Distance Devotions        –        April 11, 2020

Exodus 32:22-24            –        There Came Out This Calf

Exodus 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?  22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.  23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us…24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

The history of the nation of Israel is utterly amazing.  These who had seen the judgments on the nation of Egypt, who watched as the Red Sea parted, who passed over on dry ground and the Egyptians were drown, who had the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night, and who would be fed the bread of angel’s, manna they called it, were very fickle and had weak faith.  Through the years I have had people say to me, “If God would just show me something visible or tangible,” when what they are really saying is, “Until God jumps through my hoop I will not believe.”  It is astounding to see the unbelief of the Jews until you begin to examine your own life.  How many times has God been gracious to you and your rewarded Him with faithlessness?  Have we become so used to the blessings of God that we no longer celebrate them, but see them as what we are owed?  When you read the book of Judges and see the spiritual cycle of the nation of Israel it is almost unbelievable were it not for our own weakness in faith.  I never cease to be amazed at those who want the Lord to save their soul, but leave their pocketbook alone.  We sometimes call on God for lengthy periods of time asking Him to save our son, daughter, or some other family member, but refuse to honestly ask God to use them as a missionary to some foreign country and different culture because our grandchildren will be separated from us.  Let’s not be too hard on these Israelites as we recognize that we also struggle with being faithful and trusting.

Aaron’s excuse for his deviation from the true worship of God stuns me.  In less than forty days, he has caved into the demands of the people to take over as Moses is gone, but not just take over, however, but to give them a visible god to worship.  Of course, Aaron should have stood steadfast and refused their demands.  He didn’t.  The next thing we see is the people naked “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)” (Exodus 32:25) and dancing as they worshiping demons.  How did they get here?  What reason could be given?  Aaron’s answers were weak and pathetic:

1] Don’t blame me, the people are set on mischief

2] I put the gold in, but there came out this calf

You almost want to laugh at Aaron’s defense of his apostasy.  “It is the people’s fault.  And, Moses, the gold went in and the calf came out.”  Nobody believed that.  Moses surely did not and I doubt Aaron did either.  It was just his lame excuse for his personal failure and sin. 

The application here is this: what kind of excuse do we use for our sin?  Being honest and confessing it is the right thing to do, but the natural man will always try to defend himself from any blame.  Do we not hear the echoes of Aaron’s this calf came out as we say the sin was more than I could resist?  The Lord will not allow us to be tempted without some means of escape.  (1 Corinthians 10:13)  Total honesty requires us to admit we have no excuse for our sin.  Biblical forgiveness is based on our repentance from sin.  God deliver us from using flimsy excuses to avoid guilt.  Growth in grace is learned and expanded as we face and confront our sins and weaknesses.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions        –        April 10, 2020

Matthew 13: 3                 –        The Sower and the Seed

Matthew 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow…

There are at least seven parables in Matthew 13.  It is not my intention to try to go over them all in this single devotion as it is impossible.  Many books and sermons have been produced covering these seven parables.  It is a chapter worthy of much study and application to us.  The most commonly expounded is the parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils.  While I believe the Lord Jesus was likely pointing to a sower of seed in the distance from Him and His disciples, the parable also has deep meaning for you and for me.  Everybody is covered in the four types of soil.  Some are hardened, some are shallow, some are allured by riches and the cares of this world, and only a small proportion receive the Word as Christ intended by taking it into their heart and producing fruit in differing amounts and levels.  We are reminded in Jeremiah, “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)  Then again in Hosea, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12)  We are commanded to break up our fallow, unused and unprepared for use, ground.  In other words, we cannot be satisfied with our current spiritual condition and do nothing at worst, and little at best, to improve our fellowship with the Lord.

However, I would like to make a different point today and one that is vitally important.  We are to be sowing the seed.  It is not our problem that most will reject.  It is not our burden that the seed has not been updated and modernized to reach a tech-savvy culture.  We are to be sowing and sowing continually.  We are presently using social media and live streaming of our services to minister to the saints, but we dare not forget those that are without.  We have only one story, only one book, and only one Savior to proclaim.  Might I say, that is all we really do need.  The Holy Spirit will make the Gospel attractive to the heart of the sinner who is broken over their wicked and pointless life.  He will drive home the truth that we see as hard for modern men and women to accept.  Ours is not to look for something other than the simple sowing of the seed.  Let us make sure we have the right seed and having done so may we go forth with renewed confidence that we are not alone as we sow.  The old, old story of Jesus and His love is and will be effective till He comes again.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions        –        April 9, 2020

Acts 13; Philippians 3     –        Making a Mark for God

Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption….

