TerryLema

In Paul’s second letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, he tells Timothy to “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.” [2Timothy 1:14 HCSB]

God’s message of redeeming love had been entrusted to Timothy. Paul did not tell Timothy to add to it or to improve on it in any way. Timothy has one glorious responsibility, and that is to guard “that good thing” through the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit.

We, too, have been entrusted with God’s message of redeeming love.

The word “entrusted” means a deposit that has been committed to our charge. It is used to describe the correct knowledge and pure doctrine of the gospel which is to be firmly and faithfully held. It also carries with it the idea that the “good thing” entrusted to us is to be conscientiously delivered to others.

The Gospel is never selfish. It is not to be apprehended and then secreted away. It is to be embraced personally and then revealed to others.

Recently someone won a $1.73 billion lottery in California. That person has gone into hiding. He/she does not want anyone to know they have all those riches until they can secure their own trusts and strategies. He/she is not broadcasting to anyone their good fortune.

It is not so with the Gospel (which is worth so much more than $1.73 billion!). Once we possess that “good thing” we are to immediately share it! And amazingly, once we begin to share, we find we are not diminished but increased!

Isaiah 55 begins with a joyous invitation … “Come.”

The invitation is to those who are hungry and thirsty and have nothing with which to obtain what they need. But that soon changes to a warning for those who do not accept the invitation to “Come.”

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely forgive.” [Isaiah 55:6-7 HCSC]

I think verse 6 is the scariest verse of Scripture. “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near.”

What makes it so scary? That little word, “while.” Seek “while” … call to Him “while.”

It tells me that there is coming a time when the LORD will not be found, a time when He is no longer near.

One day God will say “Enough.” He will no longer contend with the rebellion of mankind. The kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of Our God and Savior.

In the meantime, the invitation to “Come” is still open. As children of God, we must use every opportunity to invite others to “come” be a part of God’s family.

Galatians 3:3: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?” [HCSB]

Ah, those foolish Galatians!  Saved by faith through the grace of God.  Set free by the power of God through the Holy Spirit.  Now trying to attain their goal by human effort.  Unfortunately, there is a little foolish Galatians in all of us.

But that is not what I really wanted to consider this morning.  Not the foolish part, but the attain your goal part.  I am positive that God does not like status quo, and that Scripture is full of words like attain, reaching forward, maturing, etc.

What is the goal Paul is referring to in Galatians?  He expresses it simply in a few words …  until Christ is formed in you.   [Gal 4:19]

That is the goal of all who have been rescued from sin through the salvation brought by God’s Son … to see the Son formed in us.  It is much more than “What Would Jesus Do¸” it is Christ in you.  It isn’t about doing, it’s about being.

That is Paul’s point.  You can’t do yourself into Christlikeness.  It’s about allowing God’s Holy Spirit to create Christ in you, the hope of glory.  It’s about being Christ-like.

Father, when people see me, when they hear me, I so want them to see and hear Your Son.  I want them to sense His love for them.  I want to be Christ-like each day.  Lord, show me how to allow Your Spirit in me to attain the goal You have set before me.  Amen.

I was reading in the book of Romans the other day.  Romans 1:21 in particular: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  [NIV]

I also read it in the Holman translation:  “For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude.  Instead their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.”

 I like the way the Holman translation broke the thought into two sentences.  That period made me pause and that pause made me reread it.  “They did not … show gratitude.” 

This passage is a grand indictment against the Gentile World.  It is part of the opening chapters of Romans which will eventually indict everyone … Jews, Gentiles, those with law and those without the law.  What struck me most about this verse is that mixed in among all the horrific, evil things mankind was guilty of, was the failure to show gratitude to God.

We don’t always think a lack of gratitude is anything but a lack of common courtesy.  A failure to say thanks after receiving something doesn’t sound like anything but bad manners.  Apparently, God looks at a lack of gratitude as far worse than bad manners.  It’s listed alongside idolatry, sexual impurity, lying.

That is an almost overwhelming thought.  Especially when I consider just how ungrateful I can be.  Far too often my thoughts turn to only what is needed and wanted rather than what has been given and received.

Father God, I want to be grateful!  I want to show my gratitude to you in every way.  I want to offer praise and thanksgiving to Your Name.  I always want to remember what you have done for me, in me.  Thank you, Father, for the mercy, grace, and love which are my daily companions as I walk this walk of faith.  Amen.

I found this devotion from 2017. Things are still about the same. We still have the birds in the trees. Bob still feeds them. But my sweet Miss Molly Magee has been gone for a few years now … I still miss that cat! I hope you find this old devotion blesses you! It blessed me this morning.

We have hundreds of little birds living in the six large cedars behind our house.  There are several different kinds.  I am not a bird expert.  What I see are little brown birds, little birds with black hoods, little birds with rosy chest feathers.  They all seem to abide quite well living in those cedars waiting for Bob to bring out breakfast, lunch, dinner and sometimes an evening snack.

