TerryLema

We are rapidly approaching the longest day of the year at the end of June. I’ve noticed lately that it is light out when I head to bed and still light out when I wake up in the morning. (Thank God for blackout curtains!)

As I woke up to a bright morning, I was reminded of a Scripture from the Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.”  [Matt 5:14 HCSB]

As I listened to the morning news I was also reminded about how dark our world is getting. Evil is much more out there. The world considers this enlightenment, coming out from under the restrictive morals and rules the church has imposed upon them.

Unfortunately, their enlightenment is really darkness. The woes of Isaiah 5 surely apply: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight.”  [vs20-21 HCSB]

But in the midst of this dark world, Christians are light. The darker the world gets, the brighter our light shines.  Jesus said we “cannot be hidden.”  We are not running around looking for a match to strike this little light of mine, we are like a large city ablaze on a mountain. The darker the world, the harder it will be to ignore us.

In the same chapter of Isaiah where God says: “Therefore the Lord God said: ‘Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.’” He also says this, “For the Lord will rise up as He did at Mount Perazim. He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.” [Isaiah 28:16, 21 HCSB]

Because of love, God has given us Christ Jesus. He is the precious cornerstone that is a sure foundation in our lives. By trusting in Christ Jesus, we have an assurance of God’s love and grace. Peter tells us that while this cornerstone is precious to those who believe, it is anything but precious to those who don’t believe. They reject the very foundation God wants to build in their lives in Christ Jesus. [I Peter 2]

This rejection, if left intact will eventually prompt God’s “strange work” and “his disturbing task.”

God’s strange work and disturbing task is judgment. Our God is a God of love. He wants all to come to salvation through His love and grace. I think God hates the idea of subjecting any of His creation to judgment … and that’s why He calls it his strange work and disturbing task. While He may hate it, His holiness demands it.

So, what has all that to do with you and me? I think we sometimes are too eager to see God’s judgment fall on those who are bound deep in sin. I think we love it a little more than we should. Instead of being broken by the thought of any of God’s creation falling under judgment, we can hardly wait for it to happen. Yet God Himself considers love His main work, and judgment His strange work.

If you get a chance, read Psalm 46 today.  It begins: “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore, we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.” [vs1-3 HCSB]

I was thinking about some of the ‘troubles’ I face in my life now. When I compare them with the troubles others face, I should probably define them as minor annoyances.

Amid our troubles (or minor annoyances) God reminds us that he is our refuge and strength.  Refuge … not sure what it means in the Hebrew, but I sure know what it means in the English … my sanctuary, shelter, protection, and safe haven. And let’s face it strength is understood in any language!

But what really caught my eye was that our God is “a helper who is always found,” or as some translations say … “an ever-present help.”

He is always available, always present with me. I don’t have to take one of those numbers like you do at the deli or ice cream parlor and wait around for others ahead of me to get the help they need first. Our God is ever-present. Always ready to be our refuge and strength!

I know my main problem is that I usually try to figure things out myself first instead of just running to the One who is my refuge, sanctuary, shelter, protection, safe haven, and strength.

As I was watching a baseball game the other night a commercial came on for a medication for headaches. I had heard it multiple times before but this time I caught something in the side effects disclaimer that made me laugh.

The side effects included “dry mouth; tiredness; neck pain; eye problems such as double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, dry eyes; upper respiratory tract infection; and (wait for it) headache.”

“Headache?”  So, a side effect of headache medication is a headache? Truthfully, I have heard similar things. Makes me wonder about the human race.

Then I thought about the side effects of accepting Christ Jesus as Savior and LORD. I not only received the remedy for my sin, guilt, and shame, I received marvelous side effects!

Divine Favor, grace, forgiveness, spiritual renewal, eternal life. There are blessings like peace, joy, hope, purpose, love. I also have adoption, redemption, freedom, righteousness. And I have God’s faithfulness, consolation, inheritance, and access to Him personally.

The list of salvation side effects goes on and on and on. I think we will be experiencing them for all eternity.

Thank you, LORD!

AAA expected about 45 million people to travel for the recent Memorial Day weekend. Approximately 3 million people boarded planes last Friday. Newscasts reported on the long lines at airports and the busy highways. The interstate around us was busy with people heading somewhere in an RV or pulling travel trailers.

Everyone was hoping to “get away from it all” and find some peace and quiet away from the demands of everyday life. The only problem with that is that everyone must eventually return to the demands of everyday life. The peace and quiet is short-lived.

Changing the outward does little to accomplish the lasting peace and quiet we all so desperately need. Jesus said that true “rest” is only found in Him.

 “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.” [Matthew 11:28-29]

The “rest” Jesus promises changes the inside. The Greek word speaks of blessed tranquility of the soul.   

The rest Jesus promises is permanent. It provides an antidote to the demands of everyday life and refreshment that never runs out.

It is good to get away from it all – but it is even better to have that blessed tranquility of the soul that Jesus provides while we are in the midst of “it all.”

Israel was free. Pharoah had finally capitulated and allowed Israel to leave with their children, their herds. They had even plundered the Egyptians as they left. For about a week they rejoiced and had it easy. God even provided shade during the day and heat during the cold nights. [Exodus 12-14]

Then God did something strange. “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.” [14:2]

God had them camp between the pursuing Egyptian army and the Red Sea. It appeared the party was over.

