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TerryLema

Loss

by TerryLema

I have been fussing a little lately. And I know I have been fussing a little lately. I even know why I have been fussing a little lately – and that is over the loss of physical capabilities.

When I was younger, I never gave much thought to being able to do things. I walked where I wanted to go. I could lift heavy pans of water and cast-iron skillets. I did not need a cane for balance. I could go up and down stairs without having to concentrate on each one.  I could get on the floor and get right back up.

I did not give a thought to my physical capabilities – until I lost them.

Loss: “The act or fact of being unable to keep or maintain something or someone.” [Merriam-Webster]

I mentioned a while back that whenever I am in a difficult situation, I pray the 23 Psalm in my mind. As I was fussing lately, God brought back just one verse. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.” [Psalm 23:5}

Loss is an enemy. Loss is part of the curse of sin and death. While both have been conquered by Christ Jesus on the cross, we are waiting to see the ultimate fulfillment of that victory when we see Him face-to-face. We are yearning for His return so that death (and all its associated loss) will forever be gone.

While we wait, our Beloved Good Shepherd sets a table of abundance for us before our enemies. He comforts us with anointing oil as we “fuss” in our waiting. Our cup of grace and mercy truly overflows.

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Our LORD God Reigns!

by TerryLema

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For [our] Lord God Omnipotent reigns!’” [Revelation 19:6 NKJV]

I just checked out the headlines on my on-line news source.

  • Inflation
  • 5 Warning Signs a Recession May Be Closer Than You Think
  • Precautions the Government Has Advised to Arrest the Spread of Tomato Flu

(Your God and my God is Still on the Throne)

  • Experts Urge Americans to Access Home Equity Before It’s Too Late
  • Sure Signs You have Prostate Cancer, Say Physicians
  • The “Social Security Fairness Act” is Unfair

(Your God and my God is Still Omnipotent/Almighty)

  • Texas Drought Means More Cattle Facing Slaughter
  • High Attrition Rates Cause Alarm Bells in the Market
  • Worried About the Market, It’s Just One of the 5 Big Perils Retirees Face

(Your LORD and my LORD, Our God the Omnipotent Still Reigns)

I could go on. There were far more ugly occurrences in the news that I ignored. And I am sure there are also things in our own personal life that we could add to a list – but STILL

Nothing in the world, nothing in our own lives, can change the absolute truth that the Lord God Omnipotent Reigns! Allelujah!

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The LORD is in His Holy Temple

by TerryLema

I had a sleepless night recently. I drifted off to sleep my usual time, 9 PM, but was up at 10:30 PM, 12:30 AM, and 2 AM. I decided at 2 AM to try sleeping in the recliner. Stayed about an hour when I concluded that was not going to work, so headed back to bed. After fussing in bed for a while, I just got up. 3:30 AM. Not quite wide awake, but still unable to sleep.

sent out and posted my devotions. And then I just sat there. The house and neighborhood were quiet. That is a rarity.

As I focused on the quiet, I heard the Spirit whisper … “The Lord is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence.” [Habakkuk 2:20 HCSB]

I obeyed the Spirit of God. I kept silent. I leaned in to hear what the LORD might whisper to me in that silence [as He whispered to Elijah in the cave.] [1Kings 19]

What profound truths would He reveal? What great and mighty directives might He give? I heard one word, “comfort.”

I was coming off a difficult week. The enemy of my soul had roughed me up pretty good that week. I thought I had failed a friend, failed the LORD as well. I had allowed some anxiety in, and a bit of depression was creeping around the corner. I had battled, rebuked, and done everything I thought I needed to do.  Everything but one thing.

I had not allowed the LORD to comfort me. God wanted to give me His comfort, but I would not let Him. I did not feel worthy of it.  Until that early morning when I could not sleep, too tired to fight, He reminded me in the quiet before dawn that He is in His Holy Temple.

Amen & Amen

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The Just Judge

by TerryLema

So often I hear people demanding justice. They want wrongs made right. They want to see the ones who pervert the law held accountable. There is something in us that looks for someone to stand up against the evil that too often reigns in this life.

