TerryLema

Saturday night I was watching the BSU-Nevada football game. For once the game was on early and I could stay up to see the end. I’m not into listening to announcers analyze everything and go over and over what I can see happening myself on the screen. So, I plugged my earphones into my computer and headed to YouTube to listen to songs that touch my heart.

As I listened to what has become my favorite, “Hallelujah Praise the Lamb” by the Talley Trio, I could literally feel my spiritual heart soften and become tender once again.

When I look around I see so much injustice, so much hurt, danger, and evil. I see people oppressed by the enemy of their soul. I see the enemy getting a foothold in their lives, causing them to question God’s love for them. I see them loathing themselves and coming under condemnation, instead of understanding the conviction of God’s Spirit to restore and heal. And I cry, when?  When, God, will you set things right? The waiting can often harden my heart.

Yet as I listened to “Hallelujah Praise the Lamb” I remember that the Lamb of God purchased for us “mercy, grace and love that knows no bounds.” And that “though guilty and condemned I now am free.” And “forever I’m forgiven for Christ the Lord has risen and risen with Him we shall one day be.”

When I remember those things, as that song reminds me, I know it is going to be all right. My heart can sing His praise again! As I listened, I heard God whisper the promise, the same promise He makes in Revelation 6:11 to the ones martyred during the tribulation.  They were told “to wait a little while longer” for Him to make it all right.

Thank you, Father, for the sure promise that there is coming a time when You will make it all right, and wrong will be banished for ever. Help me to spend my “wait,” my life, for Your Kingdom. Amen, come quickly Lord Jesus.

When I went to work on August 31, I had not touched a piece of candy in six months. There is a large glass candy jar just a few feet away from where I sit. To enter and exit the room I must walk right by it.  Since August 31 I have touched many a piece of candy.

I determined that come November 1 I would not touch any more. Since then, I have discovered my lack of willpower.  I can get through most of the day, but when everyone else starts raiding the jar in the early to late afternoons, I fall to temptation.  My will seems to be overpowered by the smell and sight of chocolate. My job will only last another couple of months, so I can’t do too much harm to my diet, can I?

There is one area though where I must see my will rise to the occasion.  Ps 69:30 declares, “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” [NIV]

I will praise.  I will glorify God.  I will come to Him laden with thanksgiving for His wonderful ways. I will. Everything about life in this world tries to undermine our will to praise our God. Our aging bodies, our forgetful minds, our busy schedules, our circumstances, our hardships, our poverty, our sickness, our losses all work to make us concentrate on them and forget to praise our God and Savior.  We can’t, however, allow that to happen.

I will praise.  I will glorify God.  I will come to Him laden with thanksgiving for His wonderful ways. I will. It is in praising Him that we find the strength to overcome our aging bodies, our forgetful minds, our busy schedules, our circumstances, our hardships, our poverty, our sickness and our losses.

I come today, Father, into Your presence with thanksgiving and praise.  Bless Your Holy Name. Amen

I suppose by now most everyone has heard about the shooting in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a small close-knit farming community. Monday morning the death toll stood at 27, but many more were injured, some critically. The gunman’s motive turned out to be a personal one not a religious one. But that doesn’t change much for the dead or injured, or their grieving families

I heard one news broadcaster say Sunday evening that except for perhaps daycare centers, a church is the softest of targets. People come to pray and worship, they leave their doors open and invite strangers into their midst. He’s right.  Few have armed guards or metal detectors.  And yes, we do invite strangers into our midst. There is no pre-screening of candidates for salvation’s invitation.

As American Christians we have enjoyed relative safety and freedom for centuries. But lately there seems to be a shift in that environment. Recently, I even received an invitation for a seminar on employing security measures in churches. There are probably things we can do, but shy of locking our doors or stationing armed guards at the entrance, I doubt we can guarantee safety.  But we cannot be afraid either.

The evil in this world wants us afraid, afraid to meet, afraid to bring our message of Christ’s salvation to others. The enemy would have the voice of God’s church silenced. As I prayed for Sutherland Springs I was reminded of Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging….

The Lord Almighty is with us, The God of Jacob is our fortress. [vs 1-3, 11 NIV]

Father, You alone are our refuge and our strength. It matters not what man does to us in this life, we trust that in You we are safe and secure.

Last week it was announced that Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl would not be given any prison time for abandoning his post, going AWOL, and being captured by the Taliban. He could have received life in prison for aiding the enemy in a time of war. Many thought he should have, especially since his actions caused some of the soldiers who were tasked with searching for him to come under fire and sustain life-long injuries.

When the lack of prison time was announced social media went berserk. That’s the only way I can describe it. People were calling for someone to shoot Bergdahl, or for him to “do the right thing and commit suicide.” It’s been awhile since I have seen such merciless comments. I did not find one post from anyone offering grace or mercy. The man has developed vicious enemies that may dog him the rest of his life.

Did you give anymore thought to what I wrote yesterday in Romans 8:31: “[Since] God is for us”?

Did you perhaps think about Paul’s following question?  “Who can be against us?”

We make enemies in this life, many times through our own mistakes and failures.  But if there is one enemy you don’t want to have, it would be God. God would be the worst imaginable enemy ever.

What Paul was trying to tell us in this passage is that those who come against us (God’s children) are making One Powerful Enemy.  God is for us. God stands with us in the Good News of the Gospel. To fight against God’s children is to fight against God.

