TerryLema

I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but raised across the state in Pittsburgh. The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, took place at the Pennsylvania State House, Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Fifty-six men declared their thirteen colonies independent from British rule. They became the “United States of American.” Nine of those men were Pennsylvania delegates, including one named, Benjamin Franklin. 

 This was the history I learned growing up in Pennsylvania. The Revolutionary War, the fight for independence was what I cut my teeth on.  One of my favorite memories is seeing and touching the Liberty Bell on a trip to Philadelphia.  When July 4, Independence Day, rolls around each year, I am reminded of my heritage.  I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a native of Pennsylvania.

 When I think of the 4^th of July I think of the men and women who sacrificed and fought for freedom. To me, it is so much more than picnics and parades, barbeques and fireworks. To me it is battlefields and graveyards; a freedom obtained through the courage and blood of determined men.

 Have we made mistakes as a nation since?  Surely, that is without debate. Still, on July 4, I am reminded of the greatness of a people who loved freedom enough to give their very lives for it. I pray there are still those willing to do so.

This freedom that we love so much is born in the heart of God.  Christ came that we might experience true freedom. There is a link below to one of the greatest songs ever written and sung about freedom, “Let Freedom Ring,” performed at Carnegie Hall shortly after 9/11.  Let it remind us today of what is truly important.  [Luke 4:18, Galatians 5:1]

 https://www.bing.com/search?q=let%20freedom%20ring%2C%20gaither%20vocal%20band%20at%20carnegie%20hall&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=let%20freedom%20ring%2C%20gaither%20vocal%20band%20at%20carnegie%20hal&sc=1-52&sk=&cvid=AE6BDDB38019470F930DC021BAA95892

“What is the most important commandment?”

 One day the Sadducees were debating with Jesus. What they were actually doing was trying to trap him with trick questions. A teacher of the law heard the debate and asked Jesus the above question. “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  [Mark 12:29-31]

 I read much written by people who claim to know “what Jesus would do” in every situation. They have latched onto the second part of the great commandment, the part about loving neighbors and then use this to chide anyone who doesn’t agree with their political philosophy.  Where they often fail, however, is to embrace that first part of the commandment that commands all to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

I often notice that those who shout the loudest about the second part of the great commandment are the most silent about the first part.  You can’t, however, have one without the other.

 What is the most important? Our lives are to be living examples of the devotion Jesus had to the Father. He said to do the will of the Father was His “meat” – meaning what governed and sustained His every word and action. If you want me to heed your words about what “Jesus would do” you had better show me first that you are at least seeking and striving to love the LORD our God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

I had a cousin, Tommy, on my father’s side of the family. He was a few years older than I. Tommy’s mother contracted German measles when she was in her first trimester and Tommy was born mentally challenged. It was before there were schools available, so Tommy spent most of his time in his room with his record player.  We visited them in Cleveland, Ohio, when I was around nine years old.

 Tommy loved to play his records. The problem was, he’d get stuck on one song and would play it over and over and over again. That weekend Tommy was stuck on “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford.  To this day whenever I hear it, I think of Tommy.

This morning as I was walking and listening to my worship music, “Amazing Grace” came up, and as it always does, it made me weep. I spent most of my walk thinking about God’s amazing grace. I thought when I get back home, I’ll sit and write about God’s amazing grace. It always just amazes me so!

 Then I thought, good grief girl, if you write about amazing grace again, they are going to think you are a broken record. Then I started to laugh and thought, I am not so much different from Tommy – I could listen to “Amazing Grace,” and write about amazing grace all day long! 

 I don’t want you to think I am a broken record, however, so I won’t talk about how God’s grace is so amazing. I won’t remind you that we are justified freely by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. I won’t even remind you how God is able to make all His grace abound to you.  I won’t write that it by God’s grace you are strengthened. I won’t even speak of the incomparable riches of grace that will be ours for all eternity.  Nope, won’t talk about any of that. Don’t want you to think I’m a broken record!

I’ve been studying Joshua and Jericho for the current Sunday morning messages at church. I began by reading the Scriptures and then reading what commentators wrote about this passage. I wanted to find out more about the walls around Jericho, so I hit the internet. That can often be an iffy proposition because you don’t know just what credentials someone has when they post something. But I thought there were probably some archeological articles I could access.

I wasn’t too specific when I began the search so what I got were numerous Bible Stories about Joshua and Jericho for children. It took refining my search multiple times to get what I would call “adult” information.