Did you know there is a Psalm about “The Just Judge?” It is Psalm 94, and it is a cry out to the “LORD, God of vengeance” to appear and repay the proud and wicked what they deserve. As I was reading it this morning in the HCSB, I came across two startling translations of verses 8 and 20.

Verse 8 demands of those who think God does not see their wickedness to “Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise.”

Verse 20 speaks of those in authority who band together to condemn the righteous and the innocent. “Can a corrupt throne (government)—one that creates trouble by law—become Your ally?”

Wow! I would say that it looks like we have not learned a lot down through the centuries. Fools still deny God. Corruption is still prevalent in those who rule.

But I hate to end on that note, so I will remind you also of the promise of God found in Psalm 94:18-19. “If I say, ‘My foot is slipping,’ Your faithful love will support me, LORD. When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.”

Just a reminder, no matter what we see flourish around us (fools or corruption), our God is still on the throne, still supporting us with His faithful love, still singing over us with joy!

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Hate

by TerryLema

For decades Bob and I moved a lot. Because of that we did not accumulate “stuff.” But since we moved into this house in Caldwell in 2007, that pattern changed. I have a lot of stuff, much of which I do not need. I have been trying to rid this house of things I do not need, nor use, so that my kids will not have to do it one day.

A few months ago, I found a container in the garage. When I looked inside, I found all my old journals and a few books that I called “JoyBooks” where I would jot down sayings, jokes, and where I kept old comics and cards that I received in the 1990’s. I threw away the journals but kept the JoyBooks.

I have been posting things out of my JoyBooks on Facebook each day. The other day I found the following quote attributed to Booker T. Washington.

“I am determined to permit no man to narrow or degrade my soul by making me hate him.”  

We know that God is love. We know that we are to love God and allow Him to love us. We know we are to love not only our friends but also our enemies. Why? Because “love builds up.” [1 Corinthians 8:1 HCSB]

Love edifies others. It builds them up. And it builds us up as we exercise it. Hate, however, tears down. It degrades our own souls even more than those we aim it towards. Wonder why our culture is in such danger? One reason may be that we are allowing hate to flourish and degrade the soul of our society.

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In the Year That …

by TerryLema

“In the year that ….” That phrase opens up the distinguished and familiar Chapter 6 of Isaiah. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple ….”

Isaiah saw the LORD, and heard the Seraphim calling to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.” [vs3]

King Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah. He became king at the age of 16 and reigned for 52 years. He was an innovative and intelligent king and under him the nation prospered. He made a personal mistake in his later years when he tried to usurp duties that belonged only to priests (and died a leper), still he is regarded as a good and godly king.

As I read that opening verse, I wondered what there was about the death of King Uzziah that led to the vision of the LORD. Did Isaiah note that simply to record the date? Or was there something else that caused him to note that his marvelous vision that also signaled his commission to “go” was in the year King Uzziah died?

While the date is recorded as 736BC, King Uzziah death brought an end to the prosperity and wellbeing that the nation had enjoyed under him. Uncertainty and threats filled the horizon creating anxiety among the people. The Assyrians were becoming powerful creating fearful times.

Perhaps it was the weight of what Isaiah saw happening to his nation that drove him to the temple where he was confronted by God and commissioned to “Go!”.

Perhaps it will be the weight of what we see happening in our nation that will drive us to the temple where we will be confronted by God and commissioned to “Go!”?

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Be Careful Little Eyes

by TerryLema

I opened up my daily verse the other day and immediately began to sing a song that my kids learned in Sunday School. It began, “O be careful little eyes what you see, O be careful little eyes what you see, For the Father up above, is looking down in love, So, be careful little eyes what you see.”

The song goes on from there to remind children to be careful with their ears, tongue, hands, feet, heart and mind.

The verse for that day was from Psalm 16:8 and it was delivered in the NIV translation. “I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” 

I looked it up in my HCSB Bible and it read just a bit differently. “I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

When I looked a little further, I found that the word translated as “my eyes,” and “in mind,” literally means “in front of me.”

