Devotions

July 20 – Offline for a few weeks! Hopefully it won’t be too long. I appreciate your prayers for my surgery Tuesday. God Bless You ALL!

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
² He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
⁴ Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
⁶ Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever. [NLT]

God amazed me last Sunday – not only through my own message to the Dream Team about surrender, but also through Pastor Paco’s message in the service.

Pastor Paco talked about “Miracle Mentality.” He talked about how our thoughts shape our actions and that if you elevate the way you think you can elevate your life. Miracle thinking will lead to a miracle lifestyle.

Then he said something that went straight to my heart – miracles don’t start with what you see, they start with what you think, and how important it is to remember how good God is and all that He has already done.

Oh my, did I need that. I have been focusing on so much that has brought my thinking down. It has diminished my hope and expectation. I really needed to hear this message.

As I face what is ahead, I know that I need to surrender all my will to God, and I need to remember all that God has done. I need that miracle mentality rebirthed in me.

Amen!

At 78 years old I should not be amazed by God anymore – but I still am, perhaps even more so because I can see His Hand better than I used to do.

Last Sunday God showed His Gracious Hand twice. First when I was given the privilege of bringing the Dream Team devotion before service. I had written three devotions for that morning before I settled on the one about Surrender.

Paul speaks of surrender in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” 

I spoke about surrendering our will and picking up God’s will. There are many challenges to do that, such as fear of losing control and lack of courage. Letting go of our will is a choice and also means we leave the outcomes in God’s Hands.

As I am “preaching” to the beautiful volunteers gathered around, I realize that I am also “preaching” to myself – remembering that “You have to live it to give it.”

I came home from Sunday Service and began to look at what I have failed to surrender. I trust the LORD to show me and help me through that process. Amen

We’ve been looking at Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4 and the marks of a true follower of Jesus, first, the courage to act and the courage to speak; second, the change that takes place in someone who has “been with Jesus.”

Yet if there is one bedrock mark of a follower of Christ, it would have to be obedience. When Peter and John were brought in for questioning by the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law, they were commanded not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. These commands were accompanied by threats of punishment, perhaps imprisonment, or even death.

 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” [Acts 4:19-20 NLT]

OBEDIENCE. It’s not an easy thing. In fact, there are times when obedience is just plain difficult, especially when obedience to God comes in direct conflict with obedience to man. Man’s punishments and rewards are immediate; God’s sometimes appears to be less so.

Jesus had commanded his follower to go into all nations, to make disciples of all men, to heal the sick, to baptize, to cast out demons, to tell all men what they had seen and heard from Him. To do so brought them in direct opposition to the rulers of the day that wished to silence and forever still any mention of the name or work of Jesus.

Peter and John chose obedience to the command of their Master over obedience to the command of the rulers. Eventually that obedience to Christ would lead them to imprisonment, banishment and even martyrdom. It would also lead them one other place, right into the arms of their Master who had gone before them to prepare many mansions in the presence of their Father God.

Without obedience we are just playing games.

Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4 were full of courage. First there was the courage to act, to speak to the crippled man at the Gate Beautiful and in the power of Jesus, command him to walk. Then there was the courage to appear before the Jewish authorities and tell them not only was this done in the name and authority of Jesus, but that salvation is found in no one else. One of the primary marks of a true disciple is the courage to act and the courage to speak.

But courage is not the only mark. Another follows closely on its heels, and that is found in Acts 4:13: “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” [NLT]

The second mark of a true follower of Christ is that they spend time with Jesus and it shows.

Maybe it was just that the rulers suddenly remembered seeing them when Jesus walked in their midst, but I think it was more than that.  When Moses met God on the mountain and returned to the people, his face glowed with a radiance that testified to the fact that he had been with God.

I believe that there is radiance about those who “have been with Jesus.”  It is a supernatural glow that testifies to time spent walking with the Master.

I want to be a courageous servant to my Master, but perhaps even more, I want those who see me to know that I “have been with Jesus.”

Ever heard the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished?” According to the US Dictionary, this is an idiom that warns us that even well-intentioned actions can lead to negative consequences. It suggests that our efforts might be met with ingratitude or backlash despite our good intentions.

It happened to the disciples in the Book of Acts. In Chapter 3, a crippled man at the Gate Beautiful solicited Peter and John. Not having gold or silver, Peter instead, by the power and in the name of Jesus, commanded the man to walk, and he did so.