You know the story. God shielded them from the enemy, parted the Red Sea so they could walk over on dry ground, and then annihilated the Egyptian army. God proved Himself Glorious and Strong on their behalf.

“When Israel saw all that God had done, they sang. ‘I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name…. Who is like You, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?’” [15:1-3, 11 HCSB]

There are times in this life when it feels like we are standing between an immovable barrier and a pursuing enemy. Be assured, God knows just where we are. He will prove to be our strength and song. He will prove Himself Glorious in Holiness, Revered with Praises, Performing Wonders. Amen & Amen

I spent years journaling when I was first saved. It was often a form of prayer, speaking to the LORD and listening for his response. I found that if I did not spend enough time writing in my journal, I had a hard time remembering to be thankful. So often the Scripture combines thankfulness with prayer.

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” [Colossians 4:2]

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” [Philippians 4:6]

We should be thankful daily. We have so much for which to be thankful. Our sins have been wiped away. We have a future and a hope. We have a God who not only loves us as His creation but wants us to be his sons and daughters. We have been invited, urged, and wooed to come into His presence boldly. God wants to bless us! We should be the most thankful gracious people on the face of the earth. There should never be a grumble, a murmur, or a complaint!

May 1 was the 2025 National Day of Prayer. Were that the only day we prayed we would be very weak in our spiritual walk. Six months from now in November is the National Day of Thanksgiving. If that is the only day that we are thankful, we are going to be very unlovely to be around.

Remember to thank God today for who you are and all you have. Remember to thank Him today for all He is and His promises. Remember to do it EVERY DAY.

Today is Memorial Day, first observed May 30, 1868. It is a day to honor the nation’s armed services personnel killed in wartime. Unfortunately, Memorial Day has lost some of its meaning. While there are still a few parades, and veteran’s groups decorating the graves of fallen comrades with flags, most Americans view this holiday as the beginning of the fun summer season. It’s all about camping, picnics, and just having a great fun-packed three-day weekend.

As I thought about the change in the way most Americans celebrate Memorial Day, I also thought about the change in the way some American Christians think about their journey here on earth. Early Christians recognized that this world was a foreign land, Peter said, “I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul” and “live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”  [I Peter 2:11, 1:17]

We are strangers, pilgrims, and sojourners, in an alien hostile land. The world is a battleground. Choices must be made constantly to live for the holy, the good, the right, and not to succumb to the influences of compromise, evil, and apathy.

But have we forgotten the admonition of living as pilgrims in a foreign land? A. W. Tozer said: “In our day, the interpretation has changed completely.  We are not here to fight, but to frolic!  We are not in a hostile foreign land; we are at home!” [A.W. Tozer, “Renewed Day by Day, Volume 2]

Christians, be on your guard, we are here to war. Our time to frolic will come when we gather around God’s throne to celebrate the great Marriage Supper of the Lamb. For now, Pilgrim, remember your duty!

“Shift the Blame” is the first game ever invented. It came on the scene long before Trivial Pursuit, Checkers, Hopscotch, Pin the Tail, or Jacks. It has been around since the Garden of Eden. God made Adam. Adam was lonely. God made a partner for Adam. Her name was Eve. God gave Adam and Eve one rule. “Don’t eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” [Genesis 2-3]

One simple rule, easy to remember. One day Adam left Eve alone. The serpent came calling. The serpent convinced Eve that it was okay to break just that one rule. “God didn’t really mean what He said.” So Eve eats from THAT tree. Eve gives the fruit to Adam. Adam eats.

Adam and Eve are suddenly aware they are naked. They hear God coming. They hide. God finds them. “Why are you hiding?” They tell God they are hiding because they are naked. God asks them how they know they are naked. “Did you eat the fruit that was off-limits?”

And now the game begins! Eve shifts the blame to the serpent. “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (It’s not my fault God, it’s the serpent’s. I would never have done such a thing if the devil hadn’t made me do it!)

Adam, on the other hand, shifts the blame to God. “The woman YOU gave me, she gave me some fruit and I ate.” (Things were going along quite nicely here in the garden until YOU created this woman!)

Unfortunately, this game never ends. That’s why the words of Paul in I Timothy 1:15 are so refreshing. “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them.” [HCSB]

 Paul didn’t shift the blame. When he came to Christ, he came as the worst of sinners needing a Savior. That’s the way we each must come. Owning up to the fact that we disobeyed and ate the wrong fruit, and now we are naked and hiding in the bushes away from God. Boy, do we need a Savior!

It has been several weeks since the pinched nerve in my neck got angry. During that time I have had two MRI’s. One was scheduled months ago as a follow-up for another issue and the second scheduled to see if my spine problems have progressed.

My pinched nerve was especially painful as I drove over for the first MRI. I was not at all sure if I could make it through the test as I had to hold my breath repeatedly during the imaging. Of course, as I fussed about what “might” happen, the pain got worse. And as the pain increased, so did the discouragement.

Then I started to sing! I remembered Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians to be filled by the Spirit and to sing “spiritual songs” from the heart.

“… be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father.” [Ephesians 5:18-20 HCSB]

The pain diminished the louder I sang. I sang with my understanding, and I sang with my spirit. I made music from my heart to the LORD. My words were my own, the melody was original. I praised God and gave thanks.

I continued the entire drive over and when I arrived, the pain was much less. I did well throughout the test. I re-learned the lesson … pain discourages, praise encourages. Thank you, LORD.