Author

TerryLema

Me?

by TerryLema

In 2 Peter 1:4, we find an amazing phrase that raises us into the heavens … we are given the precious promise that we may, “participate in the divine nature.”  If you read yesterday’s devotion you know that does not mean we become God – not going to happen. There is a vast difference between the All-Sufficient One, Creator of all things, and the things He created!

It does, however, mean that as Adam was made in the image of God, so we too by the power of God’s Spirit are made in the image of our LORD and Savior, Christ Jesus (the Second Adam).

As God is love, so are we. As God is true and good, so are we. But there is even more glory contained in those five little words.

We have been made members of the body of Christ. As in the natural body, the same blood that flows in the head flows through the body. The same life that raised Christ from the dead, resurrects us. We are made alive in His divine nature. How this all works is beyond my human finite comprehensive. That it does work is testified to by the Spirit of God in me.

Should that not cause us to reflect His divine nature in every action of our life? Should not those who are around us see the “Jesus in me?” Should that not cause us to fall to our knees in worship?

When I consider such things, I always come back to the thought, “Why me, God? Why would you call me to Your side, knowing what I am?”

I don’t know the answer to that question any more today than I did 50 years ago. But I love my LORD more every time I ask the question.  Amen.

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Participation

by TerryLema

There are phrases in Scripture, a short blend of common words, that when seen with spiritual eyes take our breath away. They raise us into the heavenlies with our thoughts, they conform our attitudes and renew and restore our hope.  I mentioned one such phrase yesterday … “useful to the Master.”

Those few little words open us up to endless possibilities. As I was considering that phrase, I accidentally came across another … perhaps one even more amazing. It is found in 1 Peter: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”  [1:3-4]

Did you see it tucked away in those verses?  Five little words that carry a depth of meaning that changes everything. We have been given the promise that we may, “participate in the divine nature.”

That of course does not mean that we become God. That just won’t happen. There is a vast difference between the Creator and His Creation.  But it does mean that as our father Adam was made in the image of God, so we too as we are in Christ Jesus (the Second Adam) and renewed by the Holy Spirit, are also made in the image of God. This is totally a work of God, given to us through grace.

How is that reflected in our life? Certainly not by mere assertion or by arrogance.

As God is love, we become love. As God is truth, we become true. As our God is a Good Father, we are made good by His goodness.  As God is holy and pure, we become pure in heart. Yes, partakers in the divine nature. All that Jesus is, by His strength, power and authority should be reflected in our every word and action.

But there is even more. That will have to wait for tomorrow. God bless!

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Irrelevant

by TerryLema

Someone asked me once what my greatest fear of growing old would be. I replied, “becoming irrelevant.”   I want to be useful to God while I have breath. I do chuckle, however, because I’ve come to realize that I will remain useful –even if it is only to give others an opportunity to practice patience with old folks!

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he reminded him that the LORD knows those who are His own. He also reminded Timothy that anyone who confesses the LORD Jesus as Savior must acknowledge the Savior as LORD by turning away from wickedness.  [2:19]

When we acknowledge Jesus as Savior and LORD, with both our words and actions, Paul says we will then “be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” [2:21]

That is a most delightful image … “useful to the Master.”  

Useful. In the Greek the word is euchrestos, it means “easily used, profitable.”  It comes from a root word which means “useful in manners or morals.”

To think that the God of all the Universe, the Creator of all things, the Mighty God, would look upon us as useful is amazing. Even more that we could be considered profitable to Him Who is Totally Self-Sufficient!

As I said earlier, I want to be useful to God as long as I have breath remaining!  That means that I must not only confess that Christ Jesus is Savior and LORD, but I must also turn from sin and live holy and wholly unto Him.

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There’s More!

by TerryLema

Let’s be honest, there is a lot more to being a disciple of Christ Jesus than merely saying some words or believing that there is a God. You can talk about the “man upstairs” or the “big guy in the sky,” but if your life does not change, if your actions do not reflect the life of Christ Jesus, I wonder if “accepting Christ” was a true conversion.

We have trivialized the path of salvation. We have made it an acknowledgement of words alone in many cases, without reminding people there is a cost to serving the LORD.  After Paul reminded Timothy in his second letter that “The LORD knows those who are his,” he added. “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” [2 Tim 2:19]

Notice that little word “must” If you have confessed Christ as your Savior, there “must” be a life-style change that reflects Him as LORD.

