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1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Looking on the Heart Outward appearances can be deceiving. An airline captain who flew international routes also ran a small filling station near his home. Between trips abroad, he got a kick out of changing tires and pumping gas. One morning, dressed in his greasy overalls, he walked down to the local hardware store to pick up a new wrench. "What's new?" the store owner asked. "Oh, I'm thinking of taking the Cairo run this month," the captain said. "I enjoy flying to London and Frankfurt, but I think the change of pace will do me good." He paid for the wrench and left. Another customer asked, "Who's the world traveler?" Rolling his eyes, the store owner said, "Some nut who runs the gas station down the street. Thinks he's an airline pilot!" Both men got a good laugh. The prophet Samuel also learned that outward appearances don't necessarily make the man. David's brothers, who were first interviewed for the job of future king of Israel, were all kingly looking. God, however, knew their hearts were not right and rejected them. It was not until David was brought before Samuel that God found a man "after His own heart" ( 1 Sam. 13:14 ). The most important responsibility Christians have is keeping their heart right with God. Physical exercise profits a little ( 1 Tim. 4:8 ), and there is certainly nothing wrong with looking clean and neat, but the real test in God's sight is our heart. No matter how "together" we might appear, if our heart is not pure before the Lord, He can't use us to accomplish His will. Are you taking good care of your heart? If it has become spiritually out of shape, apply the 1 John 1:9 principle. Make sure that when God looks at your heart, He likes what He sees. It's the internal, not the external, that affects the eternal.

Read Psalm 148:1-14 When I was a young pastor in my first church, we had to build a new sanctuary. My friends know that I don't know the first thing about construction. I can't read blueprints. I can't even make a birdhouse. But we began the project. Construction went slowly, and it was difficult. Then winter came. I recall standing by that piece of property, looking at those snow-covered arches and wondering, "Lord, why is it taking so long?" Then the Lord led me to Psalm 148 and showed me that when we complain about the weather, we should remember that He is in control. He gave me a great word of assurance from verse 8: "Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word." All of Psalm 148 tells us that the Word of God is in control. When He speaks in heaven, things happen on earth. In verses 1-6 the heavens praise the Lord. In verses 7-10 the earth praises the Lord. And in verses 11-14, all people, young and old, praise the Lord, including kings, princes, judges and ordinary people. Why? Because His Word is creative. Verse 5 tells us He commanded, and they were created. He also has "established them forever" (v. 6). God does not run this world by consensus but by decree. His Word is sufficient to guide our lives. * * * God's Word creates, establishes and fulfills His will. The next time you find yourself in a storm, don't complain; instead, surrender. Remember, the stormy wind as well as the calm wind fulfills the Word of God. Submit to God's control and to His creative Word in your life. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (bakerpublishinggroup.com). Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from Baker Publishing Group.

