Police Devotion 4-6-2016
“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?” (Luke 11:11-12)
God is a good and kind God. Luke 6:35 says that God is “…kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Many people won’t even admit that God exists, much less that He deserves any thanks. Many live lives of open, unashamed sin. Yet God is kind and wants to show mercy to them. Psalm 86:5 says, “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”
God is good and merciful and deserves thanks: “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 136:1). God tells us that when we pray, we should first address Him giving thanks: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:” (Psalm 100:4).
Our verse also says that God doesn’t give gifts that He knows will hurt us. That’s the idea of not giving a serpent or a scorpion when your son asks for a fish or an egg. If you’re a parent, imagine your kid sitting at the breakfast table and asking, “Dad (Mom), can I have eggs for breakfast?” You reply, “No, here’s a scorpion instead” and you throw a poisonous scorpion onto your kid’s plate. Wouldn’t that be a sick thing to do? No decent parent would even think of doing that. As crazy as that sounds, God gives that as an example of how He won’t give us something that He knows is going to hurt us.
Some people may pray for things that they think are good but are actually scorpions. No doubt many people have prayed to win the lottery, but the lottery is gambling, and gambling is a sin. People gamble for one main reason: to get rich quick. Proverbs 28:22 says, “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye,”
The author of Proverbs 30:8-9 asked the Lord, “…give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?” He didn’t want riches. He knew that they could poison his heart against God. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil:” Money is not the root of all evil—the love of it is. You may know cops who care about little else but working part-time and overtime to make money. Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” People who are too focused on money won’t be happy even when they get it. They’ll always want more.
They can be like the man who prospered so much that he planned to tear down his barns to build new ones for his goods, then said to his soul, “…Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19) Yet God gave him a stern warning: “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21).
Things probably aren’t perfect in your life, but we all have much to thank the Lord for. Take time to go to a quiet place and thank the Lord for your home, job, provision, family. Thank Him for blessings on the job, and for the times He’s kept you safe. Pray for things you need, and trust Him to supply your need.
James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” The best gift that God wants to give people is eternal life. Do you know for sure that your sins are forgiven and that you’ll go to heaven when you die? If not, click “Helpful Links” on the top menu and then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” If you’re looking for a church where Jesus is preached and God’s Word is honored, please visit.
Brian Miller 4/6/2016
Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216.671.2822