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When we recount history, we almost always point out key people.  Men and women, who at a critical juncture in time found courage to stand up and do what was required and then some.  We call them heroes and heroines.  Sergeant York has always been a hero to me.  He was a man of deep Christian belief and principles who yet found strength and courage to defend his fellow soldiers and defeat the German threat during World War I.  If you have never availed yourself of the opportunity to do so, read some of the citations for the Congressional Medal of Honor given to our bravest and best troops.  The stories behind the awarding of the medal will move you with admiration and gratitude for those who willing to give so much for you and me. 

It will pay rich dividends for you and your children, grandchildren if you are so blessed, to read the biographies of great men of God and missionaries, male and female.  B. H. Carroll, wept and prayed for God to give him Texas.  Dr. Carroll was used greatly of the Lord.  John Knox prayed, “Give me Scotland…”  He was so instrumental in delivering Scotland from popery that Mary, Queen of Scots, refused to go by his church on her ascension to the throne.  Just before he died, he preached one last time and so pounded the pulpit that the report was made he beat it to pieces.  To use biblical terminology, time would fail us to write of Carey, Judson, and our Baptist forefathers who helped to shape this country.  You and your children need to be aware that Baptist principles were placed into the founding documents as brave pastors took a stand about things like individual soul liberty, priesthood of the believer, and separation of the state from infringing on the church. 

We revere the memories of these and a host of others because of the mark they made for the Lord.  You and I are leaving marks behind as well.  When your children see and hear you pray, you are leaving a mark on them for the Lord.  When your fellow workers see you pray over your meals and refusing to laugh at vulgar jokes and instead excuse yourself hastily, you are leaving a mark.  Can I ask you this?  Are you satisfied with the mark you have been making for God?  Is the mark you are leaving one that encourages your family to love God, be faithful to your local church, and support the work of the ministry?  Or, have you perhaps become enamored with the world, or even worse, your own ease and philosophy of life instead of a biblical one?  Some of us are nearing the end of our ability to make an impression for the Lord on those we love most.  I would not want to reach the end and look back to see that the mark I’ve made is faint or untrue.  I don’t want that for you either.  Now is the time for us to put the gospel plow deep into the soil.  Break up the fallow ground, remove the rocks, and labor till the setting of the sun.  It may be sooner than any of us thinks.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions        –        April 8, 2020

Romans 8:17, 18                      –        No Comparison

Roman 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

I read a news article this morning where the author complained about how hard it was to deal with work and educating the children during this time of “social distancing and stay at home orders.”  The more I read the greater my shock.  While I am making assumptions from a distance, if you can’t handle your young children what in the world makes you think you will survive the teen years?  Have we really brought into existence parents who think/believe that they are incapable of raising their children except the government support them somehow?  I hate to admit it, but I think the answer is yes.  That is really where society is…at least in part.  For those who have a Christian world-view, we recognize the importance of the extended family, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and other kinfolk are a part of the support system that the Lord has ordained as well as our church family to give us stability and comfort. 

Evidently previous generations, at least in a greater degree, were made of sterner stuff than the current crop of semi-spoiled Americans.  Do you not realize how blessed we are?  Has it not sunk in that those are not mere words, but are the truth that should be emblazoned across the heart and mind of every one blessed enough to have been born in the United States of America?  And, if this be true, how much more should we take comfort in the truth that regardless of what takes place in this temporal life glory awaits us.  We are the children of the God of the universe.  His heart and eyes are stayed upon us for good!  Not a hair can fall from your head that the God who spoke the worlds into being does not take note of and have you in His heart.  His Son, Jesus, very God of very God, pleads our case before Him on a continual basis.  Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.  Nothing, read that again, nothing we go through down here is worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.  Wow!  Glory!  Hallelujah!  No words of praise can ever be enough to glorify Him.  While our friends, family, and those we know are going through difficult hours, let us encourage them with this truth.  Truly, as Brother Billy Kelly used to say, the best is yet to come!

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotion          –        April 7, 2020

Luke 23; John 19            –        And They Broke His Legs….

Luke 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.  43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.  32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

I cannot imagine the pain and the horror of death by crucifixion.  Many of us have stepped on a board and stuck a nail into our foot.  That pain pales into insignificance compared to crucifixion.  Some of us have suffered severe scrapes from bicycle or motorcycle wrecks, but none of us have suffered like Jesus.  Even though the two thieves were suffering the same fate, they were sinners and by their own admission deserved punishment.  Jesus, the fairest of the fair, purest of the pure, the thrice holy Son of God deserved glory instead of the gore of Calvary.  In His death throes, He remembered His earthly mother and commended her into the care of John the Beloved.  One of the two thieves was so smitten by the Presence of Christ that he called out unto Him in repentant faith.  Though his eschatology was off (he didn’t have to wait for the millennial kingdom), Jesus was merciful.  How sweet those words must have sounded to his ears, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise!  How comforting to his soul as he hung there on that cross that all was well in his eternity.  But, the soldiers still broke his legs.

