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TerryLema

Joy

by TerryLema

Decades ago, the church I was going to joined others for a praise and worship service. (If you know me you know I love praise and worship!) As we entered the church, a friend who knew me walked over and said, “Oh no, we are in trouble now!”

Smiling, he said, “In this church, we are not demonstrative in our worship, and we have a woman who will frown upon clapping or raising hands during a song service, going so far as to even confront people about it.”

I don’t think he meant that as a challenge, but then I have never been one to allow others to determine how I worship God. So, I clapped, raised my hands, and sang my praises. And others from our church did the same. And we did get the scowl.

JOY! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith.” [Galatians 5:22 HCSB]

When I looked up joy in one of my concordances, I found more than 200 references to joy, joyous, joyfully. Christians are not supposed to look like they have been baptized in pickle juice. We are to exhibit not scowls but joy … JOY!

One of the wonderful things about Christian Faith Center (CFC) Caldwell is the joy that I find on the faces of everyone. Greeters, pastors, people who stop me in the aisles to say good morning. There are smiles all around. (The people from The Way are the exact same way!)

JOY!  The joy that flourishes in my heart will (for as long as I am able) erupt in raised hands of praise to my God. I will clap. I will sing. I will worship, praise, and thank my God for all He has done … So joyfully thankful for that abundant love He has bestowed upon me. Amen

 

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I Am!

by TerryLema

Last Saturday I went for a walk later in the day. It had been a lovely day, with a bridal shower open house and then lunch with my daughter. I topped that day off with a worship walk and the last song to come up on my playlist was “No Longer Slaves.”

Chorus: “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God. I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.”

That chorus kept repeating (looping) while I slept. When we got to church on Sunday morning, that song was part of the worship service.

How often have I written about being a child of God. How often I am reminded what a privilege it is to be called God’s child. It speaks of His wonderful love.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” [1John 3:1 NKJV]

The “manner of love the Father has bestowed on us” was captured by another song (Reckless Love). His love is “overwhelming, never ending, reckless love.”

I am overwhelmed that God would love me. What joy to know that His love will never end but will carry me through this life and into eternity. And it is reckless, wild, scattered to whosoever will accept it. Knowing who I am (and what I am) He still chose to bestow His love on me … that is Reckless Love!

Thank you, Father, that I am not a slave but Your child because of Your overwhelming, never ending, reckless love!

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Right Hands

by TerryLema

There is war in the Sudan. Two generals are fighting to rule the country and destroying much of it and killing many of its people as they do so. There has been fear regarding the safety of Americans residing there. Last Sunday morning it was announced that American Embassy staff and their families had been successfully evacuated. While that is praiseworthy, there are still many Americans caught in Sudan struggling to leave the country. I cannot imagine how fearful they must be.

Lately, people have been shot and injured or killed who simply went to wrong houses, wrong cars, wrong driveways accidentally. I watched as a car with a pizza delivery sign drove by me the other day and wondered if that person was fearful that they might encounter the same thing.

Reasons to fear are all around us. They flood our media. They speak through people in authority. They can even be in our homes, our schools, our stores, our parking lots, our businesses. The enemy of our soul means for them to grab our attention and hold it, keeping us frozen in place, unable to think or move. Fear can dominate our lives and overpower our thinking.

That is why it is so important to know our God. I have heard it said that there are 365 “Do Not Fear’s” in the Scriptures, one for each day of the year. I was reading in Isaiah 41 and came across two.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand…. For I, YAHWEH, your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you.” [Isaiah 41:10,13 HCSB]

Did you notice what I did? The first thing I noticed is that God “will hold on to you with [His] Righteous right hand.” The second thing I noticed is our God will “hold [our] right hand.”

Right hand to right hand means we are face-to-face. “Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” [Hebrews 1b-2a HCSB]

“Eyes on Jesus” is the antidote to fear!

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by TerryLema

As I came back from my worship walk the other day, I was singing the Easter Song by Keith Green, mainly just the chorus. “Joy to the world He [is] risen, Hallelujah, He’s risen, Hallelujah, He’s risen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!”

