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TerryLema

I WANT TO KNOW!

by TerryLema

Don’t you wish you knew the future?

Right now, I am in a battle with my body. It wants to do things a body should not be doing. I want it to stop doing those things, but to get that to happen will require outside intervention unless the LORD brings about a healing. “Inquiring minds want to know” if healing will happen, how it will happen, when it will happen, and will there be other “side effects” to deal with. I want to know the future!

We celebrated Pentecost last Sunday, and I was reminded that the disciples also wanted to know what the future held for them. So, they asked Jesus: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6]

They probably figured that if Jesus were ready to restore God’s absolute rule here on earth, they would be a big part of it. Instead of telling them the future, Jesus told them that certain things – like the future – were within God’s authority alone. “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” [v7]

It is not knowing the future that will make everything okay. It is knowing the God Who holds the future. Had we known last year what this year would be like, we more than likely would have messed up trying to fix it. We certainly would have been miserable all last year in anticipation.

What is happening now in our cities, states, country is frightening and tragic. What will we be like in the next months, or the next years as a society or nation? I do not know the answer to that. Only God knows. As I write that again, I think about the implications of those three words: Only-God-knows. I am comforted because I have placed my faith in the God who knows and who holds the future—whatever that future may be.

Bless His Holy Name. Amen

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Whatever You Do!

by TerryLema

Ah, I have come to the end of my reorientation in Colossians Chapter 3 (that place I run to when it seems I have diverted my walk with God from what it should be.) The verse that ends my path here is one that you will see as part of my signature on my emails. It is the verse I have tried to live out every day. I do not always succeed, but I never stop trying.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” [Colossians 3:17]

I discovered this verse shortly after I was saved and began reading my Bible. I was young and wanted so to be used of God. I told God – “anything, just ask.”

Through a series of events, I ended up volunteering at the Christian School my children attended. They had no cafeteria, so every Thursday, I would come in with a helper or two and in a very tiny (think miniscule) kitchen area off the teacher lounge, I would cook hundreds of hot dogs. I had already baked hundreds of cupcakes and bought chips and drinks. We would sell the lunch for what it cost to make.

I became known as the “hot dog lady.” It was not exactly what I pictured when I told God “anything, just ask.”

Then I came to realize that as those little children passed by my table to get their lunches, I was privileged to give them a hug or a smile or ask about how things were going. When I showed up for Sunday or mid-week services, they would come running to hug the “hot dog lady.”

Have I done greater things since then? Possibly. Maybe in the world’s eyes. But have I done greater things since then in God’s eyes? I doubt it. I was the “hot dog lady” because God asked me to be. I did it in Jesus’ name, and to His glory, giving thanks to God the Father for the opportunity to serve.

It may have been the best thing I ever did.

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Not Sing?

by TerryLema

We are not supposed to sing in church. At least that is the recommendation of some officials amid this virus-and-fear pandemic. Apparently when we sing, we expel droplets that may contain the virus and the risk of infection goes up.

Not sing praises to our God when we gather in our church buildings? I know for some that will not be a problem. I have seen people standing there during the music service and not singing because they just are not singers and choose to worship our Savior in a quieter or different way. That is okay.

For many others, like me, that is a big problem. I love to sing praises to my God. I sing on my worship walk. I sing when I pray. I sing in church during song service. Granted, I am not a great singer and since I have had some hearing loss, I am probably more off pitch than on. I sing anyway. I figure that if God is not pleased with my voice, He can change it to something that sounds better. (I know however, that God is pleased when I sing and worship Him, so I am on solid ground.)

Col 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you … as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

It seems Paul has everything covered in this verse 16. First we are to allow the Word of Christ to dwell in our hearts richly with wisdom (yesterday’s devotion), and then we are to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us by psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude.

In essence, that reflects what we do corporately in our church services. Perhaps more importantly, it is what we are to do individually in our time “outside” the church service.

That small worship service on a Sunday morning cannot contain enough psalms, hymns. and spiritual songs to get us through the difficulties of our lives each day. There must be the “Word of Christ” dwelling in us in wisdom gleaned by our personal studies of God’s Word, as well as in gratitude through our songs in the night and in the day.

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I’m Hungry!

by TerryLema

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom ….” [Col 3:16a]

When my babies were little, they were so cute and adorable, until they were hungry. Then they got cranky and fussy and demanding. Their empty bellies hurt, and they would not be satisfied until they were filled again.

As preschoolers they learned to tell me they were hungry, and sometimes were adamant about what they wanted to eat. At times it was a struggle to get them to eat healthy. They just wanted what they wanted.

