TerryLema

One of the things I love best about living in the Treasure Valley is the surrounding mountains and foothills. They are beautiful year-round, but I especially love them in the winter when the snow covers them. There are certain roads where I drive that present a clear view and I always have the sense of being up high, even though our elevation is just a little under 3000 feet.

The psalmist asks a question in Psalm 121. “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?” Then he answers his own question. “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” [Ps 121:1-2 NIV]

Psalm 121 is labeled as “A Song of Ascent.” This group of psalms (120-134) are also called “Pilgrim Songs.” Jerusalem is situated on a hill. Several times a year the pilgrims traveling to the city for one of the Jewish Festivals would sing these songs as they ascended the uphill road.

Where does our help come from? As much as I love the mountains and the hills around the Treasure Valley, I know that our help doesn’t come from them. Our help doesn’t come from the government nor society. Our help comes from the LORD God Almighty.

The psalmist reminds us in this song that the One who watches over us does not slumber nor sleep. He reminds us that the LORD is our shade in the heat of the battle. He reminds us that the LORD will watch over our lives … when we come in and when we go out … both in the present and for all eternity.

Take a moment today and use this lovely song to praise God for all He is to us, Creator, Sustainer, Protector.

It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon when the man was confronted by a sight he had never seen. He was a soldier, a man of courage and had seen much that would shake lesser men, but this was unlike anything he had ever encountered on a battlefield. It frightened him. His name was Cornelius, a Roman centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment, and what he saw was an angel from God.

According to Acts 10, Cornelius and his family were devout and God-fearing and gave generously to those in need. He was also a man who prayed regularly. As Cornelius stared at the angel in fear, the angel gave him a message. “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!  Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.” [Acts 10:4-6 NLT]

Cornelius obeyed. The Apostle Peter also obeyed a message from an angel and went with the men to the house of Cornelius. And with that, the Gospel was opened to the Gentiles. Paul would become the principal Apostle to the Gentiles, but it was Peter who first opened the door through his obedience.

As I was reading the story of Cornelius this morning, I was touched by one part of the message brought by the angel. “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!”   

Cornelius apparently had aligned himself with the True God of Israel. He would have still been excluded from the Temple, held to the Court of the Gentiles, yet his prayers and what he did for the poor were seen and received by God Himself. While EXCLUDED from the earthly Temple, He would soon be INCLUDED in the Heavenly One.

Peter’s visit would lead Cornelius and his family to Christ, and the Holy Spirit would fall on them just as He fell on those in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. What a wonderfully amazing God!

Paul commands us to make it our goal to live quiet lives. “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.” [1 Thess 4:11-12 NLT]

March 26 was my father’s birthday. He was born in 1913 and died 1988. Seeing his birthday on my calendar turned my thoughts to my dad. When my brother and I were youngsters, I would not have described my dad as quiet. He had a temper and could often shout his displeasure. But as my father came to know Jesus in a more personal experience, his temper quieted. In his last decades, he lived the life Paul describes above.

He had a strong work ethic and always shouldered the responsibility of providing for his family. His love for people increased as he aged. When people remember him, they tell me they never heard him say a bad word against anyone, that he always had a smile and a hug for them along with a word of encouragement. They remember him with respect.

He may have had very little in the way of material things, but in his quiet way he won the respect of others and possessed the love of his family. He left a good legacy and a good testimony for Christ. I pray to do likewise.

Well, to end this series of devotions on the verses which frame my life and walk with God is a verse that always drops me to my knees.

Romans 5:8: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

I know what I was before God found me. I know what I would be if He ever chose to remove His Spirit from me (which He won’t).

To know that while I was still a sinner, while I was His enemy, He sent His Precious Son to die for me is overwhelming. There are times when I cry out … “why me, LORD? Why do you love me so much? How can I ever respond to such a ‘great love?’”

This is a truth that I must simply accept because there is no way I will ever understand why Father God would do such a thing as this.

“God showed his great love [to me] by sending Christ to die for [me] while [I was still a sinner].”

Through all eternity I will thank you LORD! To you be all the glory. Amen & Amen

I have a future. God promises that I have an inheritance. The guarantee of that promise is the Spirit of God which now indwells me. Oh my.

If Luke 17:14, Colossians 3:17, Proverbs 17:22 and 1John 5:1 are parameters of my walk with God in this life, Ephesians 1:14 is the promise of a walk with God beyond this life.

“The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

 We are God’s own people. We shall one day see Him face-to-face. We shall one day live in His presence. He will wipe away all the tears that flow through our life here on earth. We shall be made whole. Darkness, death will be gone forever.

That is His promise to those who accept His offer of salvation. I can only imagine what awaits us when we take our last breath in this life, and our first one in His Eternal Presence.

