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TerryLema

A Touch Word

by TerryLema

Obedience.  Tough word.   You can’t get very far into Scripture without realizing a couple things.  One, God desires obedience.  Two, we’re not very good at it.

We have to learn obedience because it does not come naturally to us.

I love two-year-old children.  That stage of development has been labeled the “Terrible Two’s.”  First time parents always seem slightly taken aback by their two-year-old’s.  The perfect, adorable, sweet little infant has for the first time begun to display the sin nature that is inherent in all of us.

Terrible Two’s quickly learn a few words that describe the place where they are in life.  “No!”  “Mine!”  “Me do!”

In adulthood we slightly bigger words to describe the stage we are in. “Rebellion! “Selfishness! “Self-Rule.”  In other words, disobedience.

Just like parents must now begin to teach obedience to their toddlers, so the Lord upon salvation begins to teach us obedience.  Some of the Lord’s commands are easy to obey, others are more difficult.  God will not give up, however, until His love in us is made complete in our obedience.

1 John 3:23-24:   Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us. [HCSB]

 

 

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Partly Cloudy, Mostly Sunny

by TerryLema

What is it about old men and the weather? My husband loves to watch the news when he gets up and always pays special attention to the weather. That weather report, however, seems to disappear from his mind about mid-morning and he asks me “what’s the weather going to be today?”

I have a weather app on my computer and phone, so I will check it (usually several times during the day) and remind him what he can expect, temperature, conditions, rain, wind, etc.

The other morning, checking the weather app, I noticed something I probably never considered before. Sunday was going to be “partly cloudy,” and Monday was expected to be “mostly sunny.”

Huh?  Isn’t that the same thing? What’s the difference between partly cloudy and mostly sunny? Aren’t there clouds on mostly sunny days? And doesn’t the sun shine on the party cloudy days?  I am sure meteorologists have specific guidelines for those definitions, but I doubt the person standing there looking at the skies on Monday and Tuesday can tell the difference between partly cloudy and mostly sunny.

Maybe it all has to do with attitude! When I look at the sky on Monday and Tuesday what will I see, the clouds or the sunshine?

Philippians 4:8-9: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” [HCSB]

 

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It Doesn’t Just Happen

by TerryLema

The moment we trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord we enter into a life of faith.  Salvation is instantaneous.  One moment we are aliens and strangers to the Kingdom of God, the next moment we are “a people belonging to God.”  [I Peter 2:9]

While salvation is instantaneous, it takes a lifetime to understand and incorporate all that it means in our life.  Paul said it this way to his beloved in Philippi: “So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.” [Phil 2:12-13 HCSB]

We have to continue to work out our salvation.  The official term is sanctification.  God wooed us and brought us to the point of salvation, and He doesn’t stop there.  He continues to work in us for His good purpose for our lives.  We now must learn to listen and obey (spiritual maturity) – that is what is meant by working out our salvation.

Even with the indwelling Spirit of God, we will still battle our flesh.  We will still have to repent following those times when we allowed our flesh to rule instead of God’s Spirit.  We still have daily choices that will lead us toward God or away from Him.

Learning to hear and obey God’s voice doesn’t just happen.   It takes a fierce determination and persistence to learn the things of God.  While salvation is all of God, sanctification is a cooperative effort.

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We Had to Celebrate!

by TerryLema

Last Sunday, our Idaho family gathered to celebrate Bob’s and my son-in-love Mike’s birthdays. We had just put the food on the table when this sweet face appeared at our glass-front door. It was our grandson from California. He was followed by our son and daughter-in-love. We had not seen them since last May.

It was a surprise last minute trip for them. They were here Sunday and Monday and are traveling home today.  It was a brief trip but a wonderful surprise. I knew I missed them, but until I saw them, I did not realize how deep that longing was to see them and hold them again.

Luke 15:32:  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.  [NIV]

This is the ending of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  The father was speaking to his eldest son, who didn’t want to see or attend a celebration given for his younger brother – the one who had squandered his inheritance and now had returned home destitute and needy.

The father, however, had never lost hope that his son would return.  He had never stopped loving him and longing to hold him again.  Now that the boy had returned to the father’s embrace it didn’t matter what he had done or where he had gone or how much he had lost.  It only mattered that he was home.

