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TerryLema

Valentine’s Day

by TerryLema

Today is the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Card companies, candy companies, florists, and restaurants rejoice. Servers not so much. Apparently, people spend so much on cards, candy, flowers and fancy dinners that they run low on funds by the time they get to servers.

Not sure how this celebration got started. Some tie it to a mid-February festival in ancient Rome that celebrated fertility. Other attribute it to a St. Valentine, although there are a few saints named Valentine in the Catholic church.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s, and in 1840 Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. If you google Valentine’s Day, you will get many different origins.

The world thinks of Valentine’s Day as a day of love, but it is more about romance than love. And while romance is great, and should be practiced, love is much more enduring.

We have probably all read 1 Corinthians 13, which describes what true love looks like. “Love is patient, love is kind.
Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” [HCSB]

This is the kind of love our Father has for us. It is the kind of love we are to have for each other. It takes us far beyond romance. It reaches out to the lonely, the unlovely, the sick, the dying, the forgotten, the misunderstood, the rebellious and the defiant. And yes, even reaches as far as our enemies.  This kind of love changes everything in its path.

 

Amen

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February

by TerryLema

February is the shortest month. It is also a month that has a few observances, such as, Canned Food Month, National Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry as well as Grapefruit & Hot Breakfast Month. It is also American Heart Month.

I had the privilege of bringing the message yesterday at The Way. It had been over a year since I stood behind a pulpit, and I must admit I was a bit nervous. I decided to talk about our heart health, after all it is February. Just as it is with our physical hearts, there are risk factors to spiritual heart health.

God must want us to consider our heart health as the heart is mentioned almost 1000 times in the Scriptures. Proverbs 4:23 tells us the importance of heart health: “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”

In the OT, the word for heart is often translated as “mind.” The NT also links our hearts and minds using the Greek word “kardia.” That is because the Scriptures integrate the inner being into a “whole” much more than we do now. (How often have we heard someone tell us to “Listen to your heart, not your mind.”)

Our hearts are that spiritual part of us where our thoughts, emotions, desires, and will dwell. It is the inner core of who we are as a person and it determines the choices we make, and the actions we take. That is why Proverbs 4 doesn’t end with simply reminding us to guard our hearts. It also reminds us about our thoughts, our speech, our focus, and our actions.

“Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously. Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established.”  [4:25-26]

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The Christian Life

by TerryLema

Just a final thought out of Colossians. There is a paragraph in Chapter 3 that talks about the Christian Life and what it should look like. You’ll find it in verses 12-17. If you get a chance read it today.

As I started to read that paragraph, I got stuck on how we are described in the beginning of verse 12. We are “God’s chosen ones, holy and loved.” [HCSB]

We are God’s chosen. Not because we are something special, but solely by the grace of God. We responded to an invitation to come to Him because we were weary and weak and worn and bankrupt.

We are holy. Not by our own efforts but because “He [Christ Jesus] has reconciled [us] by His physical body through His death, to present [us] holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.” [Colossians 1:22 HCSB]

We are loved. Not because we are lovable, but because He is love and has showered His mercy, grace, and love upon us. In fact, He loved us when we were His enemies, when we were rebellious, when we were shaking our fists at Him and shouting that we would not have Him rule over us. Still, He loved us.

Now we have a choice – to live like we are chosen, holy and loved.

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Back to ….

by TerryLema

The first four verses of Colossians Chapter 3 always bring me back to the single most important thing in my life in the past, back to the way I should be living and thinking now, and back to what is in store for me in the future.

 “So, if [since] you have been raised with the Messiah [Christ Jesus], seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” [HCSB]

What is the single most important thing in my life in the past? It is that I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus. I died to my former life and now am “hidden with the Messiah in God.” I was “raised with” Him in newness of life. Can anything be more important than that?

So how should I be living and thinking now? I am to set my mind on what I have in Christ Jesus in the heavenlies. I am not to be focused on the things of this world. I am to seek the things of God, not pursue worldly pleasures. My reality is not this world. My reality is Christ Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father. And as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, by the grace of God we are raised up and seated in the heavens with Him. [vs6]

And as glorious as our now is, even more glorious is our future. Read Colossians 3:4 again, “When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

 There is absolutely nothing in this world that can compare to that! Amen!

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Our Certificate of Debt

by TerryLema

One of my favorite verses in Colossians Chapter 2 is verse 14. Christ Jesus “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” [NKJV]

The Holman Christian Standard says it this way. “He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.”

Jesus canceled not just our debt, He canceled the record of our debt. Hallelujah!

There was an ancient practice in Paul’s day of nailing the written evidence of a canceled debt in a public place. That served notice to everyone that the creditor (God’s law in our case) had no more claim on the debtor.

Paul’s original readers would have understood that a person’s debt, as well as any legal consequences, was erased. They no longer had to live under the threat of punishment or enslavement for a debt they could not pay. And neither do we!

Christ took our sin and its debt to the cross. There, He publicly posted freedom for all who come to Him. When we enter the presence of God, our sin, our punishment, and every evidence of it, will never follow us.

Glory to God!

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Running Home

by TerryLema

I love the Book of Colossians. Whenever I feel a bit downcast or unable to get my thoughts where they need to be, I run back to the Book of Colossians. It is like running home.

