TerryLema

Oh, what God has done! He has taken rebels and made them children. He has taken the fallen and raised us up in Christ!

In Ephesians 2:1-10. Paul describes us as dead, dead in our transgressions (sins of commission) and sins (sins of omission). He said we used to follow the ways of the world and the cravings of our own fallen nature influenced by the ruler of the kingdom of darkness. As such we were deserving of nothing more than God’s wrath meted out to us in His justice.

Oh, what God has done! “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” [Ephesians 2:4-6]

Oh, what God has done! He has done for us exactly what He did for Christ Jesus in His Resurrection (made Him alive), Ascension (raised Him up) and Exaltation (seated Him at the Right Hand of the Father).

Oh, what God has done! Now we too are made alive in Christ. We are raised up with Christ. We are seated in Him and with Him in the heavenly realms.

If you have nothing in your life for which to be thankful right now … if you are enduring pain, trouble, hurts, anxieties, confusion, or defeat … remember this!  Oh, what God has done!  You are alive. You are raised up. You are seated at this very moment in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Savior, Lord, and King.

Oh, what God has done! Amen&Amen

John the Apostle, and his brother James, were given a nickname by Jesus, “Boanerges,” which means “Sons of Thunder.” They wanted to command fire from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village that rejected Jesus. [Mark 3:17]

James would be the first Apostle to be martyred after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. John would outlive all the others and die of old age, probably the only one to not be martyred. He would also acquire a new name, John the Beloved. This Son of Thunder was the disciple who rested his head on the chest of Jesus at the Last Supper. He was the one who witnessed the crucifixion and heard Jesus’ words to care for Mary, Jesus’ mother. And John was the one who would write the most about love . . . love for God and love for each other.

Perhaps the most amazing interaction between John and Jesus, however, is found in that first chapter of the Book of Revelation. The Apostle John was given the revelation of what would happen at the end of the ages. He wrote it all down, including what happened when he saw the Triumphant Christ.

John heard a voice and turned. He saw someone he described as “like a son of man,” but this someone was unlike anyone John had ever seen or met. “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” [Revelation 1:12-18]

John’s reaction was to fall at the feet of the KING of Kings as though dead. It was then Jesus touched John and identified Himself, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

John had rested his head on the chest of Jesus when He walked this earth. He had witnessed His crucifixion and ate with Him following His resurrection. He was there when Jesus ascended to His Father, but nothing prepared Him for the Exalted Christ Jesus, His Savior and LORD. I wonder how prepared we will be …?

There is one more realization I experience as I pass so many of the homes in our neighborhood decorated for Halloween. It is not just about “Darkness versus Light” and “Death versus Life,” there is a third truth that comes to mind. Ugly versus Beautiful.

 I pass gruesome masks, skeletons, witches with hideous faces, bloody heads dangling from porches. I see not one thing of beauty connected to this holiday.

Our focus, as believers, is never to be on the ugliness or viciousness that comes with this holiday (or even with this life). Paul was clear when he said that we are to always seek “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” [Philippians 4:8]

I get enough ugliness with the world news I don’t need to be reminded by decorating my house in it. Instead, I take joy in the beauty of God’s creation, the skies, the ocean, the mountains. I take delight in the flowers that bloom, in the bountiful harvests that come in the autumn, in the joy on the face of a child at Christmas. I take comfort in the Words of God’s promises that I find in my Bible. Those are the things on which I dwell.

I find myself praying with the psalmist, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”  [Psalm 27:4]

I want a headstart gazing upon the Beauty of the LORD. I want to dwell in His Presence all the days of my life. I want to spend my time seeking Him in His temple instead of wasting it on an unpleasant holiday. Amen&Amen

As I wrote yesterday, each year I hop right over Halloween and head straight to Thanksgiving. Every time I see a Halloween display, I praise for the goodness of God in my life.

One of the houses that I drive by when I leave our subdivision is decorated with nothing but skeletons and tombstones. When I pass, I praise my LORD for life! My body may one day succumb to a temporary death, but my soul and spirit are going to soar right past that grave and into the beloved arms of my Savior.  And even my old body will one day be transformed!

“Just as we have borne the likeness [the body] of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [our Savior Christ Jesus.” [1 Corinthians 15:42-49]

Our Christianity is all about life! Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” [John 10:10]

Because of all that Jesus did through His sinless life, His death for us on the cross, His resurrection and ascension, and His exchange of His righteousness for our punishment … death has lost its hold on us! We live! We live now in the POWER of God’s Spirit! We will live forever in the PRESENCE of our God!

Even though I am aging, even though I know that one day this temporary body will cease to function, even in these “latter” years of my time on earth, it is never, EVER, about death. It is about the joy of LIFE, about the freedom that is coming!  Halloween can keep its death, skeletons, and tombstones, I am thanking God today for LIFE! Amen&Amen

We are 13 days away from Halloween. Every year when the Halloween stuff hits the stores and yards, I make the same decision – I hop right over Halloween and go straight to Thanksgiving.

What I always notice about this holiday is the atmosphere of darkness. There is so much blackness. Even the celebrating is done at night, after the sun has set. To me, there is enough darkness in this world that creating more (or dressing our children in it) troubles my soul.

As a believer, I am a child of light. I hate the darkness of this world that manifests itself in the ways we treat each other, in arrogance, and greed, in power struggles, hatreds, and prejudices. Evil loves the dark where it thinks it can remain hidden and its sins can have free reign.

