Don’t Take It for Granted

Monday, November 19, 2012

by Dr. Paul Chappell

"And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

Deuteronomy 6:10–12

In the post-World War II era, a church was launching a building campaign. After a service in which the pastor laid out the vision for the project, two families waited in line to meet with him. The first father said, “Pastor, as you know, our son was killed in the war. We would like to give $200 toward the building as a memorial gift.” The second father said, “Pastor, we were going to give $200, but our son came home from the war. We will give $5,000!”

It should be true that the good things we receive from God make us more grateful, but in reality often they make us complacent and self-satisfied. We can quickly forget that He is the source of all of our blessings and benefits. In truth, nothing good that we have is the result of our own strength and ingenuity. Though we should be diligent in our work, even the strength to labor comes from God.

Rather than looking at our possessions as tokens of our effort, intellect, and superiority, we should look at them as tokens of God’s love and grace. He gives us so much more than we deserve, and giving thanks helps us remain on guard so that we do not forget Him.

Today's Growth Principle
God does not bless us because of our goodness but because of His goodness. Remembering this helps us remain grateful.

Old Testament Reading

Ezekiel 11-13

CHAPTER 11

¹ Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: ³ Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. ⁵ And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. ⁶ Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. ⁸ Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. ¹⁰ Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. ¹¹ This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: ¹² And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. ¹³ And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

¹⁴ Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ¹⁵ Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession. ¹⁶ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. ¹⁷ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ¹⁸ And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. ¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: ²⁰ That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

²² Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. ²³ And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.

CHAPTER 12

¹ The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, ² Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. ³ Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. ⁴ Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. ⁵ Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. ⁶ In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel. ⁷ And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight. ⁸ And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, ⁹ Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou? ¹⁰ Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them. ¹¹ Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity. ¹² And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. ¹³ My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. ¹⁴ And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them. ¹⁵ And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. ¹⁶ But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹⁸ Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; ¹⁹ And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. ²⁰ And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

²¹ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ²² Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? ²³ Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. ²⁴ For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD. ²⁶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²⁷ Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. ²⁸ Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.

CHAPTER 13

¹ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ² Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; ³ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. ⁵ Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. ⁶ They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. ⁷ Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? ⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. ⁹ And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹⁰ Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: ¹¹ Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. ¹² Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? ¹³ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. ¹⁴ So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. ¹⁵ Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; ¹⁶ To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

¹⁷ Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, ¹⁸ And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? ¹⁹ And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? ²⁰ Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. ²¹ Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. ²² Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: ²³ Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

New Testament Reading

James 1

CHAPTER 1

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; ³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. ⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. ⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. ⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. ⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ⁹ Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: ¹⁰ But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. ¹¹ For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. ¹² Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: ¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. ¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: ²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. ²¹ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: ²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. ²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. ²⁶ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. ²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 19

¹ Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. ² Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. ³ The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. ⁴ Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. ⁵ A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. ⁶ Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. ⁷ All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him. ⁸ He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. ⁹ A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. ¹⁰ Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes. ¹¹ The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. ¹² The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass. ¹³ A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. ¹⁴ House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD. ¹⁵ Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. ¹⁶ He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die. ¹⁷ He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. ¹⁸ Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. ¹⁹ A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. ²⁰ Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. ²¹ There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. ²² The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. ²³ The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. ²⁴ A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. ²⁵ Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. ²⁶ He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. ²⁷ Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. ²⁸ An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. ²⁹ Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.