I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early. Hosea was a resident of the northern kingdom. Throughout his prophecy it is evident that Hosea had a tender feeling of compassion for the people of his land. Alternately he warned the people and then pled with them to return to God in repentance. He knew, regardless of how wicked they had been, if they repented of their sins and forsook their wicked ways, God would receive them back in His love. In Hosea 5:2 the prophet described the Israelites as "the revolters" and himself as "a rebuker." He saw it as his task to point out Israel's sin and call them to repentance. But there was a problem. Of the Jews he said, "They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them." God does not answer our prayers if we have unconfessed personal sin in our lives. Again and again the Bible affirms this truth (see John 9:31 ; Psalm 66:18 ; Isaiah 59:1-2 ). We should not assume that God will always hear and answer our prayers. There are many things that can militate against God's answer. The greatest hindrance to answered prayer is personal, unconfessed sin. The Apostle Peter, after listing a variety of attitudes that a righteous person will have, makes this observation: "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil" ( 1 Peter 3:12 ). Many other things in life block the divine answer to prayer: idolatry ( Jeremiah 11:11-14 ), irreverence for the Bible ( Proverbs 28:7-9 ), family problems ( 1 Peter 3:1-7 ), improper motives ( James 4:3 ), prayer without faith ( James 1:5-6 ); but the most certain way to make God unavailable to us when we seek Him is for us to harbor iniquity in our hearts. If the conditions were met, God would not withdraw Himself from Israel, He would listen to their prayers, and He would answer them. Therefore, Jehovah promised, "I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offense and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me early" ( Hosea 5:15 ). The absence of God's influence in their lives would be affliction enough for the Israelites. God was about to get their attention and He would do so by means of the calamities which Hosea prophesied. But once He got their attention and their repentance for sin was made, they would again arise early in the morning to seek the face of God. If God appears to have withdrawn Himself from you, perhaps you ought to ask yourself these questions: "Have I treated God well enough for Him to answer my prayers?" (idolatry); "Have I heeded God's Word well enough for Him to answer my prayers?" (irreverence for the Bible); "Have I treated my family well enough for God to answer my prayers?" (family problems); "Have I examined my motives well enough for God to answer my prayers?" (improper motives); "Have I trusted God well enough for Him to answer my prayers?" (prayer without faith); "Have I confessed personal sin well enough for God to answer my prayers?" (iniquity). When we can answer each of these questions in the affirmative, there is no reason for God to withdraw Himself from us when we seek Him. He has promised always to be near. Having confessed our sin, let us claim that promise today. MORNING HYMN Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer, Here 'mid earth's sin and sorrow and care; Men lost and dying, souls in despair, O give me power, power in prayer! Devotional is used with permission from the author. It may be used solely for personal, noncommercial, and informational purposes. Republication or redistribution of this devotional is prohibited.

"By reason of breakings they purify themselves " ( Job 41:25 ). God uses most for His glory those people and things which are most perfectly broken. The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite hearts. It was the breaking down of Jacob's natural strength at Peniel that got him where God could clothe him with spiritual power. It was breaking the surface of the rock at Horeb, by the stroke of Moses' rod that let out the cool waters to thirsty people. It was when the 300 elect soldiers under Gideon broke their pitchers, a type of breaking themselves, that the hidden lights shone forth to the consternation of their adversaries. It was when the poor widow broke the seal of the little pot of oil, and poured it forth, that God multiplied it to pay her debts and supply means of support. It was when Esther risked her life and broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen court, that she obtained favor to rescue her people from death. It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke them, that the bread was multiplied in the very act of breaking, sufficient to feed five thousand. It was when Mary broke her beautiful alabaster box, rendering it henceforth useless, that the pent-up perfume filled the house. It was when Jesus allowed His precious body to be broken to pieces by thorns and nails and spear, that His inner life was poured out, like a crystal ocean, for thirsty sinners to drink and live. It is when a beautiful grain of corn is broken up in the earth by DEATH, that its inner heart sprouts forth and bears hundreds of other grains. And thus, on and on, through all history, and all biography, and all vegetation, and all spiritual life, God must have BROKEN THINGS. Those who are broken in wealth, and broken in self-will, and broken in their ambitions, and broken in their beautiful ideals, and broken in worldly reputation, and broken in their affections, and broken ofttimes in health; those who are despised and seem utterly forlorn and helpless, the Holy Ghost is seizing upon, and using for God's glory. "The lame take the prey," Isaiah tells us. O break my heart; but break it as a field Is by the plough up-broken for the corn; O break it as the buds, by green leaf seated, Are, to unloose the golden blossom, torn; Love would I offer unto Love's great Master, Set free the odor, break the alabaster. O break my heart; break it victorious God, That life's eternal well may flash abroad; O let it break as when the captive trees, Breaking cold bonds, regain their liberties; And as thought's sacred grove to life is springing, Be joys, like birds, their hope, Thy victory singing. --Thomas Toke Bunch The public domain version of this classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert.