This morning in Sunday service we will be studying again out of Romans 8. This morning’s message comes from verses 31 and 32: “What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” [NIV]

Paul has just devoted the previous verses to what God has done for us. Theologians love that section (8:29-30).  It provides so much fodder for discussion over deep concepts summed up in words like foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification and glorification. But Paul didn’t write that to provide theologians debate points. He wrote it because the Christians in Rome were facing and would face tribulation, trial, persecution and even martyrdom. He wanted them to know that the God who did all to save them would do all to keep them.

After putting forth all those deep thoughts about God, it’s as if Paul suddenly hears someone ask the question … “So what?” What do those deep things (foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification and glorification) have to do with my everyday life?  Well, he says, let me tell you.  “If God is for us ….”

“If God is for us” can legitimately be translated “Since God is for us.”  It’s not a statement of whether God is for us. Paul has already proven He is. It’s a statement of fact. We may not understand all those deep theological concepts, but we can understand that simple yet most profound and amazing truth, “God is for us.”

Personalize that truth, say it aloud with me … “God is for me.” God IS for me. God is FOR me. God is for ME!  Amen.  Listen to Chris Tomlin remind us in song that Jesus not only loves us … He is for us. (link below)

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=chris+tomlin+jesus+loves+me#id=10&vid=184d41ce8ca17cd85d377205501ab31c&action=view

When I was saved so many years ago there were two verses that God showed me almost immediately. The first was Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

That verse has sustained me through many a person discouragement, failure, or doubt. God began this work in me … God will finish this work in me.  The second verse I learned was 1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (God’s special possession), that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

That verse holds special meaning for me also. To be God’s special possession is an overwhelming thought. To be called out of darkness into His marvelous light lifts my spirits. But there is one little phrase in that verse that reminds me of my life’s goal … God did all this so that “[I] may declare the praises of Him.”

What privilege! Last Wednesday I wrote out a little reminder and put it on the bottom of my computer monitor at work.  It simply says, in all thing give thanks. Whenever I have even a moment I am remembering to offer thanksgiving to Him who chose us, made us royalty in His kingdom, took us as a holy nation (God’s special possession) and brought us from darkness to His marvelous light.  There is so much for which to give thanks in that one verse alone.

Father, to be declared Your special possession is beyond my ability to fathom.  It makes me cry, “Why me?” I am so lowly and insignificant in Your grand scheme and yet You have declared me to be Yours. Forever, thank you! Amen.

Col 1:17: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” [NIV]

Once again, we are confronted by that term “all things” and by the preeminence and supremacy of Christ Jesus our Lord.  He is before all things, meaning He existed before anything existed.  And as we read yesterday, He is the reason anything even exists. He created all things and all things were created for Him.

As captivated by that truth as I am, I am more captivated by the truth that “all things” hold together in Him.  He is the Sustainer.

There are many names for Christ, each of which holds marvelous truths for us. Redeemer, Savior, Life, Light to name just a few. Yet, each of those speaks to us of His work. Sustainer also speaks to my heart and mind today. I think when we talk about Christ as Sustainer, we think in terms of the physical universe, as we should. He holds every molecule, atom and sub-atomic particle together. The stars and planet stay their course by His word. The so-called “laws of nature” are simply our God exercising the power to sustain.

But it’s also a personal work in us. God sustains us. He comes alongside and brings the power to keep us in even the most difficult of times.  I take comfort in the knowledge that Christ Jesus my Lord can hold my life together even when everything appears to be working to disrupt it.

Father, what joy in knowing that the Son You love is able and does hold life together! Thank you for His sustaining power in every storm, trial, and trouble. Amen.

Col 1:16:  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [NIV]

I think the beginning of this season of thanksgiving is revolving around “all things.” We had been working our way through Romans chapter 8 on Sunday morning and, of course, at the end of last month got to that marvelous verse 28: “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”

Now in Colossians chapter 1, I am beginning this month looking at even more of “all things.” The “Son God loves” is the creator of all things. Paul wants us to truly understand that truth so he says it twice in verse 16, “by him all things were created” and “all things were created by him.” In addition, “all things” were created “for him.”

Creation was not a random act of nature nor a big bang. Creation had a Creator and that Creator had a purpose. Jesus, the Word of God, the Son God loves, created all things. He created them that He might enjoy them and have preeminence and supremacy over them.  We are not a random act of nature either. God created us for Himself and has a purpose for us, that we might enjoy Him and fellowship with Him forever.

Amen!

Ah, Halloween is behind us and Thanksgiving is just ahead. How I love thanksgiving, not just the Thanksgiving holiday, but the giving of thanks. God has taken me to the letter to the church at Colossae as we begin this season of reminder to be ever thankful.  He has taken me to the Supremacy of Christ passage in Chapter 1. Yesterday I focused on the fact that we are rescued out of the dominion of darkness. All that is behind us now. We have instead been granted citizenship in the “kingdom of the Son he loves.” [1:13]

As you read through chapter 1 in this letter it’s as if Paul is sudden captured by the image of the Son that God loves.  He begins to describe the Son in the most eloquent manner.

 “He [the Son God loves] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” [Col 1:15 NIV]

Let us not be confused by the term firstborn. It doesn’t mean God’s Son had a beginning. Firstborn in the culture of Paul’s day meant preeminence and supremacy over brothers. It signified special blessings, rights and privileges.

In fact, the Son God loves is the exact image of the invisible God. You want to know what the Father is like?  Look at the Son. He is the exact representation of the Father. It is the Father’s purpose to glorify the Son and glory upon glory – He has granted us to share in that purpose!

Father, what wonder!  You have called us to share in the privileges of the firstborn, the Son You love. I can never offer enough thanks for what You have called us to! Amen.