Brother Michael's Devotional

Genesis 8:6-9a "And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark..."


Here Noah is attempting to discern how much the flood waters have gone down. He first sent out a raven. The raven flew over the waters and spied the carcasses left by the flood. To the raven these dead creatures left over from God's judgment were exactly what he wanted so he stopped and had a meal. After seven days the raven had not returned so Noah sent out a dove. Now the dove was not satisfied with a world under judgment full of dead things so she returned to the ark.
The child of God has two natures. One similar to the raven is an old nature that we all have inherited from Adam. It is often referred to as the flesh or the old man in the New Testament and is satisfied by the things of this world.
The other nature similar to the dove can not find rest in this world. She can only find rest at one place, the ark, and the ark speaks of Christ. This nature is often spoken of in the New Testament as the spirit or the new man.
Now here lies the problem. These two natures are diametrically opposed to each other. The fifth chapter of Galatians states, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..." And worse still the new nature is powerless in this body of flesh, "...so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Galatians 5:17b
Is our situation hopeless? No, for God has not left us comfortless, He has sent us the Holy Spirit. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16
Friend, you and I are to have no confidence in this flesh of ours. It can never please God and we are to reckon it crucified. Now that we are dead to the flesh we can live in the Spirit.
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:24,25

Brother Michael's Devotional

II Peter 2:16b "...the dumb ass speaking with man's voice..."


Do you have a pastor? Does he at times upset you? Pastors can be stubborn, pushy and meddling. Some times they can hurt our feelings by their actions.
Why is your pastor so hard headed at times? It may be God's doing. In Ezekiel 3:8,9a the LORD said to Ezekiel "Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead:"
Why did the Lord give Ezekiel this hard head? Ezekiel 2:3,4 gives us the explanation "And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiff hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD." The reason God made Ezekiel so hard headed is because the people were so stiff hearted.
Friend, this may be strong medicine, but let us not allow our pride to get in the way of hearing from God. God is in the business of communicating His word through a man of God led by the Spirit of God. Do not allow the fact that your pastor may act like a donkey cause you not to hear God speaking through him.
Romans 10:14 "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"