 Odd how so many of the miraculous works of God in Scripture have been reduced to Bible Stories for children.  I understand the need for children to learn about Scripture in a format that matches their abilities to learn. And I understand the need to educate our children about God and His awesome power, but it is also vitally important for adults to understand that the power of God is very real and has been on display since the beginning of time.

 Down through the ages, our Mighty God, the Omnipotent LORD has invited us to “come and see” and learn as we do. When John the Baptist was imprisoned by King Herod, he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect another.”  [Luke 7]

 Jesus responded, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

 “Come and see” what God does, and then go tell others “that’s our Mighty All-Powerful God! 

My phone was on the fritz. The charger port had become so loose that the only way to charge it was to set a large pepper mill in a certain place to hold the cord and phone together. Because we anticipate traveling a bit in the next months and I’m not sure I want to haul a large pepper mill with me everywhere we go, I ordered a new phone.

 I have had this old phone for about five years. I don’t buy expensive, do everything phones. I buy ones that do just enough. As often as I drop my phone or subject it to phone-style torture, buying the latest and greatest is silly. So, my nice Android $150 phone arrived Friday. I can do talk, text, data on it just like the expensive ones. I’m finding I don’t need everything that the world says I need. I am learning to simplify.

 The one thing I do need and will always need, is my Shepherd. Right after Jesus told his listeners in John 10:10 that He had come that they might have life abundantly, and that the enemy of our soul (the thief) comes only to steal, kill and destroy, He gave us a beautiful picture of Himself.  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” [John 10:11-18]

 God reveals Himself to us by His Names and Shepherd is one of the most beautiful names of Jesus to me. I am like that silly sheep which often find herself in trouble. Wandering too far. Partaking of things not always good for me. I’m obstinate and stubborn. I find myself in trouble and then I start to “baaa” for help. My Shepherd knows my voice. He knows when I’m in trouble. He runs to my rescue.

 Yes, if there is one thing in this life I will always need, it is my Good, Good Shepherd.  Thank you, Jesus.

 Jesus had a lot to say to teachers, and not much of it was good.  Often it was mixed with words like “woe,” “hypocrites,” and “watch out for ….” 

 Jesus was angry with teachers (preachers) that led people away from God, rather than closer to Him. There are lots of ways to do that. You can preach outright lies, or half-truths.  You can preach one thing and live something different. You can adopt the ways of the world and preach “another” Gospel, one based on human thinking, wisdom and reasoning. Yes, there are lots of ways to lead people away from the LORD as we teach or preach.

 I have been teaching or preaching since 1985 in one way or another. Sometimes in a Sunday School class, or behind a pulpit. Sometimes I teach in written form, as in these devotions. Whenever I teach or preach in person, I do one thing first; I take off my shoes. I have been doing that for as long as I can remember. I do it because I remember God’s words to Moses … God said, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” [Ex 3:5]

Is the pulpit area in my church holy ground – no, it’s not. It’s just a nice carpeted platform. What is “holy ground” is the Word of God and by removing my shoes, I am reminded that I had better not compromise His Word when I teach or preach. There is an awesome reckoning for those who do.

  “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”  [James 3:1]

I am always fascinated by our changing world. Everything changes, whether culture, societal norms, technology, education, medicine. Some changes are hard for me to follow, such as the ones that revolve around something as simple as my morning cup of coffee. First coffee was good for me, then it wasn’t, then it was but only in limited quantities, then it was good again if it was bold not light. (Whatever, I am still going to drink it the way I like it – strong , bold, and black!)

 Some changes are hard for me to swallow.  I have a hard time with those who seek to change, modify or revise truth, whether in the classroom, politics, or church pulpits.  Truth is truth and I hold that there are absolute truths.

 One thing, however, gives me great hope and great comfort. That is God’s promise in Malachi 3:6: “For I am the LORD, I change not.” [KJV]

 Society and culture will change constantly. Politics change according to who is in power. Medicine changes with new discoveries. Even pulpit messages change when preachers get off base (more on preachers/teachers tomorrow). But long after our present-day society has gone the way of the dodo bird (in others words becomes extinct), God will remain the same.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  [Rev 1:8 NKJV]

 As He was, so He is. As He is, so He will be. We can try to change, modify, revise Him, but He changes not.  Hallelujah!