God spoke to Isaiah about the condition of the nation of Israel and He was not pleased with them: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” [29:13]

Jesus quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:6, using Isaiah’s verse as a warning to those He had labeled “hypocrites.”

I know I fail God regularly—in my attitudes, when I doubt, when I sin—but I pray that I will always heed the conviction of His Spirit to turn and repent. I want my heart to never stray far from God.

Failing is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is pretending Christ is our LORD (by our words) but refusing to honor Him in our hearts and actions.  It would be a terrible thing to be labeled a hypocrite by our God.

Father, keep our hearts tender before you. May our actions honor You even more than our words.

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The LORD Knows

by TerryLema

One of the most comforting Scriptures for me is found in 2 Timothy 2:19: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his.’”

Many commentators link this verse to Numbers 16 in the OT.  Paul, of course, was an OT scholar, one of the best. He would have remembered the incident Moses had with Korah. Korah, a Levite, along with some Reubenites (Dathan, Abiram and On) rose up against Moses. They convinced 250 other men to join them.

When Moses was confronted, he fell down on his face, and then said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him.” [vs5]

The LORD definitely showed the Israelites who belonged to Him when the ground split apart and swallowed up Korah and the rebels.

When I pastored there were times when people died that I just did not know about their spiritual condition. I cannot read hearts. Thankfully, God can. He knows if they accepted His salvation with their dying breath. He knows the state of their heart and the state of their minds when they stand before Him. I can trust Him to always do what is right by each of us.

What I would say to all, however, is to not leave anyone in doubt of your salvation. Make sure your family, your friends know that “you are His.” Don’t leave any to worry what your final destination is at your passing!

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Privilege?

by TerryLema

Recently I was thinking about the privilege we have of ministering for Christ Jesus in every season of our life. As I thought about that privilege, I remembered another Scripture about a different kind of privilege. It’s not one we embrace as readily.

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” [Phil 1:29-30]

It has been given, or granted, to us on behalf of Christ the privilege to not just believe but also to suffer. Ah, privilege is not necessarily the word I would have chosen. The word Paul chose was charizomai and it comes from the word we usually see translated as grace.  Charizomai means to grant as a favor, or we might say privilege.

Suffering is a universal experience. Everyone at some point will likely suffer from something. But the kind of suffering mentioned here is not the common suffering of mankind, it is a special suffering done “on behalf of Christ.” The privilege of believing on Him means we might also be called to suffer for Him.

Jesus reminded his disciples multiple time that a student is not greater than his teacher, nor a servant greater than his master.  “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” [John 15:20]

Jesus’ suffering was unique in that He suffered and died for our sins … that is finished. Our suffering for Him is because we now testify that He is Savior and LORD. We testify that there is one way to the Father. There are many in this world who welcome that testimony, and there are many who do not. When our testimony of Christ is rejected, that rejection may also be accompanied by ridicule, denunciation, discrimination, and yes, even persecution.

When those things happen, it is wise to remember what Paul wrote, that while it is not something we seek, it is a privilege to suffer on behalf of our Master.

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Seasons of Life

by TerryLema

Lately I have been thinking more about the seasons of our life. We are each in differing seasons of life. Some of us are right where we want to be. Some of us are not. Some don’t particularly like where they are now, they want it to be different, something new or exciting; or they want it to be what it used to be. 

 

A verse in Ecclesiastes 9:10 helped me through a particularly difficult season of life: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” 

 

That verse carried me through what some have described as a “dark night of the soul.” It was a time when I could not sense God’s presence at all. I did not hear His voice. The heavens felt like brass when I prayed. I had no friend nor family near me. I had left a ministry I loved and had nothing to take its place. I wondered what I had done wrong to be where I was at that point in time.

 

But I did what the verse in Ecclesiastes 9:10 commanded. When I saw a need, I tried to fill it. When I saw someone struggling, I spoke about the love and beauty of the LORD. I don’t think anyone knew what was going on in my own soul then—I felt that this was between the LORD and me.

 

I somehow knew that if I remained faithful to “do what my hand found with all my might,” one day the dawn would break, and that dark night would be over.  And, of course, it did. 