We had to celebrate and be glad ….   The return of the lost demands a celebration.  It commands us to be glad.  Even the angels in heaven rejoice over the return of the lost, and God, Himself, rejoices over them with singing.  [Zephaniah 3:17]

How can we not join in the celebration and be glad, especially when we realize we were the lost and now we are the found?  We are saved!  I love the quote below from A. W. Tozer.  I paraphrase it often that if God never answers another prayer or does another thing for me, it doesn’t matter because He has saved me.  I will be glad!

“Sometimes I go to God and say, “God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and in the ages to come for what Thou hast done already. God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.”   ― A.W. Tozer

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The LORD Reigns!

by TerryLema

I love the word glad.  The Merriam-Webster simple definition is “feeling pleasure, joy, or delight; very willing to do something; causing happiness and joy.”  It also carries the idea of preparedness.

Scripture commands us to be glad. And there are multiple occurrences of that command in our Bibles.

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.’” [1 Chron 16:31 NKJV]

“The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” [Ps 97:1 NIV]

If there is any reason at all to be glad it is this, “The Lord Reigns.”  Heavens are to rejoice.  The earth is to be glad.  Even the distant shores (in Scripture the USA is probably a ‘distant shore’) are rejoicing.

There is no place where the Lord does not reign.  It may not appear to our natural eyes to be so, but it is so.  “And the redeemed of the Lord are to say so!”  [Psalm 107:2 NKJV]

Kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, dictators and despots will all come and go, but the Lord God Almighty still reigns over all of the heavens and the earth.  Whatever the outcome of elections, the Lord reigns.  Whatever freedoms are granted or taken away, the Lord reigns.  Whether abiding in prosperity under good rulers or slavery under evil ones, the Lord reigns.

Just thinking about that today is more than enough to be glad and rejoice!

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A Tweet

by TerryLema

I was reading a response on Twitter that came to my email. I signed up for Twitter years ago for some project that was supposed to happen where I worked.  It never did happen, so I never did much more than sign up and follow a couple people.  I wish someone would teach me how to once again access Twitter and actually do something more than just see a tweet that comes to my email.

Anyway, this tweet was a one short sentence comment on what someone else tweeted. It said: “When politics steal your soul.”

Is that not a commentary on culture in our nation today (and maybe even in our churches today)? Politics of all kinds have stolen our souls.

We are more concerned with proving our points regarding medical approaches to viruses than we are with whether or not people are hearing the truth of the Gospel. And it isn’t just opinions on medical issues, we argue and debate elections, party platforms, our rights, our borders, our nation’s philosophy, and endless other issues—few of which will matter when we stand in the presence of God one day.

All the while we are focused on worldly issues, people are succumbing to the lies of the enemy of our souls. They are starving for truth, but we have none to give them. Our politics have stolen focus from our souls.

Those who were opposed to Jesus tried once to get Him involved in politics when they attempted to get Him to comment on the issue of Roman taxation.  His response was clear, “give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” [Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25 HCSB]

We need to ask ourselves if “Caesar’s” concerns have replaced God’s concerns in our souls. If they have, we must repent and turn back to things of eternal importance.

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82nd

by TerryLema

Today is my husband’s 82nd birthday. In my wildest dreams I never gave a thought to being married to an 82-year-old man, but then I never really gave a thought to being a 75-year-old woman either.  Somehow those thoughts were pushed off into the future.  Well, I guess that future is here now.

Someone asked me the other day how we were doing.  I replied, “Well, we did the ‘for better and worse,’ and the ‘richer and poorer,’ parts, so, I guess now we are doing the ‘in sickness and in health’ part.”

It is hard to ignore the lessons our bodies are teaching us now.  The desires “to do” are still there, but our bodies usually veto the suggestions.  They much prefer watching television to exercise and reading over running. Our eyes see all kinds of things that need done, but our bodies say, “no way are you getting down on that floor!”

There are, however, things we can still do well. We can love each other, our families, and others. We can minister to people through prayer and hugs and lots of smiles.

We can love our God with the same fervency as we did when our bodies were younger and more vital, for loving God comes from our souls. We can work on our attitudes in the power of the Holy Spirit and blaze a way for those who follow us to approach their declining years.