As I was singing, I heard the LORD whisper, “you are singing ‘He is risen,’ are you living ‘He is Risen?’”

Don’t you just love it when God decides to unexpectedly answer that prayer that you prayed months ago?

You remember that prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.” [Psalm 19:14 HCSB]

And of course, in that moment, I also remembered what Pastor Laura said, that sometimes God asks us a question to change our perspective.

God calls us to know Jesus is Risen from the dead. He calls us to be able to tell others about Jesus risen from the dead. He calls us to celebrate and sing about Jesus risen from the dead.  But, perhaps most importantly, God calls us to live in the resurrection life given to us when Jesus rose from the dead.

Paul reminded Timothy, “Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead.” [2 Timothy 2:8 HCSB]

Sometimes doubts assail us, or fear invades. Sometimes life discourages and hopelessness floods in. But in all things, Christ is Risen(!) and we are to keep our attention on our Risen LORD, living always in “He is Risen, Hallelujah!”

 

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Serious, Disciplined, Persistent

by TerryLema

Last Thursday morning I accepted an invitation to pray. The invitation came in the form of an announcement at the Sunday service at Christian Faith Center (CFC) Caldwell. “Prayer across all CFC campuses @ 9 AM Thursday!”

That announcement actually just gave the time and location of the invitation.  The invitation to pray is found throughout the Scriptures, as well as the attitudes we need to have regarding praying.

 “Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer.” [I Peter 4:7 HCSB]

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” [Romans 12:12 HCSB]

Peter reminds us that we need to be “serious and disciplined,” while Paul tells us we must be “persistent.”

Praying is difficult for many reasons, otherwise, why would we be warned to be serious, disciplined, and persistent if it was easy.

The enemy of our soul hates it when we pray and will put every obstacle in our way to keep us from gathering in prayer. Our own natural man also hates it when we pray and will convince us that our prayers don’t matter, or that we are too busy, or that “it’s boring!”

Praying together and having the Almighty God of the Universe in our midst (where two or three are gathered) is one of the greatest privileges given to men and women. It is an invitation we should be so honored to receive AND respond to.

 

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Light and Darkness

by TerryLema

The Bible gives a clear picture of the attitudes and actions of the last days. Paul tells Timothy in his second letter that the last days will become increasingly difficult.

“Know this,” Paul writes, “Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.” [3:1-5a HCSB]

Proof of this is all around us. Our movies, television shows, and online media all reflect it. Our evening news reports it. Our educational facilities are confronted with it. No matter where we turn, the darkness that is to characterize the last days is expanding around us.

How often have we heard (or even uttered) the phrase, “The world is getting darker.” And yes, it is getting darker. But where the darkness increases, light shines brighter. And our God is ALL LIGHT!  

“Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.” [1 John 1:5 HCSB]

Are you noticing how God’s Light is shining brighter against the darkness? Revivals or renewals are springing up, young people are responding to God’s invitation of salvation, churches are being reborn. After all, darkness does not stand a chance against Light.  Darkness has no ability to overcome Light.

“And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.”  [Ecclesiastes 2:13 HCSB]

Light, beyond all doubt, has the advantage!

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BirdSong

by TerryLema

“The birds of the sky live beside the springs; they sing among the foliage.” [Psalm 104:12 God the Creator, HCSB]

We have a cedar tree in our front yard on the side of our house. It has grown higher than the roof now, and wide enough to fill the space between the house and the fence. It was the first tree we planted when we moved in.

Lately, that tree is full of birds, little birds. (I think they are nesting now.) Whenever I exit our front door, I can hear the birdsong coming from that tree. Often, I will walk around the front of the house to get a bit of fresh air and the birds will sing all the while I walk.

Hearing them sing always reminds me of Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” [HCSB]

That Scripture is a reminder that we are not to worry or be anxious about our lives. Whatever happens, whatever circumstance arises, whatever situation changes, God knows. And He not only knows (and knew before it happened) but He also cares. And He not only cares but is able to provide for us just as He does those little birds.

As I listen to the birds singing, I imagine that they are praising their Creator. I imagine they are thanking Him for His care. And as I listen, I want to add my voice to theirs, praising my Creator and thanking my LORD.

