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TerryLema

One More Time

by TerryLema

I enjoy sports. I enjoy most all sports so when the Olympics roll around, I usually watch. I like the summer games best but also enjoy the winter ones which are going on now. I like the backstories almost more than the actual events.

Recently snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis won the first gold medal for the USA at the Beijing Winter Olympics. I watched her race, and it was great, but Lindsey’s backstory is even greater.  Her snowboard cross win and her personal first Olympic gold medal came at the age of 36 years, in her fifth Olympic appearance.

Lindsey first appeared in the 2006 Winter games, and despite a brutal fall, claimed a silver medal. Following that auspicious start, she came in fifth in 2010, seventh in 2014, and fourth in 2018.

“It doesn’t define you,” she said when asked what message she’d send to younger racers about mistakes of the past. “Especially if you’ve made it to this stage, you’re a winner. And look at what you’ve learned from the experience and take that with you later in life.”

Mistakes do not define you.  Failures do not define you. Jesus defines you. So run like a winner because you are!

Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance [perseverance] the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. [HCSB]

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Happy Birthday Abe!

by TerryLema

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (2/12/1809-4/15/1865). Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.  Born into poverty and self-educated, he became a lawyer and statesman. He led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was purportedly asked if God was on his side. He replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side, my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

Those words present a significant challenge.  Too often we plan and prepare and then ask God to bless what we have planned and prepared. Sometimes we act without thought and expect God to walk through our foolishness and protect us.

He loves us, so He is by our side even when we expose ourselves to danger or act without thinking—just as we protect our children. But Lincoln’s words remind us that we should consult with God before we act and make sure we are on His side (in other words, in His will).

 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” [Romans 12:2 HCSB]

Everything in this age is geared to short-circuit that “Consult God First” action. This age wants us to be reactive, rash, hurried and self-absorbed. God wants us to take the time to actively renew our mind through His word. He wants us to discover His good, pleasing, and perfect will before we act.

That is the only way to know decisively that we are “on God’s side.”

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Disclaimer

by TerryLema

When I first started reading my Bible through each year back in the 80’s, I used an outline that had me reading the Psalms and Gospels twice, the rest of the books of the Bible once. I also read five Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs each day. I fell in love with the songs of Scripture. I am still in love with the songs of Scripture.

I woke to Psalm 59 this morning. It is a song of David and it was written when Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.

The main them of the song is a cry for deliverance. It begins, “Deliver me from my enemies, my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.” [HCSB]

David’s description of his enemies throughout the song is vivid, but it is the ending that gets me every time. It begins in verse 16, and it begins with that word “but.”

“But” is a disclaimer of everything preceding it because of what follows it.

“But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in the day of trouble. To You, my strength, I sing praises, because God is my stronghold—my faithful God.” [vs 16-17 HCSB]

The enemies may have been prowling around outside waiting to do him harm, but David was safe inside the stronghold of His Faithful God.

And so are we! Amen

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Lead Me to the Rock

by TerryLema

I have been reading the songs of King David. We need to learn to pray as David prayed, sing as he sang, worship as he worshipped, and yes, even dance as he danced—with abandon. (If you get a chance today, read Psalm 61.)

Ps 61:2-3: I call to You from the ends of the earth when my heart is without strength. Lead me to a rock that is high above me, for You have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy. HCSB]

David had a wonderful way of expressing his deepest thoughts, his circumstances, and his emotions. He never seemed to be afraid to admit to such things as, my heart grows faint. Yet his prayers seem to always contain petitions for a closer walk with God, as well as praise and worship and remembrance for all God had done.

David’s petition – lead me to a rock that is high above me.

David’s praise and worship – For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy.

 David’s petition is to be led. He didn’t want to follow his own path, but to instead take the path God would give to bring him to solid ground. God had been David’s refuge before. He had provided protection from his enemies. David knew that God would always be there to lead and to protect.

Our hearts must be open like David’s—open to the leading of the Lord.