As believers, we no longer live in darkness. “You are all [children] of the light and [children] of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” [1 Thessalonians 5:5]

Paul reminds us instead to thank our Father God “who has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [Colossians 1:12-14]

My heart and my soul are forever grateful to God for the light of His Son. I never – EVER – want to abide in that darkness again. Thank you, Precious Savior! Amen & Amen`

I have been married for 21,735 days – and in most of those days I have had to figure out what to have for dinner. Sure, sometimes we ate out, or we ate with family and friends, but the majority were days when I had to prepare something to eat.

After 21,735 days I don’t want to figure out something to eat tonight. Nothing appeals to me anymore. Everything seems boring or tasteless. I’m tempted to start going through all my many cookbooks to see if something interests me … it must be simple (I’m long past recipes that require lots of work) and above all, it must taste good.

That’s why when I came across that verse in Psalm 34 today, it so resonated with me. “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” [Ps 34:8-10]

“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” What a wonderful invitation. God invites us to come to Him and to allow Him to prove His Word for us and in us. He invites us to partake of His promises and His presence just as we would sit down at a sumptuous meal. He tells us that in Him we find plenty. He tells us that if we trust Him, we will lack no good thing.

The more time I spend partaking of the Promises and Presence of my LORD, the less this world’s delights appeal to me. They are like shiny baubles that glitter for a season and then tarnish or waste away. But the Lord, the LORD(!) … He is more precious than silver, more costly than gold, more beautiful than diamonds. And nothing I desire compares with Him. Amen&Amen

Psalm 27 is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It begins, “The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?” 

David must have been experiencing troubles all around him when he wrote it. His troubles drove him to return his focus and desires to the loving protection of His wonderful LORD. As I read it this morning, I changed it just a little bit. I changed the word “whom” to “what.” The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of WHAT shall I be afraid

 It’s been seven years this month since I came back from the doctor with a couple labels for what had been ailing me. Seven years of pain and fatigue being constant companions. Amid the pain I also have, however, a much greater companion, the Goodness of the LORD.

Did you know that the goodness of God is one of the most frequently mentioned attributes in the Scriptures? Perhaps because it’s one of the most needed and cherished by God’s children.

God is the source of all goodness. All goodness comes from and is measured by Him. God would never work circumstances to do evil to His children. In fact, as Romans 8:28 reminds us, it is exactly the opposite; God takes even the worst circumstances and works them for our good.

I never confuse LIFE on this earth with GOD … what happens here is often difficult and trying, but even amid all that, God is always Good. David remembered that also. He ended his song with, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” [vs13]

Amen&Amen

I have always loved the story in Luke 8 of Jesus calming the storm. I’ve always focused on the ending. The disciples were “afraid” of the storm, but when Jesus calmed the storm with His words, they ended up “terrified and amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked each other. ‘When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!’” [vs 25 NLT]

I still love that ending but as I reread it today, I saw two things that made me laugh. The boat was filling with water and the disciples realized that they were really in danger. So, what do they do? They wake up Jesus who had just settled down for a nap. “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” they shouted at him.

When Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and waves, the storm stopped. Then the disciples were amazed and terrified that He was able to stop the storm. I asked myself “Why did they wake Him up if they didn’t expect Him to act. And why then be amazed when He did act?”

Yet isn’t that so like us? Well, maybe so like me! Misery loves company, so when I am miserable, I run to Jesus, but do I really expect Him to calm my storm? I must not because I am too often “amazed” (just like they were) when that is exactly what happens.

I just started to write that “One of my greatest joys is to teach others …” and then realized that it is not just “one of my greatest joys,” it IS my greatest joy to teach others the things of the LORD. I pray every day that I might share with my family, my friends, and others what it means to be a child of the Living God.

Teaching others is a theme in both OT and NT. Moses told the people “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…”  and Jesus told His disciples that “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” [Deuteronomy 6:6, John 14:26-27]

Jesus taught His followers, and His followers taught others through the power and enlightenment of God’s Holy Spirit. We are to be disciples of Christ. We are also to disciple others. That means we are to learn and then teach others the ways of the LORD. That is the cycle of godly discipleship.

I want the very best God has for me. I want to walk in the way that will have the least hindrances for my fellowship with the Living God. But I also want that for others, and that is where I must take what I have learned through God’s Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and share it with those coming after me.

If you want the best and you want what is best for others, then practice discipleship. There is nothing more exciting than to see someone catch the fire of God’s Spirit, His love and mercy in their own lives as you teach them. Amen&Amen

Reading in Zephaniah the other day my spirit was drawn to a passage of warning in Chapter 1. “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent … who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing either good or bad.’”  [vs 12]

A few verses after that Zephaniah begins to describe the “Great Day of the LORD” and what it will mean for those who have not heeded God’s warning. It was verse 12 (above) that prompted two thoughts. The first is that God dislikes (may I say “hates?”) complacency. Complacency is when we become “settled” in our own self-interests and care not for the things of the LORD. It is when we look at the world and others as if they were but a mirror and think “it’s all about how it affects me.”

The second thought is the punishment that comes to those who think the LORD is a “do nothing” God; that He either doesn’t care or doesn’t have the power to do either good or bad. For some people, God is just not on their radar at all. They care nothing for His will, His Presence, nor His commands. They disregard Him as little more than a fable for the gullible or a crutch for the weak.

When Zephaniah goes on in verses 14-19 to describe the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD, it is not a pretty picture. We must be aware that for believers who are longing for Christ’s appearing, the Day of the LORD will be a delight. We eagerly await the pronouncement from Rev 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

But for those who are “complacent” about spiritual matters, for those who have regarded the LORD as a “do nothing” God, the Day of the LORD will be devastating. Oh beloved, let us never grow complacent but let us remain vigilant and always looking for His Coming! Amen&Amen