TerryLema

Patty and I traveled last week to see our friend. Patty left home in Montana, picked me up in Idaho and we traveled to Utah at the beginning of the week.  We stayed in a motel in Utah. Not the 5-star kind, but the adequate-for-the-price kind. While a bit dated, it had nice beds, lots of pillows, a fridge and microwave, tv, spa and pool, and served a nice breakfast.  It had all the amenities we needed for our stay. Then we traveled home Friday.  Home. (What a wonderful word!)

Heb 11:9: “By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents….”  

2 Peter 3:13: “But in keeping with [God’s] promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Abraham lived in tents like a stranger in a foreign country. (Sound familiar?) Even though the land had been promised to him, he would not live to see his descendants claim it.

As believers, we too have a promise.  We have been promised a new heaven and a new earth, but not just new. We have been promised that this new heaven and new earth will be “the home of righteousness.” I like that, “the home of righteousness” (the one and only) under the rule of Christ Jesus, our King of Kings.

Father, how we long for home … for our true home, the one promised to all who believe in Your Son. Amen.

I was watching television in the hospital room as my friend slept last week.  She had turned on one of the all-day news channels and as it moved from one story to another I noticed a recurring theme.  Anger. Those interviewing and those being interviewed were angry. The videos being shown were of angry mobs, protestors, demonstrators, criminals and crime victims, etc. It seems everyone was angry about something.

I think it interesting that anger is one of the first emotions to show up in the Bible.  First, of course, was the fear displayed by Adam and Eve when they sinned and hid from God.  But it isn’t very long before anger enters the heart of their firstborn, Cain.

Cain and his brother Abel bring their offerings to the Lord. God looks with favor on Abel’s, but does not look with favor on Cain’s. Suddenly, Cain is angry.  When he displays his anger, God calls him on it and gives him a warning.  “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’” [Gen 4:6-7 NIV]

Simply said, “No point in getting angry, just do what is right.”  Cain did not learn that lesson and ended up blaming his brother for his problems, then killing him.  I think humans have not learned a whole lot since then. We still get angry, and we still don’t always do what is right, and we are still pretty good at blaming others for our problems.

Oh Lord, help us to do what is right. Help us to master sin’s desires for us through the power and anointing of Your Holy Spirit. Amen

This past week we had the unusual event where the moon eclipsed the sun.  People drove for miles to be in the location where the eclipse would be 100 percent.  It only lasted a few minutes but those minutes were absolutely spectacular if you happened to be in one of the prime places.

Unfortunately, Patty and I were heading south away from one of the prime sites in Idaho.  We were on our way to St. George, Utah, to see our friend.  We missed the whole thing.  The only thing that happened where we were was a slight darkening, a bit like a cloudy day when sunglasses aren’t needed.

I missed the big event of this year. I won’t, however, miss the biggest event of all time when our Lord and Savior returns.  Jesus promised that it will be like lightning across the sky, and that when it happens, every eye will see Him. Whether I am alive at the time or have gone home to be with the Lord, because of faith in Christ Jesus, I will see His coming on the clouds.

Matt 24:27:  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Rev 1:7:  Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.

Father, thank you for the promise of Christ’s return. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain and was transfigured before them.  Coming down from that experience he found the other disciples arguing with some teachers of the law. A large crowd was standing around watching. The argument apparently was focused on a father with a son possessed by a spirit that continually tried to kill him. The other disciples had tried to cast the spirit out, but had been unsuccessful. Jesus, however, cast out the spirit and set the young boy free.

This morning as I was reading that chapter, instead of focusing on the transfiguration or the events surrounding Jesus and this father and son, I found myself focusing on a verse between those two events. “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.” [Mark 9:15 NIV]

The people were overwhelmed with “wonder.” The English does not do that Greek word justice. It is a very intensive word, used only in Mark’s Gospel.  It means to “astonish utterly, to greatly amaze.” It even carries a hint of fright.

The people were greatly amazed before they even saw the miracle. They were utterly astonished simply when they saw Jesus. There is something undefinable that happens when coming face to face with holiness. Moses knew it on the mountain with God, Isaiah felt it when he saw the vision of God high and lifted up in the heavenly temple. The crowd recognized it when Jesus descended from the transfiguration on the mountain.

Oh God, how holy You are. Blessed be the Lord God Almighty. Amen.

But God. Phil 2:27: “Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.” [NIV]

My friend that was so ill is on the path to recovery. While it may be a long and probably difficult path, we are going to have her with us and that brings us joy.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, Paul mentioned a man named Epaphroditus, and called him “my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier.” Epaphroditus had been sent by the church at Philippi as their messenger to minister to Paul while he was in prison. Apparently Epaphroditus fell gravely ill and almost died.  Paul indicates the illness was because Epaphroditus risked [gambled] “his life to make up for the help you could not give me.” [vs 30 NIV]

Paul prayed and God had mercy on Epaphroditus and not just on Epaphroditus, but on Paul also. God spared Paul the sorrow of losing this wonderful man.

I feel this morning a little of what Paul must have felt. God had mercy and spared my friend. And not just mercy on her, but on me and her family and friends and all those who benefit from her life among us. Over the last couple years, many of our fellow workers and soldiers in Christ have gone to be with the Lord. We are sorrowed because of our loss.  This time, however, God spared us that. Instead of sorrow upon sorrow, we have joy upon joy that she has been returned to us.