And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me. Have you ever watched a group of demonstrators carrying placards to call attention to their cause? Perhaps you have participated in a walk-a-thon to raise funds for a charity. Frequently people must do extraordinary things to gain publicity or call attention to their particular beliefs. There is a prophet in the Old Testament who did exactly the same thing at the direct command of God. His name was Ezekiel. A contemporary of Jeremiah and Dariel, Ezekiel was a priest ( Ezekiel 1:3 ), but never served as such because he was taken captive to Babylon during the reign of Jehoiachin ( 2 Kings 24:10-16 ). Ezekiel settled with a group of exiles at Tel-Abib, a town in the interior part of Babylonia on the river Chebar. Five years after he arrived in Babylonia, when he was about thirty years of age, Ezekiel received a call from Jehovah to prophesy to the people of the captivity. Prophesying during the darkest days of the captivity, Ezekiel was met only with indifference and despondency among the people. The captive Jews would not listen to his message. Therefore God instructed Ezekiel to resort to a more dramatic method of proclaiming the destruction of Jerusalem. Instead of preaching or speaking in parables, he would act out the parable. Ezekiel would dramatize what God was about to do with His great city Jerusalem. God reminded Ezekiel that he lived in a rebellious house amid a rebellious nation and that he should prepare to move out of that house. In order to be a visual representation of the captivity of Jerusalem, God commanded Ezekiel to "dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby." So, packing his bags, Ezekiel proceeded to gouge out a hole in the mud wall of his house, making an opening onto the street through which he would pass with his baggage. There he would wait. "And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me" ( Ezekiel 12:8 ). Having waited all night, Ezekiel now gave an explanation to the Israelites for his rather unusual actions. Five times in this chapter the word of the Lord came unto him; five times he had to wait on the word of the Lord. True, waiting in the comfort and privacy of his house would not have been as difficult as waiting on the sidewalk while everyone passed by, but waiting on God is never easy. Sometimes the purposes and messages of God are revealed slowly. His grand designs can never be hurried. The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was a man of great poise and quiet manner. Yet at times he suffered from moments of frustration when he had to wait on God. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged animal. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked. "The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn't!" We can imagine that having clawed through the wall with bags in hand and waiting on the sidewalk for God to speak to him again was difficult for Ezekiel. Nonetheless, after God initially spoke to him, it was not until the morning that God came to him the second time. Ezekiel did as God commanded him without need for explanation. But then, in full view of everyone on the street, he must patiently wait on the Lord to speak to him again. You and I must recognize that God leads us every step of the way, whether we understand His leading or not. To hear God say "Go" or to hear Him say "Stay" is usually easier than to hear Him say "Wait"! In potential ridicule, the prophet of God waited all night to hear the Lord God give him further instructions. How long are we willing to wait on God? Do we trust Him enough to wait on Him today? MORNING HYMN Not ours to know the reason why Unanswered is our prayer, But ours to trust God's wisdom still And to His love repair. Devotional is used with permission from the author. It may be used solely for personal, noncommercial, and informational purposes. Republication or redistribution of this devotional is prohibited.

Read Psalm 142:1-7 I do not like caves. When I visited Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, I could hardly wait to get out. Thus, I somewhat understand David's distress as he wrote this psalm while hiding from Saul in a cave. In his distress, he looked in four directions. First, David looked within. "I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then you knew my path" (vv. 1-3). He looked within and said, "Look, I'm in trouble; I'm complaining; I'm overwhelmed." Introspection sometimes can be good for you, but don't spend too much time looking within, or you will get discouraged. Then David looked around, hoping to find help. "Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul" (v. 4). Do you ever feel like that? Do you look around and say, "Nobody even cares--everyone is bearing his own burdens, and nobody wants to share mine"? Perhaps in those situations you should take time to bear other people's burdens--then they might be interested in your concerns. After looking within and around and finding only discouragement, David looked up. "I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living"' (v. 5). In other words, "God, you're going to hear my cry. You're going to deliver me from my persecutors; they are stronger than I am." Finally, David looked ahead. "Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me" (v. 7). After you have seen the glory and the blessing of the Lord, you can look ahead with confidence. Perhaps you are in a cave of discouragement today. Your hope lies not within yourself or with your circumstances. Look to the Lord and obey His Word. Then look ahead with confidence, for God's promises are sure and His Word is true. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (bakerpublishinggroup.com). Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from Baker Publishing Group.