That good deed caught the attention of the rulers, elders and teachers of the law who had Peter and John brought before them for questioning. “By what power or what name did you do this?” they asked.

Boldly Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit tells them all was done in the name of Jesus and ends with the most profound declaration, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12 NLT]

COURAGE. The accusers of Peter and John that day noted that these were unschooled, ordinary men, yet they were men unafraid to speak up.

One of the most awesome traits of a follower of Jesus is the courage to act and the courage to speak.

Isaiah 40 has issued the command to comfort and instructed us in the way to administer that comfort.

There is one last passage in this chapter, a very familiar passage. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  [Verses 30-31]

Those who hope.  One translation says those who wait.

Hope. Wait. Those words are not big in our culture.  We are enamored by words like fast, faster, fastest; instant; immediate, on the spot; express, quick, rapid. We have fast food, express mail, instant messaging. Our Internet news is updated every couple of minutes. Everything rushes at us with lightning speed and if we must wait for anything, something must be wrong. Progress is equated with speed.

But God’s kingdom is usually diametrically opposed to man’s. God uses words like “in His time,” “those who wait,” and “it came to pass.”

For those who hope in the Lord, there is a renewal of strength, not an instantaneous removal of the problem. Those who wait on the Lord will soar and run and walk in His strength not their own.

Those of us whose lives right now are marked by “I don’t want to do it anymore,” must rest in the comfort of the LORD. Then we will be able to soar above our circumstances, run on our rough place, and walk in strength through our wilderness.

“Teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait.”

I have spent time looking at Isaiah 40 for comfort. Yesterday I asked you the question, “Is God strong enough to comfort us?”

From verse 12 to verse 30 in chapter 40 God responds to that question, and He does it by asking a series of questions Himself.  Listen to them ….

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mounts on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Who has instructed the Lord as his counselor?

To whom, will you compare God?

What image will you compare him to?

“Who is my equal?

And then come the answers pouring forth in a resounding chorus!

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Is the God who is enthroned above strong enough to comfort His people?

Is the God who created the heavens and the end strong enough to comfort His people?

Is the God who sets up or brings down earth’s rulers strong enough to comfort His people?

Is the God who never tires, never grows weary, and whose wisdom is eternally strong enough to comfort His people?

You bet! 

Isaiah 40, the chapter on Comfort for God’s People begins with a command in verse 1 to comfort God’s people. Then it flows into a beautiful picture of making a way in people’s lives for the glory of the LORD to be revealed. That is followed immediately by another command, “Cry out,” and the prophet’s response, “What shall I cry?” [vs 3-5, 6]

God’s command is three-fold.

First, remind men of their fragility, “All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall.” [Verses 6-8]

Second, remind men of their God, “Here is your God!  See the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him … He tends his flock like a shepherd.  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” [Verse 10-11]

Third, do this at the top of your lungs! “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain.  You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid.”  [Verse 9]

There is a certain perspective needed for comfort. First must come an acknowledgement of need. We are finite. We cannot do it alone. There are times when we have to say, “I’m withering God and about to fall.” With that acknowledgment of need we open the door for the power of God in our lives. It is the first true step to starting that highway for the glory of the Lord to be revealed.

For true comfort there is also the need to know that the one who provides the comfort is capable of doing so. Is our God truly strong enough to comfort us? (Tomorrow that answer.)

And sometimes the message must be loud enough to drown out the noise of this world!

As I showered this morning, I was thinking of all the things I must get ready for surgery. This will be surgery number 17. Would it surprise you that I just don’t want to do this anymore!

How often and how many of us are faced with situations we just “don’t want to do any more.” They can run the range from physical tests, ailments or treatments; growing old; family problems; problems at work or with money; problems in our churches or jobs or neighborhoods.

We just don’t want to do it anymore!

And then I heard God remind me of Isaiah 40 which begins, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”  [40:1]

If there is anything we need in this life, it is the comfort of God. Life is tough. Life is unfair. Life is unpredictable. We can be flying along so well and then are blindsided by a situation or circumstance.  Sometimes the tough situations go on for long periods of time.

Oh, I know, I’ve talked about this before in the devotions, but maybe it is time to talk about it again. (Maybe it’s just me that needs to hear it again!)

Listen to the opening of Isaiah 40 again. “Comfort, comfort my people says your God.”

That sounds like a command to me. Given to Isaiah for the people of God. I am going to spend time in Isaiah 40 (Again!) for my own spiritual wellbeing. You are more than welcome to join me!

“Comfort, comfort my people says your God.”