Then they reached their teens (especially my boys) and I could not keep enough food in the house. They raided the refrigerator, the pantry, the cookie jar, the freezer (frozen pizzas!). They fed themselves whenever they wanted.

Paul reminds us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. There comes a time in the life of the believer when we must feed on the Word of God ourselves. We do not need any longer to have someone else feed us, nor do we need to blame someone else for our spiritual hunger.

That old reason for leaving a church, “I am not being fed …” is really a warning about our own lack of study and persistence in the Scriptures (unless we really are new babes in the LORD). The Scriptures are quite clear, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” [2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV]

Hebrews 5:11-14 also reminds us that there is to come a time in the life of every believer where we abandon milk and where we seek solid food, a mature walk with Christ Jesus, and become those competent to teach others. As Colossians reminds us, we are to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.

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LET THE PEACE OF GOD RULE

by TerryLema

Jeremiah and Ezekiel lived in turbulent times. The Promised Land was under assault by the Babylonians who were plundering the land. Eventually even the Temple articles were looted and taken to Babylon. There were those false prophets who were proclaiming “peace, peace” when there was no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14, Ezekiel 13:16)

Everything around them in the land was in turmoil. It was God’s judgment against and refining of a people who had strayed far from being God’s People. They had allowed idolatry to infiltrate the temple and the priesthood. Created things were worshipped rather than the Creator and Redeemer Himself.

When God had enough of their treachery and disloyalty, He sold them for 70 years into captivity. When they returned from those 70 years, they were solidly Jehovah-centered. They were certainly smaller, never recovering their grandeur realized under Solomon, but they were refined by their God and held firmly to Him.

We are certainly living in turbulent times. The Church is trying to find her way during a very unpeaceful season and increasing opposition. Perhaps it is a time of refining for us. Will we be smaller, but more God-centered? Will we be refined so that any idolatry and heresy is removed from our midst?

I do not know, but I hope those who return to churches will be more on fire for God, more Bible-centered, more reliant on the Holy Spirit, more willing to pray for God’s will to be done.

Outside the church there is no peace. None. But as Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:15 as God’s people we are to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

I am praying that the Church experiences a great awakening. I am praying that even while the world has no peace, people will see the peace of Christ in the hearts of believers, and desire to have what we have.

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No Servant is Greater Than His Master

by TerryLema

I am 73 years old. Born in 1946 that makes me one of the early baby boomers (1944-1964). I remember the Korean Conflict, Viet Nam and the Anti-War protestors, the uncertainty of the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the plague of polio, discovery of AIDS, and many more wars and conflicts and troubles. I am not sure I remember any time as uncertain as what we are experiencing now.

I do not remember another time where the church has come under such attack in our nation for wanting simply to be together. Maybe, we have grown too comfortable, too complacent recently.

Perhaps we have forgotten Jesus’ words to His own shortly before His death. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” [John 15:18-22 NIV]

When we read those words, do we believe Jesus was simply talking about the few who were listening? Was the warning only for those disciples who would be the first to suffer persecution for His name’s sake? Do we think that we are now so “enlightened” as a world that Jesus’ words do not apply to us in our generation or in our society?

Maybe we do. Maybe we do because while our country was founded on the Christian principles of our forefathers seeking religious freedom from oppression, there is no guarantee that future generations are so inclined. We have not been challenged in decades, and like muscles that are not challenged, we have grown somewhat soft.

“No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Jesus, they will also persecute us. The world does not love us – it cannot love us, but as Paul reminds us in Colossians 3, we are still to forbear, forgive, and we are to love.

Colossians 3:14: “…over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” [NIV]

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I REMEMBER

by TerryLema

When I came to the LORD nearly 50 years ago, I had no idea what to expect. I was raised by religious parents in a liturgical church setting. I knew there was a God, that He was Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I had a vague idea about salvation, that Christ Jesus had come to save us. I thought however, that while He made the “down payment,” I was responsible for the installments to keep myself saved. I did not understand forgiveness, instead I lived in fear—because as I was well aware, I was a sinner.

As an adult, pregnant with my second child, I heard the Father call my name and I surrendered it all to Him. I gave my life to His Son. I invited the Holy Spirit to fill me with everything good the Father had for me. I never looked back, even though there were times I struggled (and still do).

It took a while though for me to fully understand God’s love and God’s forgiveness. That happened when we started going to a little church in Loomis, California, and sat under the ministry of Pastor Jim. Everything changed for me there. I heard God’s love proclaimed in a way I never had before. I began to understand God’s forgiveness granted in God’s grace. (Thank you Pastor Jim)

So, each time I come to Colossians 3:13, I remember all that. “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” [NIV]

I remember that I am a sinner. I remember I am saved solely by God’s grace granted in Christ Jesus. I remember that God gave me that grace because of His great love for me. I remember that Christ Jesus was willing to come and purchase my forgiveness on the cross through His suffering, death, and resurrection. I remember.