Read Psalm 145:1-13 This psalm has special meaning for me. Several years ago a drunken driver hit me going 80 or 90 miles an hour. When I woke up in the intensive care ward of a hospital with broken bones and lacerations, this is the verse that went through my mind: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable" (v. 3). Let's praise God for His greatness. The psalmist says His greatness is eternal. "I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever" (vv. 1,2). We will spend all eternity praising the greatness of God. His greatness also is unsearchable. We can't begin to measure it. We can't know its depth, its height or its breadth. And the greatness of God is memorable. "One generation shall praise Your works to another,... I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty" (vv. 4,5). We must tell the next generation of the greatness of God. Then the psalmist praises the goodness of God. Verse 7 says, "They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.... The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (vv. 7,9). Verse 8 expounds the grace of the Lord: "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion." Aren't you grateful that He is slow to anger? All of this leads to the glory of the Lord. "They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power" (v. 11). * * * As finite beings, we can scarcely comprehend God's attributes. But we can certainly praise Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives. Thank God for saving you. Praise Him for His greatness, His goodness, His grace and His glory. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (bakerpublishinggroup.com). Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from Baker Publishing Group.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 A call to be a missionary is much like Abraham's call. It is necessary to leave home, possessions, relatives, worldly ambitions and to go to another country to which God has led. But one can never out-give God. Though Abraham was called to give up much, he was promised much more. God always promises blessings when we obey and follow Him. Hebrews 13:5 says, " Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Much the same thing was said to the people of Israel: "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" ( Deut. 31:6 ). The psalmist said, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed" ( Ps. 37.3 ). God promised to bless Israel, and He promises to bless us when we trust and obey. God's call for us today is that we might be separated unto Him. "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" ( Ps. 84:11 ).

James 1: 1-8 The more often faith is tried, the easier it becomes to endure trials because they produce patience. And through trials, the believer becomes more steadfast in his faith. Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or stress. Patience is the ability to bear pain without complaint, evidencing self-control. In a sense, both of these ideas are involved in the statement of James that "the trying of your faith worketh patience" ( James 1:3 ). The Greek word translated "patience" is made up of two words that literally mean "to remain under." When a person remains under a testing, he endures that testing, and the testing itself produces patience as the believer remains under the burden. Self-control, which is so closely related to patience, is part of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 , 23 . Thus, if we wish to acquire more patience and self-control, it means we will have to endure more testings. Even though the testings are severe, the Christian who has total confidence in Christ can have joy in the midst of the testings. And the patience we develop will enable us to wait until the Lord fulfills His promises to us. Hebrews 10:36 says, "ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer" ( Rom. 12:12 ).

Read Psalm 139:19-22 Many people are bothered by the problem of evil. They say, "If God is a loving and good God, why does He allow evil?" David did not ignore this problem, nor did he give in to it. Instead, he made a decision and took his stand with God. Only our God can permit evil and be able to overrule it to accomplish His purposes. As David confronted the problem of evil in the world, he did so in stages. Stage one: He evaluated (v. 22). David looked at the wicked, violent, blasphemous, deceitful and rebellious crowd. He showed courage and honesty in taking his stand against them. When we start asking ourselves, Is it safe? or, Is it popular? we have moved away from biblical ethics and integrity. Stage two: He grieved (v. 21). God the Father grieves ( Gen. 6:6 ); God the Son grieves ( Mark 3:5 ); and God the Holy Spirit grieves ( Eph. 4:30 ) over sin. We also ought to grieve over sin. When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, he sat and wept ( Neh. 1:4 ). Today, we need people who will sit down long enough to weep over sin. Stage three: He hated (vv. 21,22). We could use a little more holy anger today. Christians sometimes are too bland, too complacent and too comfortable. Edmund Burke said, "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Love and hate are not contradictory when dealing with sin. Jesus showed both compassion toward sinners and hatred of sin. Stage four: He decided (v. 19). David decided to separate himself from evil ( Ps. 119:115 ). We need to stand among sinners as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but we need to have contact without contamination. Stage five: He trusted (v. 19). We must leave vengeance with God; He will punish the wicked ( Rom. 12:19 ). Our job is to give ourselves to Him and do the work He wants us to do. If you fail to make a decision, the world will make it for you. Take your stand with God and use David's experience as a guide for confronting the problem of evil. Determine to live a holy life that honors the Lord. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (bakerpublishinggroup.com). Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from Baker Publishing Group