I started thinking about “Life Verses” a few days ago. I found six in my life that I cling to. Those verses bring joy and value into my life. They set the parameters of my Christian Walk. Luke 17:14 taught me that I serve God, He does not serve me. Colossians 3:17 reminds me to do everything in life as if I was serving Jesus directly. And Proverbs 17:22 (A Merry Heart) has allowed me to thrive in the difficulties of life.

There is one verse that will move my heart and bring tears of joy each time I think about it. It is found in 1John 5:1: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God.” [NLT]

Yes, I serve God. That is what I was created to do. I serve him with joy and thankfulness for the opportunity to serve him. But I am so grateful because I am so much more than a servant (as marvelous as that is). I am a child of God.

Because of what Jesus did on the cross and through His resurrection, I am now part of the family of God. I can cry out, “Father God” and know that He hears me, loves me, rescues me, strengthens me.

He paid the very life’s blood of His precious Son Christ Jesus, so that I could be His child. I am unworthy of that love, yes, but have an infinite worth now because of what God was willing to pay for my redemption.

There are some verses in the Bible that are just ours … they have proven precious and meaningful in our Christian Walk. I cling to six. Luke 17:10 reminds me that I serve God, that God does not serve me. Colossians 3:17 teaches me that I am to do everything in this life as if I was serving Jesus directly.

But if there is a Scripture that has governed my life more than any other, it is Proverbs 17:22. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” [Proverbs 17:22 NKJV]

I try to face every opportunity, every difficulty, every circumstance with “a merry heart.” I believe that when Christians face trials and tribulations with “a merry heart,” we minister “good, like medicine,” not just to ourselves but also to the world.

Life is full of challenges. Sometimes we breeze along with nary a concern, but there are times in life when concerns weigh us down. As I look back on my 78 years, I can see those times when life was not easy.

I can also see how humor, laughter, the deep-set Joy of the LORD allowed me to not just survive those hard times, but to thrive beyond them. “A merry heart” truly “does good like a medicine.”

I have been thinking about my life verses, those Scriptures that have a precious significance in my life. These Scriptures set boundaries on my attitude as I walk with God. Luke 17:10 reminds me that I serve God, He does not serve me.

Colossians 3:17 tell me that as I serve Him, everything I do, and everything I say, reflects on my Lord Jesus. I need to be careful to do all for His glory. And I need to remember to express my thanksgiving continually.

“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”. [NLT]

 “Everything” we do or say is to be done as unto the LORD. We may work in a church, or a school, or a hospital, or a bowling alley, but it is not “what” we do that matters, it is “how” we do it. We do it as if we are ministering directly to our Savior and LORD Christ Jesus. We do it as if He Himself asked us to do that particular task.

And whatever is asked, we must always remember to give thanks to God for that opportunity to serve.

Someone asked me once if I had a “Life Verse,” a verse of Scripture that has particular significance in life and often serves as a reason behind what we are and what we do in our Christian Walk. As I considered that, I realized that I don’t have a “Life Verse,” but I do have six “Life Verses” that immediately come to mind that have set my attitude boundaries in my pursuit of God.

The first verse is a strange one found in Luke 17:7-10. In this parable, Jesus speaks of our service. He teaches about obedience and about doing our duty. He teaches us that unlike the ways of this world, we are to do our duty without expectation of praise or rewards.

 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’” [NLT]

“In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

God is not my servant, I am His. He is Creator. When I serve Him, I am to do so simply because that is what a servant does. I serve not from an expectation that God now owes me something … but from the realization that I owe Him everything!

Our church has a vision of 10 cities and 10,000 decisions for Christ. We pray for that vision every Thursday. I always pray a bit differently. I ask God for the 10 cities, then I ask God for 10,000 disciples.

One of the most difficult things for a church is turning “decisions” into “disciples.” Decisions come because God is pursuing us; disciples come when we then pursue God.

It is like a “switch” gets turned on in our souls. We see the God who saved us, cleansed us, set us free from the guilt and shame of sin and we want to know Him more and experience His presence in ever increasing measure.

The phrase “Pursing God” can be misunderstood. Pursing God does not mean He is running away from us as we run after Him. God is not running. God is not hiding. God wants us to “find” Him and all His glory in our lives.

Every watch as parents encourage their children to walk. They are close, encouraging them to take a step, but always ready to take hold of them if they wobble or look like they might fall. That’s our God. He encourages us to stand in His presence, take a step of faith to move closer to Him, always within reach to grab us when we wobble or look unsteady.

Children learn to walk one step at a time. Children of God become disciples by taking one step at a time as He encourages us and empowers us by His Indwelling Holy Spirit.