We have often heard the saying that “the eyes are the windows to the soul,” meaning that often a person’s emotions and vulnerabilities can be seen in the eyes. But this morning, as I read the verse and sung that little song in my head, I realized that windows work both ways. You can see in through them, but you can also see out through them.

The world may see through the eyes into the soul, but as the Psalmist and the song reminds us, we can take the world into our soul through our eyes. We need to be careful what we view with our eyes. We must always keep our eyes (and minds) on the LORD so that we are not “shaken” by this world.

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Unlikely Source

by TerryLema

The amazing Gospel of John, sometimes referred to as the “Spiritual Gospel,” often lifts us into the heavenlies. It is an awesome view of Christ Jesus that opens with the divine genealogy of Jesus as the “Word” who was with God and was God. It also contains many analogies that are made as “I AM” declarations that provide an understanding of Jesus’ ministry.

It is different from the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) in many ways. It omits much of what the other Gospels cover and covers some things the other Gospels omit.

One striking event that we find only in the synoptic Gospels is when Jesus questioned His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” along with Peter’s response, “You are the Messiah.” [Matthew 16:15-16, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20)

John records a different response of the ultimate declaration of who Jesus is. We find that in John 20.

Following the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. They were gathered together behind locked doors in fear of the Jews. Suddenly Jesus was among them. He showed them His hands and His side, and it says, “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

Unfortunately, one of the disciples was missing. Thomas (called “Twin) was not with them when Jesus came.  He heard what the others said about Jesus’ visit, but he proclaimed, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

He wanted to see and touch what the others had seen. After eight days, Jesus came again and gave Thomas his desire. Upon seeing Jesus, it is Thomas’ response that is the summit of John’s Gospel.  “My LORD and my God!”

We call him “Doubting Thomas.” Yet his revelation of the true nature of Jesus stands out from the other Gospel’s account of the resurrection. The other Gospels recount the events of the resurrection, they report of the joy of His followers and record Jesus’ instructions, but only Thomas proclaims Jesus as Who He truly is.

“Our LORD and our God!”

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by TerryLema

The Gospel of John is so amazing. Awesomely amazing!  It has been referred to as the “Spiritual Gospel.”

It begins with the divine genealogy of Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1]

That first chapter proclaims that “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [vs 14 HCSB]

John’s Gospel also records seven “I AM” statements that further our understanding of Jesus’ ministry in the world. They link Jesus to the OT revelation God gave to Moses as the “I AM WHO I AM.”  [JEHOVAH/YAHWEH]

“I am the bread of life.” [John 6]

“I am the light of the world.” [John 8]

“I am the door.” [John 10]

“I am the good shepherd.” [John 10]

“I am the resurrection and the life.” [John 11]

“I am the way the truth and the life.” [John 14]

“I am the true vine.” [John 15]

But even though Jesus applies God’s name to Himself in John 8:58 and John 18:4-5, it is not until the end of the book that we find the ultimate declaration of who Jesus is. And it comes from an unlikely source, in a surprising way.

More tomorrow

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Friend

by TerryLema

When David was old and advanced in years (as the Scriptures record in the closing chapters of 1Chronicles), he set out preparations for the Temple of the LORD that Solomon would build. He made plans and accumulated much of the materials that would be used.

He also set up the Divisions of the Levites and Priests. He named those who would be musicians, gatekeepers, treasurers, and other officials. Just before the Scriptures record his commission to Solomon, David lists those closest to him.

“Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.” [1 Chronicles 27:33 HCSB]

Most of us know little about Hushai the Archite except that through it all, he remained loyal to David. When Absalom, David’s son attempted to grab the kingdom for himself, it was the counsel of Hushai to the usurper Absalom that saved the kingdom for David. [2 Samuel 16-17]

As I came across Hushai’s name in those final chapters of 1Chronicles, and read David’s description of him, I was reminded of something Jesus said to His own.

“I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father.” [John 15:15 HCSB]

To be a friend of the king. I cannot imagine anything more precious or breathtaking. I thought of that Book of Life, when the names of the redeemed are read, that perhaps beside each name will be written, “the king’s friend.”

 

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