And as I remember that I received forgiveness not because of anything in me or anything I did … I must now grant the same to others. I must “forgive as the LORD forgave me.”

Sounds easy, doesn’t it. It is not. And may even become more difficult as society’s view of the church changes. But easy or not, we must forgive because, beloved, we have been forgiven.

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Fire

by TerryLema

There was heart-breaking news out of Mississippi last week. The First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi burned down Wednesday. It was a total loss and arson appears to be the cause. Someone spray-painted on the parking lot in front of the destroyed church “Bet you stay home now, you hypokrits.” (You can read the article on the Daily Citizen blog’s link below.)

This church simply wanted to meet together. They were originally cited by the city following an in-person Bible Study but after filing a suit, they were granted the right to meet in the parking lot. The city even changed its ordinance to allow that to happen. Still, someone apparently became outraged at these Christians, so they burned down their building.

This may be an isolated incident, but again, it may not be. It may be the beginning of an outrage flare against the church in our nation.

I wrote yesterday about forbearance. Paul reminded us in Colossians 3:13a that we are to “bear with one another,” meaning we are to put up with, or politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something. The society in which we live is not marked by forbearance. We are increasingly impulsive, angry, and prone to react without thinking.

As Christians, no matter how provoked we are, we cannot respond in like manner. We are called to model a higher mindset, the attitude of Christ Jesus. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.” [1 Peter 2:23]

I genuinely think we are entering an age when we are going to see two things happening. (And it does not take a prophet to see this in our future; just look at history and what is already taking place in our world.) The church is going to be refined during these difficult times and thus become more alive, more on fire, and returning to the classical Christianity that has been lacking in so many areas. Because of that, this society will become increasingly opposed to an awakened church and will retaliate in ways we have only seen elsewhere.

Beloved, we must not respond as the world does, with outrage, but we must respond as Christ would – by speaking the truth with courage and grace, by prayer, by love, and by the power of God’s Spirit within us.

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/mississippi-church-that-sued-over-covid-19-meeting-restrictions-burned-down-arson-suspected/

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Bear With Each Other

by TerryLema

I think I need to live a little while in Colossians 3. It is often where I find my peace in what God has done for me and where I re-orient my walk with Him.

The other day I drove to someone’s house for the first time. It was not far, and I knew the general area, but I plugged it into my maps on my phone anyway. We are in “nice weather season in Idaho” now, which means we are also in “construction season.” I kept hitting road closures, probably about five during the drive over. As I took the detours my phone kept calling out to me “re-calculating, re-calculating.”

Sometimes in life that is exactly what we must do, re-calculate. We take little detours into the world or we allow our emotions to lead for a while and then we must re-calculate our walk with God. When that happens, I am back with Paul in Colossians 3.

“Bear with each other ….” [3:13a]

After we were reminded about our spiritual coat of many colors in verse 12 (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience), Paul goes on to remind us about forbearing with other. To forbear with each other in the Greek is simply “to put up with.”

In the English to forebear means to politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something. This virus-and-fear pandemic has many of us on edge. When that happens, we tend to react impulsively. We get angry and fire off insults or act irresponsibility (just to show we can). As Christians, however, we are to forbear. We are to react prayfully, with the spiritual coat of compassion, kindness, humility, and patience no matter what the provocation.

Holy Spirit, help us to don our spiritual coat of many colors and forbear in the midst of this difficult time. Amen.

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PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE!

by TerryLema

Whenever I struggle spiritually, and yes, even though I write daily about pursuing God’s Presence in our lives and living out our faith, I still struggle at times. I wish I were perfect, but perfect I am not. I am forgiven. I am encouraged by my Savior to press on. I am strengthened by God’s Spirit to be more like Christ Jesus. But perfect … not hardly.

Anyway, when I struggle, I oft return to Colossians 3, especially those first four verses in that chapter. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

I am always encouraged by this section because of its past tense phrases, its present tense phrases, and its future tense phrases.

Past Tense: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ … For you died.” The very moment we accepted the Father’s invitation of salvation through Christ Jesus we died to our old life and were raised to where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Present Tense: “Set your heart on things above …. Set your mind on things above …. Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ, who is your life ….” My life is now hidden with Christ in God. That is where my heart and my thoughts should be focused.

But oh, that Future Tense: When Christ appears … then you will also appear with him in glory.”

I am His. (Done Deal!) I set my heart and my mind on Him through the present struggles. My struggles will end, and I shall be with Him forever.

Thank you, Precious Savior. Amen & Amen

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