God will not drag us down the pathway to the Rock, but He will lead. We must have hearts willing to follow.

 

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The Throne of Grace

by TerryLema

“Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.” [Hebrews 4:16 HCSB]

The beginning of Hebrews is an admonition to not allow a pattern of unbelief and disobedience to take up residence in our hearts.

In the middle of the chapter, the writer reminds us that the written Living Word of God is able to discern when that happens. And that our Living WORD, Christ Jesus our LORD, is also able to scrutinize our hearts and see if what is there matches our words and actions.

The writer also reminds us that the Living WORD understands our weaknesses. He walked this earth and was tested in the same way we are. He grieved, He cried, He suffered loss, He died. He not only reveals our weakness, but He also knows them and understands them. He is sympathetic to us.

The end of Hebrews 4 is an invitation to approach the Throne of Grace. To come with a confidence that we will receive the mercy and grace that we need to help us.

We do not come arrogantly, as if we deserved this invitation, we come with a quiet assurance that we will be welcomed because Christ Jesus our High Priest sacrificed Himself for us. He opened the way to the Throne of Grace.

Warning, scrutiny, sympathy and finally an avenue to grace and mercy.  Thank you Jesus! Amen

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The Understanding Savior

by TerryLema

After the opening passage on unbelief in Hebrews 4, the writer issues two strong warnings. First that the written Living Word of God is able to discern any pattern of unbelief and disobedience in our lives. It can tell the difference between what is in our hearts and what our words and actions proclaim.

Also, our Living LORD, Christ Jesus, to whom we will one day give an account of our lives, is able to discern everything about us. Nothing is hidden from Him. He sees it all. He knows it all.

If the writer had stopped there, we might be left in a state of hopelessness, but he did not. He goes on to remind us that we have an understanding Savior, our heavenly High Priest.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” [Hebrews 4:14-15 HCSB]

Biblical high priests were held to a higher standard of holiness than the rest.  Their main duty was to make sacrifice for the people’s sins on the yearly Day of Atonement.

As Believers, we have the ultimate High Priest. He Himself was our sacrifice, taking on our sins and the punishment for them.  Not only that, but because He walked this dusty earth the same as us, and was tested as we are, He is our sympathetic High Priest.

The Living Word of God (Scripture), and the Living WORD (Christ Jesus our LORD) scrutinize us. They reveal to us the depths of our heart. They expose any pattern of disobedience or lack of faith.

Along with the scrutiny, however, our Blessed Lord also provides mercy and grace. He knows we are needy. He knows what it means to hurt, to grieve, to suffer loss. He knows the difficulties and circumstances we face daily. And more than knowing, He understands because He was tested just as we are.

And He also opens the way to mercy and grace. (Tomorrow)

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The Living WORD

by TerryLema

Hebrews 4 opens with a passage on unbelief and the warning that we are not to let a pattern of disobedience govern our lives. The writer reminds us that the written Word of God is living and powerful.  It (notice that pronoun) is effective in discerning the things that are in our hearts and how different they are from our outward actions.

Then the writer of Hebrews suddenly switches pronouns in the following verse. “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” [Hebrews 4:13 HCSB]

The pronoun shifts from the impersonal (it) to the personal (Him). Unbelief is not only detected by the written Living Word of God, but also by the Living LORD. Nothing escapes His notice.

Our Living LORD is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is constantly aware of all that is going on in the cosmos.  He knows our hearts. He knows if there is real faith there or if there is only an intellectual consent to facts. He knows if the heart matches the words and actions of our life.

It is to Him we will give an account of our lives one day. We may bluff our way through life now, but there will be nothing hidden from Him when we stand in His presence. The entire world may regard us as marvelous pillars of faith, but our LORD will not judge as the world judges. What we are will be made known.