I opened my online newsfeed Monday morning and the first headline I saw asked me “What were the stars wearing?” at some gala event. If that was the first time I read that headline this year, I might have been vaguely interested. But it wasn’t the first gala event or award show where “stars” were wearing outfits that cost tens of thousands of dollars (and ones that they’ll probably never wear again). It wasn’t even the fourth or fifth time that headline has appeared.  I had to ask myself, are people really interested in what “stars” wear?  I also had to ask myself, “who are these people?” I don’t even recognize the names of “stars” anymore, and I haven’t yet figured out just what they are “stars” of!

 I do know lots of stars, however, and what they wear. You’ll find them in regular clothes in classrooms, in uniforms and white coats in hospitals and medical centers. You’ll find them in common clothes and workplaces, factories, and service areas. Some care for children and the sick and the elderly. They leave each day and work long hours. And they are not paid anything near what they are worth. Yes, I know a lot of stars.

 And I will even go so far as to remind true Christians what Paul wrote about them.  I am talking about those true Christians who live the Gospel no matter what the cost, whose actions match the words of Christ Jesus. Paul said of them that they are “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which [they] shine like stars in the universe as [they] hold out the word of life.” [Phil 2:15-16]

 And I even know what these “stars” are wearing. Jesus described them as “clothed in white garments.” [Rev 3:5]

 I guess I can answer what the headline asked me this morning, “What were the stars wearing?” They are wearing glistening garments of white as they stand in the greatest gala of all – the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!  Can’t wait to see that headline someday!

Last week I knew that Sunday I was going to begin the “Shout” part of the “Seek & Shout” series we’ve been in for the last few months.  The “Seek” part was rather uneventful, as it centered around seeking “More of God.” In other words, learning to pursue and experience that abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10: “I have come that they might have life and that more abundantly.”  (Well. uneventful except for that one lesson on counting it all joy when you fall into various trials.)

 I knew going into the week that the “Shout” part wasn’t going to be as easy since it centered on the battle we have with the enemy of our soul whose sole desire is “only to steal, kill and destroy” the life we have in God, especially that abundant life.

 I also knew that “to give it you have to live it.” So, I was on my guard on Monday, expecting an attack. None come. Then Tuesday, still nothing. Wednesday passed without event, and so did Thursday. By Thursday night I had let my guard down. I failed to heed Peter’s warning to “be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” [1 Peter 5:8]

 I didn’t stay alert, nor vigilant. I let my guard down and the enemy blindsided my emotions and attitudes, bringing up old hurts that I thought were healed. Friday and Saturday he rode roughshod over me until I finally realized late Saturday evening what was happening. Boy, did I feel dumb. Even though I knew to be prepared, even though I’d been through it before, I still failed to be alert. 

 Oh beloved, we can’t ever let our guard down when it comes to the enemy’s attempts to steal, kill and destroy. We can’t allow Him to infiltrate our thoughts and attitudes, our emotions and desires. We must remain ever vigilant and alert!

Early Friday morning I went for a two-mile walk with my MP3 player and worship music. I chose to walk that morning in an area where I have long stretches with sidewalks around subdivisions, rather than through them. I feel free as I walk to sing aloud and raise my hands in praise. The weather was cool even though the sun was shining. I didn’t meet one person on my walk.  As the songs rolls through my MP 3 player I just worshipped and prayed.

 There is, however, one line in one song that makes me cry every time it comes up. And, of course, it came up Friday morning. The song is “Jesus Loves Me” by Chris Tomlin. And the line goes, “Jesus, how can it be, He loves me, He is for me.”    (There’s a YouTube link at the bottom.) 

 I am always amazed when I hear that line in the song about Jesus being for us because I was raised in a denomination which presented God in a very different way. Always I was on edge that this All-Powerful God was angry with me and looking for ways to exclude me from His grace and presence. Oh, how, wrong that was.

 Jesus is for us. He is not against us. In fact, as Paul explains it, when God is for us, who can be against us? There is nothing strong enough to stand against or overpower the God Who is for us.  And Paul reminds us that we know God is for us because He didn’t even withhold His Only Son but gave Him up for us. [Rom 8:31-39]

 “Jesus, how can it be, He loves me, He is for me.”  That gets me every time.

 https://www.bing.com/search?q=jesus+loves+me+by+chris+tomlin&qs=AS&pq=jesus+loves+me+by+chri&sc=8-22&cvid=81E82273AA6F4720B619FECA757EB20B&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&ghc=1