When I think about declining years and limited time left on this earth, I remember Solomon’s words. “He has made everything appropriate (or beautiful) in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts….” [Ecclesiastes 3:11 HCSB]

There is a designated (beautiful) time for everything, even growing older. And God has put eternity in our hearts … we instinctively think of “forever” even when we cannot understand the concept of “forever.” In my heart I am about 35 years old, and I am looking forward to that “forever” when this old body that now refuses to obey me, will be made new “forever.”

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Fortitude

by TerryLema

His mother’s name is Yulia Pisetskaya. We do not know his name, only his age and his courage.  He is 11 years old. He traveled from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, to the Slovakia border, nearly 700 miles. What is so notable is that he traveled alone with only a few possessions in a plastic bag, his passport, and the phone number of relatives in Slovakia written on his hand.

He and his family lived close to the nuclear plant that came under attack from Russian forces. In desperation his mother sent him off on his own. She herself was unwell and was taking care of her disabled mother and could not travel with him.

If I had to describe that young man (and his mother), I would use one word, fortitude.  Fortitude means courage in pain or adversity.

From what I understand, this young men began on a train, was on a bus, and walked. People along the way, along with the border guards, aided him in finding his family. Still, what courage it must have taken to say goodbye to your mother and travel nearly 700 miles in the midst of war. And what courage his mother must have had to send her 11-year-old son on his trip alone.

The Scriptures have a lot to say about being courageous. As people of the LORD, we are to face the adversities of this world with fortitude. Right before His death, Jesus reminded His disciples that an hour was coming when they would be scattered and leave Him alone.  “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” [John 16:33 HCSB]

Initially when Jesus was betrayed, His disciples were not so courageous, but following His resurrection and ascension, fortitude invaded their souls in the power of God’s Spirit, and they faced whatever this world threw at them with great courage.

Now it is our turn to display that same courage and fortitude.

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Come

by TerryLema

I often find that when I choose a Scripture for a daily devotion theme, that verse or theme will come as one of my daily verses within the next few days. When I would do a sermon, that same thing often happened. I would find other pastors using the same theme in their sermons. When the Spirit speaks to the church, His message is always consistent.

Last Sunday night as I was falling asleep, I hear the LORD say, “Come, everyone who is thirsty.”

That, of course, is from Isaiah 55:1: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” [HCSB]

And guess which verse appeared in my Monday Morning daily verse email. Yep, Isaiah 55:1.

In Isaiah 55, the Spirit of God sends out an invitation to Israel to return to Him. If they come, they will receive blessings upon blessings. The invitation, however, is not limited to Israel alone. God’s call to come is to “everyone,” with that one qualification – “everyone who is thirsty.”

There is refreshing that you can buy without money and without cost, but you must be thirsty. To be thirsty is to have a consciousness of need. It is to know that you have nothing – that you are poor and destitute. Jesus said it this way, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28 HCSB]

We will not come if we think the things of this world will satisfy us.  We will not come if we will not acknowledge our thirst or need.

Oh, LORD, I am thirsty for the refreshing water of Your Spirit. Fill me, LORD!

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Attitudes

by TerryLema

I was born in 1946. That is the beginning year of the Baby Boomer era. It means I was born shortly after WWII. Images of war and the Holocaust dominated my early years. Despite that, I never thought I would see a World War III. Now I am not as sure.

Putin’s war against Ukraine (with threats of action against anyone who actively aids Ukraine) beside what is now being labeled an “economic war” have added up to a legitimate threat of a new global conflict.  It would not be hyperbole to say that most things are now out of our control.

That leads to a question, “So what is in our control?”  The answer, “Our attitudes.”

God directs a list of commands regarding our attitudes in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” [HCSB]

While maintaining these attitudes consistently is challenging, it is not impossible. God, through the power of His Spirit within us will empower us to do so. These attitudes enable us to hold on to God in the midst of difficult and uncertain times. They keep us from being discouraged and self-involved.

When we rejoice, pray, and give thanks always, we participate actively in God’s will for us. And being in the center of God’s will is realizing an awesome security that cannot be found in this world.

So will we have a WWIII? Maybe. Maybe not. Will we sink under the weight of economic disaster? Maybe. Maybe not.

Will we find awesome security in God if we obey His commands to “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything?”  That’s a resounding and eternal YES!

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