Thank you, God, for your healing and for giving our friend back to us. We rejoice today. Amen and Amen.

But God. Ps 73:26: “… but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” [NIV]

1 Peter 1:3-6: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us … an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you….” [NIV]

My mother always had to be first in line at church dinners or potlucks. She was so afraid that if she waited too long there would not be anything left of what she wanted to eat. She really had very little patience for waiting in any kind of a line. It didn’t matter if it was at the grocery store, pharmacy,  or buying tickets, etc.

When Israel under Joshua entered the Promised Land, they mapped out and divided the land so that each tribe, and each family in that tribe received an allotment that was theirs forever. It was their portion of the Promise of God given to Abraham.

As believers in Christ, we are not promised an earthly portion of land. We are promised an inheritance in the heavenlies that can never be taken from us, one that never perishes, spoils or fades away.  Truly, as Asaph the writer of Psalm 73 says, God is our portion forever. He is our allotment. He is our inheritance.

Father, I may not have much in this world but oh how I long to see my portion, my allotment, my inheritance when I step into Your presence. Just to look on Your lovely face shall be enough for all eternity.

But God. Acts 13:30: “But God raised [Jesus] from the dead.” [NIV]

And the same God who raised up Jesus from the dead will one day give life to our mortal bodies. Hallelujah!  [Romans 8:9-11]

My hip hurts. As does my foot. Both of which make walking more difficult than it should be. My shoulder still hurts from when I fell in January. My hair is getting more sparse. Lots of stuff droops and sags. It’s more difficult to lose weight than it used to be. I am sure the floor is further away than when I was young. In other words, this old body just ain’t what it used to be!

In this life, our bodies are still subject to the curse of death, even though our souls and spirits have been set free.  We truly are in the ‘land of the dying’ heading, as believers, to the ‘land of the living.’ And what a promise God has given us—that He will one day give us a new body, one that will operate in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

I think everyone at some point in life looks back and thinks that their best days are behind them.  But, beloved, as followers of Christ, the truth is that our best days are still ahead of us! Hallelujah!

But God.  Heb 12:10-11: “But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.” [NIV]

Discipline, not the most thrilling of words. In the NT Greek, it means “to train up a child, i.e. educate.” It is often translated as instruct, learn, teach, and part of teaching can be punishment.

When my middle grandson was a preschooler, his parents were trying to teach him not to use the word “stupid.” Saying “stupid” brought a short time-out to enforce the instruction. Grandpa and I were visiting with them in California and as we sat around the kitchen table, Grandpa unfortunately used the word “stupid.”  Immediately, of course, little Marcus said, “PapaBob, you can’t say ‘stupid.’ We don’t say ‘stupid’ and you said ‘stupid’ so you have to go to time-out.”

My daughter-in-law smiled and backed up little Marcus, “Yes, PapaBob, time-out.” So, there went PapaBob to the time-out chair, the little kitchen timer counting down the seconds of his discipline, with Marcus sitting there watching and wearing the biggest grin.

God disciplines us. He does it to educate us for a divine purpose that we may share in His holiness. At times that education is reinforced with a bit of punishment when needed, a time-out as it were. We should never confuse God’s discipline with condemnation, however, for Jesus took our condemnation. Discipline is part of sanctification and designed to conform us into the image of Christ Jesus, God’s dear son.

Thank you, Father, for the discipline that makes me more like Jesus. Amen.

But God.  Paul had been worried about the church in Corinth. He had sent them a tough letter, urging them to deal with both the blatant sin in their midst, and the false teachers that seemed to be winning them over to a heretical gospel.  Paul had sent Titus to Corinth to get a feel for their reaction and report back.

Travel and postal service were a lot slower in those days, so Paul had to wait, and while he did, he worried. He worried that the work he had begun in Corinth was being perverted. He worried that his “children” were being lured away from the truth of Christ. Then Titus returned, and with his good report, brought comfort. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul identified that comfort as coming from God.

2 Cor 7:6: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” [NIV]

God comforts the downcast. He comforted Paul through the good news that Titus brought back from Corinth. God comforts us when we are downcast – and yes, even strong believers get downcast at times.  If it could happen to Paul, it can certainly happen to us.  Good News from God, however, will always revive and lift us.

If you are feeling downcast, read Romans 8. It is full of God’s Good News, and it is a great cure for being downcast.  Glory to God. Amen.

August 20

But God. Two 3-letter words. But God. Have you ever thought about what you would be, what your life would be if those two little words didn’t exist?  But God. It is an interesting study looking up “but God” in a concordance. I want to spend this week looking at a few of the “but God” occurrences in Scripture.

In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the master and the dishonest manager. He ends with a dynamic statement, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Luke 16:13]

Luke then tells us that there were Pharisees listening, “who loved money…and were sneering at Jesus.” 

Jesus sees their sneers and tells them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.” [v 14-15]

But God knows your hearts. That is both a negative and a positive statement. For those who sneer at the things of God and hold themselves up for glory in the sight of men, God sees through the arrogance. He knows their hearts. But for those who by their very lives seek to honor Him in the sight of men, God also knows their hearts and they are pleasing to Him.

Father, my heart breaks when I see the sneers or read the insults to You. May I always remember to pray for those souls. May my own heart always honor You. Amen.