TerryLema

September 9

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” [2 Tim 1:6-7 NIV]

The letters to Timothy are believed to be the last ones Paul wrote from prison before he was martyred. How he loved Timothy! He remembered Timothy in his prayers, he longed to see him and he remarked about Timothy’s sincere faith in the opening words of his letter.

What we also learn from Paul’s opening remarks is that Timothy was perhaps a bit timid. Paul knowing that he was soon to be martyred and would be leaving the Gospel in the hands of the younger men wanted to make sure they were as on fire for God as he was. There wasn’t room for timidity.

Paul tells the young man to fan into flame the gift God had placed on his life. He reminds Timothy that God has provided all that he needs for ministry … power, love and self-discipline are his through the Holy Spirit.

Fire needs two things, oxygen and fuel. Remove either and flames will be reduced to embers and will eventually go out.  But as long as there is even a hint of fire left in those embers, fire can be fanned back into roaring flames with just a little oxygen and a little fuel. We need to make sure we are fueling the fire of that gift of God in our lives, and we need to make sure we are allowing the Holy Spirit to breathe power into it.

Holy Spirit, breathe on me! As I awake every day, re-ignite the embers of desire to carry Your Gospel to others! 

To know, love and serve Him brings eternal happiness.  The one thing that never changes about living life in this world is that everything changes.  Change is a constant companion. We either learn that early or we will be constantly frustrated and upset. Change affects the small things and change affects the big things.

I spent weeks looking for a good protein bar, one with high grams of protein and low grams of carbohydrates, and no sugar alcohols. Most high protein bars have lots of protein, but they also have too many carbs, some I’ve seen have as many carb grams as three slices of bread. And the ones with low carbs are often supplemented with sugar alcohols which I can’t digest.

I was so happy when I found one that exactly fit my needs.  And I enjoyed it for about two months and then they quit making it. When I asked why it was no longer stocked, they told me that the company was “improving” it. Change.

If only change would remain on that miniscule level, but it doesn’t. Often the change we must adjust to is accompanied by loss and grief. We lose loved ones, financial stability, employment, health. Those types of changes can rock us for a long time.

God promises us that when we know, love and serve Him in this life, we will have eternal happiness in the next. It’s hard to imagine a happiness that is never affected by change or shaken by loss, but that is the promise our God has given to those who love Him.

“And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” [Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV]

To love Him is to serve Him.  I often think of Joshua’s words, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” [Josh 24:15 NIV]

Joshua understood that serving is a choice. We can choose to serve or not.  We can choose how to expend our lives. It is as simple as that. Joshua made the choice for himself to serve the Lord and he included his household in his declaration.

Can we make this kind of choice for others? No, and I don’t think Joshua forced those of his household to serve God either.  I think he exampled his choice before them and he instructed them in the knowledge and love of the Lord.

Eventually, every person must make their own choice how their life will be spent. The choice becomes easier when we know and love the Savior. We see His choice to exhaust His life for us.  Jesus said that He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Matt 20:28 NIV]

When we truly appreciate all He did to ransom us, we will want to lay down our lives in service to Him. Read Philippians 2:5-8 today and ask God to open that passage up in your heart and mind in all its glory.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen

To know Him is to love Him. Have you noticed that often the more you know someone the less you like them?  The old adage ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ is often true. We usually put our best foot forward when we meet someone for the first time. We cover our flaws, we hide our imperfections. Eventually, however, all those things we wish we could bury forever rise to the surface. People are then known by what they really are.

That old adage, “familiarity breeds contempt,” cannot be applied to God, however. In fact, the opposite is true. The more we get to know God, the more we love Him. And the more we love God, the more we want to know Him!

Paul commands us to live a life of love in Ephesians 5.  He says the example for that life of love is Christ Jesus Himself.  “…live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” [Eph 5:2 NIV]

When we come to know, deeply know, the love God has for us as shown to us in Christ’s sacrifice, the more we will love God.  This One who loved us while we were still sinners, who sent His own Son to bear the awful penalty of our sin becomes our All in All.

Father, words cannot express my love for You. Thank you for all You have done to bring me home to You. Amen.

God made us to know Him. In the book of Jeremiah, God promised that He would watch over the small group of exiles sent into captivity in Babylon, the remnant of Judah. He promised that He would bring them back to the promised land. He made one other promise. “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.”  [Jer 24:7 NIV]

God wants us to know Him. Hebrews 8 reminds us that God gave a New Covenant, and in that New Covenant He will give us hearts and minds that know Him.  “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” [Heb 8:10-11 NIV]

As Christians, we are born under the New Covenant, the one sealed by the blood of God’s Son on the cross. God puts His laws in our minds and our hearts. His desire is that all know Him, personally, intimately.  We aren’t just to know of Him. A lot of people know of Him, but do not know Him.  After all, James reminds us even the demons believe there is a God. And that knowledge makes them shudder with fear.  [2:19]

We are to know Him, as Father, Savior, Redeemer, Lord. Our lives are to be spent knowing Him in ever-greater measure. The greatest search in our lives, our greatest pursuit, is to know our wonderful Lord and Master.

God, create in me a desire to know You more!  I want knowing you to be the all-consuming desire of my life. Amen.

“Do you believe you were created for more?”