This thief is famous in Christianity.  We point to him as proof of death bed conversions and the majestic reach of the grace of our loving and forgiving God.  All of this is true and not doubt things that we will have to wait to arrive in Heaven to have revealed to us.  One thing jumps out at me though and it is this: they still broke his legs.  I won’t take time to write of the will to live and the probable horror that struck this man as he realized what was about to happen, but I want us to learn an important spiritual truth.  Grace does not deliver us from pain and heartache.  It goes with us in the Person of our Lord and Savior.  When we call on the Lord, we should not expect that our circumstances will be altered, but that His presence will suddenly be known in the midst of those trials.  The thief indeed went to heaven that day, but he still had to have his legs broken.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions        –        April 6, 2020

Psalm 147:4, 5                –        Great Is Our Lord

Psalm 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.  5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

These last five chapters in the book of Psalms are very uplifting.  As we listen to the news media recount the latest death toll and the number of new cases of infection with the coronavirus, we need something to encourage us.  Remember this, dear Christian, our source of comfort is never going to be the news reports, the stock market booms (we hope), nor any other external source of information.  Our comfort is going to come from our God.  As we face a world-wide pandemic of a scary virus, we need an anchor and that anchor is Christ.  When we hear that 10,000 people have died from this virus, it is a frightening thing.  Put this in context.  Even one death is horrible and the families of those who have lost loved ones deserve our sympathy and prayers.  Don’t let the numbers overwhelm you as you try to make some sense out of all this as most of us are daunted by the sheer totals instead of considering it in the light of the entire population.

The devil uses a similar tactic to overwhelm us if he can.  We get covered up in the swamp of human sinfulness and depravity if all we do is read murder mysteries and watch television.  Evil is not the match for the goodness of God.  Satan is not as powerful as the Triune God we worship.  Look to Him in these troubling times.  And, we have good reason to do so.  Science has no idea how many stars exist.  Our God does!  Moreover, He has named every one of them.  I am not sure that there enough words in human language to name all the stars, but God can!  We are having trouble understanding what is happening around us, but our God is of infinite understanding.  We have no reason to fear the darkness and the gloom that may swallow up some.  God is still on His throne and He will take care of His own!  His promise is true; He will not forget you.  God is still on His throne!

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions         –              April 5, 2020

Psalm 146:1, 2                   –              While I have Any Being

Psalm 146:1 ¶ Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.  2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

I am aware that there are many ways in which we can praise the Lord.  The last five Psalms in the book of Psalms, 146-150, are all about giving praise to the Lord.  We find exhortations in the New Testament as well.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore.  Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.  Revelation 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.  6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  It seems apparent that if we are going to praise the Lord appropriately and fully, it is going to involve our voice.  Some praising is done when we sing.  Every believer should do their best to sing.  Whether your voice is flat or shrill, it is the gift of God to you to use to praise Him.  However, the idea of praise goes well beyond us merely joining in congregational singing.  It also involves the individual using their voice to magnify the Lord in praise.  I call not for a cacophony of sounds that makes for chaos in the worship services of our churches, but I do see a lack of God’s people giving Him the hearty praise that His Person deserves.  No excuses of, “we can’t ever really praise Him appropriately, Pastor,” will do.  No thought of, “I am too shy to speak a word of praise out loud in the church service,” will adequately account for the silence of the Lord’s people.

Our forefathers were burned at the stake while giving God praise.  Even here in America, our Baptist forefathers suffered incarceration and beatings, but they praised the Lord in the midst of their persecution.  Old John Warburton, as he lay dying, managed to get one last lung full of air and shouted, Hallelujah!  In heaven, the sounds of praise will be thunderous and frequent.  Our text says, I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.  That is a great determination to make.  Would you join the psalmist today and pledge to give God glory and praise while you have any being?  None of us knows how long we have in this life.  Make good use of what you have and spend some of it vocally, verbally, and noticeably praising the Lord by the fruit of your lips.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotion           –          April 4, 2020

Psalm 139:23, 24             –          Know My Thoughts O God!