I cannot imagine anything worse than trying to answer the question “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?”  [Luke 6:46 HCSB]

Thankfully, however, the writer of Hebrews does not leave us there, he goes on to provide two marvelous hopes. (Tomorrow)

 

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The Living Word

by TerryLema

“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” [Hebrews 4:12 HCSB]

That familiar verse comes at the end of a passage on unbelief. The writer of Hebrews spoke of the rest (in faith) promised by God that was left unappropriated by the Hebrew children because of their disobedience. That rest is available now in Christ Jesus and when we hear God’s invitation, we are not to harden our hearts through a pattern of disobedience as the Hebrew children did.

That verse, along with verse 13 which we will look at tomorrow, contains a solemn warning that unbelief never goes undetected. The Word of God (the Bible) is living and discerning. That means the Word of God has the power to read us and discern and judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

I know that often as I read through my Bible, both Old and New Testaments, I feel it cut into my soul. I see through its power the things that are in my heart, and how different they often are from my outward actions. The Word sees my duplicity, the lies I have told myself, the arrogance and rebellion that often resides inside.

The Word knows me. Along with the convicting power of the Spirit of God, it moves me towards repentance and revival.

So I guess the question we need to ask today is “What am I doing with the Word of God?”

Am I allowing it to read me? (That means I have to be reading it too!) Am I allowing it, and the Holy Spirit to reveal my patterns of disobedience?

I pray I am!

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That Old Recliner

by TerryLema

I have a lounge chair. It was given to me by a friend who was buying new furniture. It is big and comfy. I spent weeks in it when I had the virus.  In the afternoon I can put my feet up and lean back and nap as the sunshine pours in through our living room window. When I come into the living room, that old lounge chair invites me to come over and enjoy its comfort. I know I could spend days (and maybe nights) in that lounge chair reading or playing on my computer.

I love that old lounge chair! It is not only comfortable, but unfortunately, it also entices me to give up and not fight anymore.

Inside I do not feel old at 75 years, but the last few years have taken a toll on my body that I still have to fight. I have pain most days and my muscles have lost most of their strength. It takes effort to do even the most common things, such as emptying the dishwasher or running a vacuum or simply taking a walk.

I have a choice to make each day—to fight to move or to accept the invitation of that old lounge chair and spend the rest of my days napping in the sunshine.

I have chosen to fight to move as long as I can. I think every day about what God told Paul when he asked God to remove a thorn in the flesh that he had been enduring. He asked three times to have it removed, but God chose a different path for Paul. God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

 Paul responded, “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” [2 Corinthians 12:9-10 HCSB]

I do not think I have yet reached that point where I can say like Paul “I take pleasure in weaknesses,” but I can agree with him that because of Christ, “when I am weak, then I am strong.”

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Perspective

by TerryLema

Cheslie Kryst’s cause of death has been confirmed following an autopsy; the former Miss USA’s death has been ruled a suicide. She was 30 years old. She became Miss USA in 2019, already an attorney with an MBA. In an essay she wrote in 2021 she said, “turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I’m running out of time to matter in society’s eyes — and it’s infuriating.”

That statement is one of the saddest statements I have ever read. It is a condemnation of our society that our young people think anyone over 30 no longer matters. No wonder our younger people are struggling.

The Bible has a far different perspective of growing old. The Bible often associates growing old with gaining wisdom. For example, Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” 

I turned 75, three-quarters of a century, last December. I also retired from full-time ministry. Most of the time now people ask me, “How are you enjoying retirement?”

I do not know how to answer that question. I do not know if I am enjoying retirement. My body is not the best, so I have reached the end of being able to be accountable for a ministry. Still, I do not feel as if I am done with ministry.

The Bible also has a perspective on purpose.  “I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.” and “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.” [Psalm 57:2, Psalm 138:8 HCSB]

The LORD God Almighty has a purpose for every life. I do not feel that I have fulfilled that purpose completely as yet. I do not know how many more years I will have to do so, but I know I will continue to discover what He still has for me and will continue to fight for the stamina and wisdom to finish the race.

Dear LORD, help us to convey to the young that they are only just beginning to find and fulfill their God-given purpose. Amen.

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