 

We may not be where we want to be at this moment – maybe yearning for something new and exciting or desperately wanting to go back to when things were different – but we can be assured that wherever we are, God is with us.

 

We just need to do whatever our hand finds to do – with all our might!

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Joy

by TerryLema

Today is our youngest son’s birthday.  At the time, Bob had just decided to go out on his own as an underground contractor in California. That meant that unlike with our first two children, this time we had no insurance. We were living in an 800 square foot century-old home, about half of that footage was laundry, pantry, and kitchen. The rest was divided between a living room, two small bedrooms and a bath. There wasn’t much room for a third child.

We squeezed a small bassinette in our bedroom. I told God this baby would need to be a little girl, one that would fit in that bassinette for a few months while we figured out where we could put a crib. We even had a name for this “little” girl, Joyce Rene, after Bob’s aunt and my uncle.  We were going to call her Joy.

When our son was born, he weighed 9lbs 4ozs and was 22 inches long. He filled the bassinette the day we brought him home.  We hadn’t even agreed on a boy’s name we were that certain he would be a she.

While God did not heed our idea of what we thought we needed, He gave us so much more. We named him Dan, but truthfully, we could have called him Joy, as that is what he was. He had none of the difficulties and physical problems of our first two children. He seldom cried. He smiled, laughed, and brought a joy into our lives that we didn’t even know we were missing.

I am so thankful that God gave us what we needed, not what we thought we needed. The Scripture reminds us to not be anxious about anything, but “in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” [Philippians 4:6-7]

I would remind us to be prepared though, because what we ask for might not be what God knows we need … but what we get from Him will be so much more joyful than we even imagined. 

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Weighed Down

by TerryLema

I am in that part of my Yearly Bible Reading Plan where I’m reading the book of Jeremiah. I am amazed at how much of Jeremiah can be applied to contemporary culture.  Yesterday as I read, I came across a definition of old age (my contemporary culture), “the old, those weighed down with years.”  [Jeremiah 6:11]

Having gained entry into that group labeled “old,” I can verify that definition is quite accurate. Each year leaves a weight on my body. I laugh sometimes when I get up wondering what new ache I might experience today, or what part of me isn’t working quite as well today as yesterday. The other night as I headed for bed, I had warm compresses on my eyes, an ice pack on my neck, and was putting on my copper-fit knee sleeves because the weather was changing. I have become my grandmother!

Yep, each year seems to add a little more weight in the sense that my body feels just a bit heavier, no matter how hard I try to keep it otherwise.  My body is aging, becoming weighed down a little more as the years pass. But, let me be perfectly clear, that’s just my body, and only my body.

As my body is becoming heavier, I am also experiencing a lightness to my soul and spirit. I soar more often with the LORD, my praise and worship of my Savior and LORD is deeper and more profound. I sense God’s presence more often.  I care less what people think and care more about what my LORD thinks of me.

If I look ahead at what the next years hold in this life, I see increasing weakness and eventual frailty. But if I look ahead with spiritual eyes, I see strength and glory and an eternal home where all pain and weakness and tears and death are banished forever.

I am living each day in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Thank you, LORD JESUS. Amen & Amen

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A Bruised Reed

by TerryLema

I had been reading through Isaiah the past few days when I came to this passage.

Isaiah 42:1-4: “This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or shout or make His voice heard in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick; He will faithfully bring justice. He will not grow weak or be discouraged until He has established justice on earth. The islands will wait for His instruction.” [HCSB]

As I read that passage, I remembered something Pastor Laura said a few Sunday’s ago about false “little-g” gods and those who serve them – that they are always having to work to appease them, always having to strive to make them happy.

To serve those false “little-g” gods a person must be strong. They can never let down their guard or show any weakness or they will lose the attention of their god.

Our LORD and Savior is so different. He will not destroy one who is desperately broken (a bruised reed), nor snuff out one who has only a little bit of faith (a smoldering wick). He will not even shout to make His voice heard above all the babble in the streets.

But He will faithfully care for His own. He will provide justice without growing weak. He will not even become discouraged in His work to permanently establish justice on this earth.

As I thought about those “little-g” gods who demand so much and compared them to our LORD and Savior, my heart was so comforted. As I age, as I grow weaker in my body, I am comforted knowing that my God will lift me up and carry me until that day I enter into His eternal presence.

 

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