“I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.” [Psalm 104:33 HCSB]

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Songs in the Night

by TerryLema

Have you ever woken up in the night and had a song—or just a piece of a song—running repeatedly in your mind. Often it is a song we have heard on television, either a show or especially a commercial.  Remember, “My bologna has a first name, it’s O S C A R. My bologna has a second name, it’s M A Y E R?”

(You might find that resounding in your sleep tonight if you tried singing it in this devotion.)

Psychologists call this “involuntary musical imagery” (INMI)—more commonly known as “earworms.” These “earworms” play in a loop in an estimated 98% of people in the western world. I know they happen to me all the time. I’ll wake up after a couple hours sleep and a song will be looping, back to sleep and it is still looping.

That is one of the reasons I love to go for walks each day and listen to my worship music as I walk. If I walk and listen to my worship music, singing my praise to the LORD in the daytime, the songs that “loop” while I sleep are much more likely to also be praise and worship to my King.

Psalm 42:8: “The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night—a prayer to the God of my life.” [HCSB]

This morning I woke to “The Goodness of God” looping in my mind. What a lovely way to sleep and to wake up in the morning.

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by TerryLema

Sometimes in the evening I play a game on my phone called Match 3. I only have one game on my phone. I usually play it when I am tired of reading, or when Bob is watching a western before bed. It is a rather mindless game.  Because I will not pay money to buy the game, it contains ads. I usually pay little attention to the ads.

There is one ad, however, that did get my attention. It is for a keto gummy that – according to the ad – will make you lose weight without dieting or exercise. In fact, according to the ad, you can lose like 60 pounds in just 3 weeks.

I have struggled with my weight all my life. I have been on a lot of different diets and eating plans. I have never lost 60 pounds in just 3 weeks, and I doubt chewing one gummy a day would accomplish that.

Truth in advertising? Not hardly. But in our society, I doubt we expect truth anymore. We certainly do not always get truth from politicians, or news broadcasts, or scientists, or educators, or manufacturers, or corporations, or banks – need I go on?

The one place we should always expect truth, however, is from our churches, but unfortunately, even there, truth is sometimes corrupted.

When Moses went back to Mt Sinai to get the second set of stone tables (after breaking the first ones when he found the people idolizing a golden calf), “God came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name YAHWEH. Then the LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed: ‘YAHWEH—YAHWEH is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.’” [Exodus 34:5-6 HCSB]

Our LORD is compassionate. Our LORD is full of grace. Our LORD is patient. Our LORD is faithful. Our LORD is loving. and our LORD is truth. We need to be very careful when speaking for Him, because He will not allow His truth to be compromised.

 

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Me, Me, Me!

by TerryLema

The other day I turned on the television as I headed into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. I sometimes listen to the local news as I work. Too early for the news, I ended up listening to Judge Judy for a time. And I could not help wondering … are people really that dumb?  (They must be … because Judge Judy seems to be making a good living off them.)

Judge Judy was ruling on the case of a mother suing her daughter for breaking a window to get into the mom’s house, around $500. It sounded like a trivial thing for a parent to sue a child over until that mother’s child began to talk.

The daughter was 22 years old, with two children by two separate men and had moved back into her mom’s house. Mom set some rules, rules the daughter broke when trying to get into the house after spending the night with a boyfriend.

After listening to this daughter argue with Judge Judy about her rights and needs (she did not even pay rent), I realized she would make the perfect poster child for “Entitled.” Entitled means believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. It means thinking that the world and everything in it revolves around you.

Unfortunately, entitled is a sibling of sin. It was the reasoning the serpent used in the Garden of Eden when he approached Eve. He asked her about eating from the trees in the garden and when Eve responded that they could eat from every tree except one, the serpent responded that she was entitled to eat from that one also.

“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [Genesis 3:4 HCSB]

The serpent convinced Eve she was entitled to disobey God, Eve convinced Adam. And with that choice, sadly, sin, death, and judgment entered humanity. Only the sacrifice of God’s Son would be enough to overcome what that original “entitled choice” cost us.

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