One morning Bob slid on the ice just outside our sliding door and fell.  He wasn’t hurt, but the bird’s lunch ended up scattered across our patio right by the glass door. He had to go back and get another cup of seed for the feeder.  But it didn’t take long for those little birds to find an unexpected afternoon snack.  By then much of the seed had frozen to the ground so they had to work at it a little harder.  It also didn’t take long for Miss Molly Magee the cat to discover hundreds of birds flocking on the patio just on the other side of the glass door.

She stalked them all day.  She quietly and stealthily crept around the dining room table until she had her nose right up to the glass.  But with the glass door separating her from the birds that was as far as she could go.  The birds paid little attention to her, somehow knowing she was restrained from attacking by a barrier.  Miss Molly could see but not touch.  She kept begging me to open the door, but I never did.

Watching this reminded me of how the enemy of our soul can see, but he cannot truly harm us.  Sometimes he will frighten us by beating on that door, rattling it, making noise, but still he cannot destroy.  God is our refuge; we abide in Him.  We may lose everything in this life, including our life, still the enemy cannot have us.  We sit safely, eternally, in the shelter of the Most High. [Psalm 7, Psalm 91]

Deuteronomy 33:27:  The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’ [NIV]

I remember during the intro to a football game, one college team came running onto the field past a young woman holding up a sign.  As each passed, they high fived the sign.  It read, “Trust Yourself.”  That may be good advice for a football team, not so good for those who want to please God.

In fact, it is REALLY bad advice for making our way through this life. As Christians, our sign reads differently: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” [Proverbs 3:5-6 HCSB]

Our confidence is not in ourselves, it is in the Lord.  To realize how true that statement is, all I need to do is look at the times in my life when I tried to do it my way!  My path always became crooked, twisted, and usually ended at a dead end.  I had to cry out to God for help, retrace my route to find where I went wrong, repent, and eventually do it His way anyway!  I sure wasted a lot of effort and time thinking I knew better than God.

We are also not to lean on our own understanding, our own knowledge.  Paul prayed for us in Ephesians 3.  He prayed that we might be able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that [we] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

 He went on to glorify God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”  Our understanding is so limited we can’t even IMAGINE what to ask for.  We must depend upon our God to supply even our thirst for Him and all He wants to give us.

Maybe on a football field “Trust Yourself” is good counsel, but on the battlefields of life, it will only bring loss.

Lord, keep me from myself!  Give me Your understanding.  Amen

Gal 5:25:  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  [NIV]

I love the college football games that are played this time of year.  I am a college football junkie.  If they are broadcast, you will almost always find me watching.  There are many more games than when I first started watching as a teenager. I like that.  However, I miss the halftimes of those old football games.

It used to be they broadcast the halftime shows, each team’s band taking the field as they played their fight songs.  Now halftime is devoted to talking heads who review what we have already seen and give endless opinions on what we will see in the remainder of that game and others.

Yes, I miss the bands.  They always amazed me as each band member marched in step led by the drum major, forming words and pictures on the field.  I’ve never been in a band, but I think marching in step while playing an instrument must be a difficult endeavor.

In Galatians 5, Paul tells us what the acts of our sinful nature are and what the fruit of the Spirit is.  He is adamant that we are to live “by the Spirit.”  That means we must “keep in step with the Spirit.” 

As the Spirit goes, so go we. 

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  But it’s not.  We must keep our focus on the Spirit as He directs our steps.   At the same time, we are going through the daily routines of work, school, home, and play.  It takes commitment and practice … just like the band members who must play their instruments, read their music, and keep in step with the drum major.

Father, I want to be in step with Your Spirit.  I want to live in His timing, follow His leading, live by His Power.  Amen.

As I write this it is Sunday morning, just before the launch of Christian Faith Center (CFC) Middleton. I have been remembering the promises of God for the City of Middleton. Promises given when New Beginnings was planted in the 1990’s and continued through The Way from 2010 to 2023.

The vision of The Way was to be a church of grace built on the foundation of Christ Jesus. The vision of CFC Middleton is to love people to life in Christ Jesus.

Last Sunday evening at the final Pre-Launch service for CFC Middleton, I was sitting staring at the carpet tiles as Pastor Jordan Hodges spoke. He said something that immediately stirred my spirit. He said, “What God has promised must be stepped into by faith.”

Not long after The Way purchased that log cabin building, we pulled up the old, stained carpet and put down new carpet tiles. CFC Middleton recently pulled up those carpet tiles as the building was being updated, but then put them back down in the now refurbished building.

As I stared at those carpet tiles, God spoke a word into my heart. The Way stepped into God’s promises for Middleton and laid a foundation on the Gospel of Christ Jesus in that place. We placed our feet (and knees) on those carpet tiles and declared it consecrated ground.

Now others were putting their feet (and knees) on those same carpet tiles and loving Middleton to life.

God’s promises were going forward.

It doesn’t matter what the name is on the sign outside the building. It matters that God never fails, His Word is true, His promises will come to pass.