be living through the consequences of your sin or error, but He has not separated Himself from you. You may be weeping over lost Eden, but the entire time He is personally preparing and equipping you for what comes next.

Just because you are by yourself, God has not left you alone. However empty your hands, God has provided, is providing and will provide for you. His love is too strong to throw you away. His love is too tender to leave you exposed.

He is a God of love, even when He chastises us. He is a God of provision, so His intention for us is never emptiness or lack. Even when he lets us live through some of the consequences of our actions, He is still close by.

His mercy protects us from full justice. We are still sons and daughters because of His grace. A warm coat is a sign of love, no matter how few the colors.

Think: God is close by, providing for me.

Pray: “Lord, thank You for what You provide.”

 

Copyright © January 2020, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

But Not Destroyed

But Not Destroyed by Kirk Hunt

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NKJV

God’s people sometimes find themselves flat on the canvas, questioning the value of continuing the contest. We may the sons and daughters of the King, but we are not exempt from life’s hardships. Despite the hurt and pain, we are not destroyed.

Like Job, we wonder why God allows difficulty and hardship into our life. There is a special value in survivors. The mere presence of those who have lived through it can bring comfort and confidence. We all want that kind of weight and gravitas, but no one wants that experience.

One day your testimony, “God brought me through,” will be a valuable guide and comfort to those listening. They will marvel at your scars. They will question why you do not limp, or do not limp worse.

As you speak, remind them that God always cares for us, even in the middle of our worst circumstances. No matter how dark the day, God’s power brings life and His peace defies understanding.

Scars are proof of both survival and more importantly, healing. Men and women are comforted by the truth of survivors. You are proof that no circumstance is always fatally final. Remind them that even when God lets you experience difficulty, He never lets you do so alone.

Think: The experience may be difficult but you are not destroyed.

Pray: “Lord, bring me through, according to Your promise.”

 

Copyright © June 2019, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

His Compassions Fail Not

His Compassions Fail Not by Kirk Hunt

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV

In recent months I have been concerned by the general lack of compassion I see from my Christian brothers and sisters.  Consider God’s compassions toward us, His people.  Should we not follow the example of our heavenly Father and Jesus?

The Book of Lamentations was written at or after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity of the nation of Judah.  For their great sins and open rebellion, God could have cast away the Jewish nation for good.

Instead, He was faithful to His people.  His mercy spared their lives.  His grace arranged their eventual restoration.  Not for the last time, God proved both His strength and His character to His people.

The capacity for mercy exists only where there is a reservoir of strength.  Only a man or woman of strong character can commit an act of grace.  When you see displays of mercy and grace, know that the powerful and honorable are nearby.

Are you an adopted son or daughter of Father-God?  Then you should have a measure of His strength and your character should be a growing reflection of Him.  What acts of mercy or grace prove your heavenly pedigree?

Judah had death and destruction coming, but a loving God gave them mercy and grace instead.  Look around you.  Do you have enough of His strength to give them mercy?  Is your character Christ-like enough to extend His grace?

Think:      His compassions fail not.  Do mine?

Pray:         “Lord, help me to show Your compassions to those around me.”

 

Copyright © January 2019, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press.  You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Evangelize The Strangers And Foreigners

Evangelize The Strangers And Foreigners By Kirk Hunt

When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:38-40 NKJV

The word stranger in Scripture almost always translates as foreigner (xenos). God’s people are commanded in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, to treat foreigners with generosity, justice and grace. In this current season, foreigners fleeing war, persecution and enslavement are greeted as villains, not victims.

After killing an Egyptian, Moses fled to Midian. Would you have turned Moses the fugitive away as a threat to national security?

David fled from his father-in-law Saul to Moab and later Philistia. Would you have kept David the persecuted out of the country as a risk to law and order?

Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled from Herod to Egypt. Would you have denied the Holy Family admittance as an economic drain on the country?

The refugees and evacuees are fleeing death and destruction. Where are they going? To the very Christian nations who should be busy evangelizing them.

Who could be more open to the Gospel of Christ than someone desperate to enter a Christian nation? They may be strangers to you, but they are well known to Father-God. Should you not make an effort to minister to the “least of these?”

Think: God help me to remember that refugees and foreigners are open to Your Gospel.

Pray: “Lord, help me to minister to Yours sons and daughters from another land.”

 

Copyright © November 2018, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Greater Love

Greater Love By Kirk Hunt

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

John 15:12–13 NKJV

Jesus taught, than demonstrated, the pattern of greater love. Determine you love a group of people so much that you are willing to serve them. If your love is great enough, even the threat of death will not stop you from giving your service.

On Memorial Day, Americans celebrate the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces of the nation. Their great sacrifice for America is to be sincerely remembered and deeply appreciated. Still, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for His “nation,” anyone who chooses to accept Him into their heart, sets the greater example.

Jesus first gave up heaven to come to earth. Then He agreed to live as a mere man, so that He would truly understand our lives. Finally, He sacrificed His sinless life as the last and final payment for our sins.

Jesus demonstrated His love for mankind on the Cross. Men and women can freely kneel at the Cross and receive the salvation they so desperately need, from His willing sacrifice. Jesus does not restrict the benefit of His service on race, nation or past behavior.

The only restriction on salvation is your confession of sin and acceptance of Jesus as your Savior. He has already proven His greater love. Have you accepted His love? Do you demonstrate His love in turn?

Think: How am I demonstrating my greater love?

Pray: “Lord, help me to love greatly for Your Name and people.”

 

Copyright © May 2018, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Left For Dead

Left For Dead By Kirk Hunt

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Acts 14:19–20 NKJV

Paul was not attacked by pagans or heathens. The Apostle was stoned to “death” by pious, religious folk. Their contempt and anger for Paul was so great that they did not bother with burying him. They simply dragged his “dead” body outside of the city limits and left him for rot or wild animals.

Paul was nearly murdered for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by kith and kin, not strangers or foreigners. Of course, Paul once had persecuted Christians in similar manner. The saddest fact is much of the persecution against early Christians came from their own kinsmen, not the pagan Roman invaders.

Too often, modern, Western Christians blame the unchurched for difficulties or resistance in building God’s Kingdom. Religious fratricide is the more likely reason saints and ministries struggle. Outsiders are easier to blame but insiders are the more likely culprits.

Consider how you respond and are responded to, by fellow Christians. Is there upset over differences of style or tradition? How does your disagreement or conflict look to outsiders and unbelievers?

You may not agree with other Christians. Still, there are Biblical ways to work through our differences in grace and love. Certainly, there are Nero-like folk (modern and ancient) who persecute Christians. Make sure, my Gospel brother or sister, that you are not one of them.

Think: Our greatest hindrances are too often religious folk, not the unredeemed.

Pray: “Lord, help me to approach other Christians in Your grace and love.”

 

Copyright © May 2018, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.