PASTORS' DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Apr
01
01
Keep Your Word
John Danganan
Scripture
Judges 11:30, “And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering"
Observation
Proverbs 20:25 warns us not to trap ourselves by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. Jephthah made a rash vow to God if God will grant him victory by offering the first thing to walk in the door. Unfortunately for him, his only daughter came in the door dancing with a tambourine for the victory over the Ammonites. Jephthah could have rationalized and pulled the “God will understand” card but he kept his promise and followed through on his vow even at the expense of his only daughter.
Application
Today is the first Friday of the month. A day that I made a vow to God to fast, pray, seek his face and plan for the month. I already made excuses to eat dinner tonight so that I can have “quality time for family dinner”. Often times I made lunch appointments on the first Friday to avoid fasting because “it’s ministry”. I made a commitment to “First Friday Fast” in response to God calling me to discipline myself to godliness and to sharpen my leadership. Even if it was a rash promise to God, it still doesn’t bail me out from fulfilling my promise. Points of Application:
- Tithing: Committed and sacrificial giving to God even when unexpected bills come up.
- Following through on my calendar: exercising 5 days a week, personally following up on church members, sermon prepping and studying.
- Punctuality: Respect myself and the people I made appointments with and be early! Plan ahead and stop making excuses.
- Promises to kids: Whether jumping with them on the trampoline or taking them to the movies—keep my word.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Please forgive me. I am sorry for lying to you and lying to myself in not keeping my vows. I repent and turn away from living a lifestyle of lies. Thank you for speaking to me today. I need your strength to be a man of my word and your grace when I fall short. Please help me the Christ follower, husband, father and pastor that you called me to be. I love you. Our Lord, come!