After Paul’s initial greeting, thanksgiving, and prayer for spiritual growth in Chapter 1, Paul turns to the centrality of Christ Jesus in verses 15-28. Oh, how my heart soars when I read of all Christ Jesus is.  How can I stay downcast after reading about my Savior and LORD.

He is the image of the invisible God, preeminent in all things. He is Creator of the things we see and the things that are invisible to us while we dwell in this earthly tent. All things have been created through Him and for Him.

He holds all things together, sustains all things. Why would I think mankind has the power the overcome the One who sustains all?

He is the head of the church, the body of Christ. He rose from the dead, and all are now alive in Him.

He pleased God! And all God’s fullness dwells in Him. He now reconciles everything, making peace through the blood He shed on His cross – everything, whether those are things on earth or things in heaven.

And now, verse 22 reminds us, He has reconciled us in order to present us holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.

Wow. How can I stay downcast when I read of my LORD? What can compare to Him?

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The Show to End All Shows!

by TerryLema

This Sunday, February 12, is the National Football League Super Bowl, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

This is the culmination of the pro football season. As a side note, the people who set the odds in Vegas have the Eagles as winners.

Bob and I will watch the game. We both like football, although my preference is youth football, followed by high school and college. The pros are my least favorite, but it is the last game of the season so we will hunker down and enjoy it.

I was checking the time when I came across a few things. Apparently, the halftime is a “highly anticipated concert” by Rihanna who apparently has not had a concert for six years. I also saw that more than 100 million people are expected to watch and “brands” are getting ready to launch their biggest ad campaigns of the year.

As I read those things about the Super Bowl, I could not help but recall another “highly anticipated” event. It comes in Revelation 19.  “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God…And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” [vs 11-16 HCSB]

The NFL world is “highly anticipating” the Super Bowl show. The music world is “highly anticipating” the half time show. But I am “highly anticipating” the show that will end all shows … the return of the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords. Amen

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An Undivided Mind

by TerryLema

“Lament & Petition” is the title of Psalm 86, a song of David. David laments that his enemies are pursuing him, and then petitions his LORD for protection and security.  I have been studying it in both the New King James and in the Holman Christian Standard versions.

First David talked about God bringing joy to him. Then he recalled those wonderful attributes of God, noting that God is good, kind, beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, merciful, and faithful to all those who call on Him. [vs 4, 5]

The verse that I am focused on today is verse 11. In the NKJV it reads, “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.”

 The Holman reads, “Teach me your way, YAHWEH, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.”

The word for “unite” and “undivided” is yachad. And it simply means to be united. David asks God to unite his heart/mind. (It seems that often in the OT heart and mind are interchangeable). David also requests that God teach him the ways of God so that he can live in God’s truth.

James reminds us in his letter that a double-minded or indecisive person is unstable in all his/her ways. The one with a mind/heart that tries to live in both the world and in God’s kingdom will be both miserable and hopeless.  [1:8]

James also gives the solution for having a divided heart and mind.  “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners and purify your hearts, double-minded people!” [4:7-8]

Help us to draw near to you, LORD. Teach us Your ways so that we may live in Your truth. Amen.

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Kind & Good

by TerryLema

I am in Psalm 86 today and tomorrow also. I am reading in both the NKJV version and the Holman Christian Standard. Psalm 86 is a song of David, titled “Lament & Petition.” Despite that foreboding title, there were three phrases that caught my attention.  I looked at the first phrase yesterday, “Bring joy.” [vs 4]

Today I want to look at verse 5, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” [NKJV]

The Holman reads, “For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call on You.”

David uses the Hebrew word “towb” to describe God–for You, LORD, are good / kind. The word means beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, and good.

The Hebrew word “checed” is used to describe the magnitude of mercy and faithful love found in God. It means goodness and kindness.

Even in the day of David’s distress, when his enemies were seeking his life (vs 14), his attention, his hope, his assurance was in the God he describes as good, kind, beautiful, agreeable, merciful, and faithful.

No matter our distress, even after all these centuries that have passed, God is still good, kind, beautiful, agreeable, merciful, and faithful to “all those who call upon [Him].”

Praise His Holy Name!

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Bring Joy

by TerryLema

I was reading Psalm 86 in my Holman Christian Standard Bible. I love reading the different translations because they often use slightly different phrasing that enriches the context. As I read, there were certain phrases in this song that caught my attention and lifted my spirit.

Lifting my spirit may seem a bit odd because Psalm 86 is labeled a song of “Lament & Petition.” It was written by David.

Verse 4 in the NKJV is translated “Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul,” but in my Holman it reads “Bring joy to Your servant’s life, because I turn to You, Lord.”

“Bring joy.” What a wonderful request!

Recently I have been a bit sad. The cause of the sadness has come from a few different directions. I have been trying to reconcile some things in my mind. I also have become aware of some health issues in people I love. Those things have left sorrow in their wake. David refers to it as a “day of my distress.” [Psalm 86:7 HCSB]

David, in the day of his distress gives us an example to follow. He prays to the LORD to “bring joy” to His life. Happiness is fleeting and is often tied to the circumstances in life. Joy, true joy, is a gift of God given to those who turn to Him. In that joy we find the strength to face each day of distress that comes our way.

Today, as I pray, my request, LORD, is that you “bring joy to Your servant’s life.” Amen & Amen

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