Every now and again I get an email advertisement that has a subject line that captures my attention.  The one above did just that.  I deleted the email along with most of the others trying to sell me something. Still, that subject line did garner my attention, especially since it came in the middle of a week while I was frustrated trying to learn a lot of stuff which I will need for the next four months, and probably never need to know again.

Were we created for more? If so, what is that “more?” To understand the “more,” we should probably address the foundational question. Why were we created?

I grew up with the Baltimore catechism, a series of questions and answers about Christian beliefs. One of the first questions: “Why did God make you?” The answer: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”

Wow. God’s divine purpose for us is to know Him, love Him, serve Him in this life, and be happy with Him eternally. I am not sure there can be anything “more” than that.

Perhaps the question should not be, “Do we believe we were created for more?”  It should be, “Are we now living up to God’s glorious purpose for us?”

 “For we are God’s workmanship….”  [Eph 2:10 NIV]

Father, I want to know You, love You, serve You now and forever. I want to live Your purpose for me. Amen.

Acts 13:2-3: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”  [NIV]

Work. Toil. Sweat. Labor. Drudgery. PASSION!

There is a work that becomes a passion; it is the one to which the Holy Spirit calls us. Barnabas and Paul were called for a particular work. The church anointed them for that work and sent them off to complete it. In the next chapter, they will return to Antioch and report back what happened on this missionary journey.  “On arriving [in Antioch], they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” [Acts 14:27 NIV]

Work that is done for God becomes a passion. Surely, our bodies grow weary at times. Surely, we may face opposition. Surely, the work may be difficult and hard.  We may find that we have “toiled” in the heat of the day, but there is something that energizes us when we work our passion. The power of the Holy Spirit in us enables us to keep going and keep thriving.

We may not be called to go to foreign places as missionaries like Barnabas and Paul. We may not be called even to work in the church or Christian organizations. But we are all called to a work for God, wherever it is performed.  We have been “set apart” by the Holy Spirit. That PASSION! should consume us until we are spent out.  Amen.

I worked last Monday, 8 AM to 5 PM. It’s the first time in a while that I have worked a full day. Add to that the 60-mile round trip commute and it made for a long day. I came home tired and by the time dinner was done and I finished packing my lunch for the next day, I only had about two hours before bedtime. I’m going to appreciate this 3-day weekend more than I have in years.

Although tired, it was rather fun to get out and meet new people. It will probably take my entire 4-month temporary placement before I’m able to put all the names with the faces, if ever. Everyone I met greeted me with a smile and while there I heard a lot of laughter. Who knew a “finance” department would be so.

Work. Toil. Sweat. Labor. Drudgery. Have you ever just wanted to give old Adam (of the Garden of Eden) a thump on the back of the head and ask him, “What were you thinking?”

Gen 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground.” [NIV]

Good old Adam plunged us into the work/sweat cycle. And yet, we probably would have done the same thing had we been in his place. Until the Lord returns, work, toil, sweat, labor, and sometimes even drudgery will be part of life. Still … there is a work that can be a passion … and passion changes everything — tomorrow.

September 1

My Bible verse for the day was out of Isaiah 26. The prophet gives us a song that will be sung in the land of Judah.  First, he addresses God’s promise, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”  [v3 NIV]

Then he reminds his listeners why they should place their trust in the LORD. “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.” [v4 NIV]

One of the first things I noticed as we got closer to St. George, Utah, last week was the rock structures. Hills and mountains were amazing varieties of colors and formations all around us. Most of us aren’t into rocks. My initial thought of a rock is the gravel in driveways, or the small rocks that get stuck in the treads of my shoes. But anyone who knows rocks, understands how beautiful and diverse they are.

The rock structures and mountains around St. George look immovable, as if nothing could shake them. As steadfast as they appear, however, I know that they can be shaken. One mighty earthquake could send them tumbling.

Not so with our Rock! We can place our trust in Him—He is the Rock Eternal. He will never be moved, never shaken, never tumbled. He is forever true. And we will find perfect eternal peace if we keep our mind steadfast upon Him and our trust invested in Him. Amen.

I am still tired from my trip last week to St. George to visit with our friend recovering from a major illness.  Lots of miles, sleeping in different places, schedules interrupted. I didn’t have my time with the Lord in the morning. I certainly didn’t eat the way I should (hard to do when eating out all the time). Then I came home to laundry, getting my Sunday message finalized, shopping and prepping for returning to work last Monday on a full-time 4-month temporary placement.  Lots to do for this 70-year-old-lady.

Weariness is a part of living in our fallen world. I don’t think we will find even a trace of weariness in the next. I can only imagine that being in our glorified bodies in the presence of the Lord will be eternal energy and strength.

Jesus addresses the church at Ephesus in the Book of Revelation in the opening verses of chapter 2.  He praises them initially … “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” [Vs 3 NIV]

He will go on to admonish them for a few things, including forgetting their first love, but His praise comes first and centers on their hard work and their perseverance. They did not grow weary in doing good and their reward was to have praise from the King of Kings. [Gal 6:9]

I think their bodies grew weary, just as our bodies grow weary, but it is not weariness of body to which Jesus is referring.  It’s our attitudes – we need to make sure that our attitudes never weary of doing good. Then we, too, will have praise from our King.