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

This thing we call a brain, the biblical term is reins, is where all of our practical problems arise.  We are told not to worry, but being entirely honest which of us have not violated that command?  We are told not to lust after things and certainly not after some other person than our spouse, but how many of us have had to do battle right at this point, covetousness?  The mind is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a cesspool if we do not guard it strictly and biblically.  James puts it this way, But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:14)  Sin has its first stirrings in the mind, the thinking part of man.  We use the term heart to speak of the seat of the will and emotions of man.  It is here that grace must be operative and the Spirit of God reign lest we fall into sin.

The words of our text are a heart cry of the psalmist to be searched by the Spirit of God.  Why is he asking such a thing?  What has brought this to pass?  It is not because David has suddenly realized some particular sin, but that sin in principle, in fact, and without victory, lives in him and will unless the Lord search his heart and show him his faults and errors.  Being forced to stay home for this extended period of time, it is close to a month now for most of us, can cause bitterness, discouragement, and accusatory thoughts toward even the Lord, though most would never admit it.  Instead of allowing your thoughts to rule you, you should rule them.  Ask the Lord to visit you and strengthen your soul and spirit.  Call on Him in a more intense way than ever before.  You will not wear out your welcome.  Tell the Lord the fears and misgivings you have.  David laid out his complaint before the Lord.  Psalm 102:1 ¶ <<A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.>> Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.  Psalm 142:2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. (Both of these psalms would reward your reading of them.) You have the biblical example of David crying unto God.  No doubt Paul did the same as we read that he besought the Lord three times to remove the “thorn in his flesh.”  Be honest before the Lord, let Him examine your thoughts, and let Him show you what needs to be thrown out, what forgiveness you must grant for peace in your soul, and any other thing that He puts His hand on in your heart.  It will be a great day for you spiritually to do so.

Pastor F. J. Weems III 

Distance Devotions          –          April 3, 2020

Psalm 139: 5-7                      –          God Is Always There

Ps 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.  6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.  7 ¶ Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

When we begin to try to grasp the person of our God, we become in some measure a theologian.  Theology is the science of the study of God.  Everything we need to know is contained in the Bible, the Word of God.  With our limited understanding and with the hindrance of our sinful nature, we spend a lifetime knowing and worshiping Him and never finishing the task.  Upon our arrival in glory, we will still not have final, total knowledge of our God.  Throughout all eternity He will be revealing Himself to us.  Psalm 40 speaks of the thoughts of God as well as Psalm 139:17, How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!  Just what would occupy the mind of God to this degree?

No doubt I could spend the rest of my waking hours attempting to answer that question.  Let’s consider just one possibility that is suggested in the text.  We know that the church, the New Testament Gentile Bride of Christ, was in the mind of God from eternity past.  Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world….”  Let that sink in for a moment.  In the past, before the act of creation, the Triune God had His mind set on us.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Since we were in the thoughts of God in eternity past and time means nothing to God, that means we are still in His thoughts this very minute.  Do not fear nor despair, dear Christian.  He who was thinking of you while you slept last night, was thinking of you before Creation, and when that dark day of Calvary transpired, you, we, the Bride, were on His mind!  We cannot be consumed by something this world or the devil does.  It is impossible.  Why?  Because our God has set His mind and love upon us.

Pastor F. J. Weems III

Distance Devotions          –          April 2, 2020

Psalm 41:1-3                    –          God’s Care for the Sick Saint

Ps 41:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.  Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.  2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.  3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

The early church made known the love of Christ by its compassion on the sick.  The world of biblical times was harsh and hard.  Wounded Roman soldiers were sometimes left in the field if they were severely wounded.  Some were taken to nearby villages where once the army left, the citizens would kill the wounded Roman troops.  But, then came the Christians.  They took care of the wounded and won many of them to the banner of Christ by showing love even to their enemies.  There is a principle in the Word of God, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  The believer can trust that this principle will carry throughout their life.

I’ve known some wonderful people through my years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Atoka.  Some who humbly ministered to the needs of others, never expecting any applause from men, but who found when they were in need there was plenteous supply.  However, even when men fail to requite the compassion they received at the hands of a believer, the Lord will never fail.  This coronavirus and the attendant disease COVID-19 is causing an unusual event at hospitals.  Husbands and wives, parents and children, loved ones from familyare being separated because of the nature of the disease and the ease of infection.  I read a news account of a mother of six children who were allowed only a radio transmitter connection to tell their mother goodbye as she was dying.  It is comforting to know that should that be our lot that the Lord will not desert us.  He will make our bed, I see this meaning to give us comfort in our sickness, up to the time of our death and then receive us into glory.  No sad news, no dismal event, and no negative reports of the spread of disease and death will change the one fact, for the compassionate believer, the Lord cares and will not leave us alone.

Pastor F. J. Weems III