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Devotions

Rescue & Reward

by TerryLema

Enemies – we all have them. I remember my mother telling me once when I was a teenager that no matter how great and wonderful I was, there would always be people who did not like me. That has proven true through the years.

I have acquired some enemies because of my own careless or hurtful words or actions. Others became enemies through no fault of my own but because I am a Christian.

Psalm 18 was written by David when he was rescued from his enemies, namely King Saul. It begins with a wonderful section of praise for God’s rescue.

“I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.” [Psalm 18:1-3, 20 HCSB]

Wow, look at that list of attributes of this LORD we love so much.  Strength. Rock. Fortress. Deliverer. God. Mountain. Refuge. Shield. Salvation. Stronghold. Savior.

Have you known the God of Rescue as David did?  I have. Have you had times in your life when God brought His strength to bear while you were overcome with weakness? I have. Have you been hidden in the rock, in His fortress, on His mountain, in His stronghold in times of danger? I have.

But notice when you read David’s song of rescue the interesting turn in verse 20. There He acknowledges not just rescue, but reward. “The Lord rewarded me ….” [vs 20]

The LORD rewarded David. It isn’t enough for God to rescue us. In His faithful love, He also rewards us – not because of our righteousness remember, but because Christ died for us and gave us His righteousness. Blessings upon Blessings. Rescue & Reward.

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus not just on rescue, but also on that marvelous inheritance you provide for us in Christ Jesus.  We thank You for both rescue and reward. Amen

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Nothing Good Besides You

by TerryLema

I have been in the Psalms for a number of days. The Psalms contain a great deal of truth about Who God Is, and who we are in Him. They teach us to praise. They remind us about thanksgiving. If we allow them, they will burrow deep into our thoughts where they will spring up when we most need them. One way to read the Psalms is to simply read one each day. Another way is to read five each day of a month, saving Psalm 119 for months that have 31 days. I have done both.

I have favorite Psalms. One of them is Psalm 16. It is titled “Confidence in the LORD,” and I love that beginning verse. “Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You. I said to YAHWEH, ‘You are my LORD; I have nothing good besides You.” [HCSB]

I have some “good” things in this life, people who love me and whom I love, a nice home, a good doctor, a few mementoes, clean water, food for the day. But when I survey those things, I know that in a moment they could all be taken from me. And then what would I have?

I would have my LORD. David in Psalm 16 tells us what that means.

Vs 5: “LORD, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future.”

Vs 6: “…I have a beautiful inheritance.”

Vs 7: I have “the LORD who counsels me.”

Vs 8: I have the LORD “at my right hand.”

Vs 11: “in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.”

Those are the “good” things that can never be taken from us. He is our All in All.

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus our praise on all the good we have in You. We thank you for being our portion, our cup of blessing, for holding our future and giving us a beautiful inheritance. We thank you for Your counsel, for remaining close to us, for your abundance joy and eternal pleasures. Amen

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Abandoned!

by TerryLema

Social media is full of videos about pets, mainly dogs and cats. Some are really funny. Some show pets misbehaving and with captions that are amusing. One picture I see every year is of a dog, with a Christmas tree crashed on the floor behind him. The caption reads, “Glad you are home, the Christmas Tree fainted!”

Some of the videos are sad, often showing pets abandoned by their owners, some even mistreated. People move away and rather than surrender their pets to someone who can care for them, they just leave them in the homes or outside. By the time they are found, these animals are usually in desperate trouble.

Pets are not the only ones abandoned. Children are abandoned by their parents. Or parents by their children. Sometimes siblings leave and never contact their brothers or sisters again. Husbands abandon their wives and wives their husbands.

We can feel abandoned by our employers, our government, our school systems. Where once we stood among many, now we stand alone.

But God … BUT GOD … will never abandon us.  Psalm 9:10: “Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh.” [HCSB]

The New King James says it this way, “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalm 9 is a celebration of God’s justice. And right in the middle of those 20 verses, the Psalmist reminds us that the LORD (YAHWEH) will never abandon or forsake those who place their trust in Him. Our God has not, will not leave, forsake, move away, abandon, or walk away from us.

Jesus confirmed that. “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”  [Matthew 28:20 HCSB]

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus our praise for never abandoning us. Thank you that we never have to face life alone. Amen

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In the Morning!

by TerryLema

How delightful that Psalm 4, which speaks of our prayers in the night, is followed by Psalm 5, our prayers in the morning!  “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice. In the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.” [vs 3 HCSB]

The early morning hours are often when I hear God’s voice best. They are also times when I am comfortable, with little or no pain. I stay snuggled in bed, trying to stall having to rise and face the day. I am like David in that I “watch” or “wait” expectantly for God to speak to me.

If you read Psalm 5 today, you will find three things that should thrill your soul and make you want to shout in praise.  They are abundant love (vs 7), blessing (vs 12a), and favor (vs 12b).

Abundant Love (Multitude of Mercies as some render it). “I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love.” God’s love, His mercies, are more than can be numbered. That is exactly what keeps us day to day. His mercies are great, they renew every morning. His love is too much to even comprehend.

We see His abundant love, multitude of mercies, in the enormous sacrifice made by our LORD and Savior so that we might one day have entrance into the very presence of God Almighty.

Blessing. “For You Lord bless the righteous one .…” In Scripture blessing usually connotes preference, happiness, God’s approval. It is difficult to define, but it is so wonderful to experience that security found in the “blessings” of our LORD. Blessings come to the righteous not because they are morally excellent, but because Christ Jesus, the sinless One, took our sin upon Himself so that “we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]

Favor. “You surround him with favor like a shield.” Favor means goodwill, delight, acceptance. Might we say, “Grace?” It is all because of God’s Amazing Grace!

Thank you, LORD. Today our praise focuses on Your Abundant Love for us that brings us into Your presence. We thank you for your blessings and favor to us. Amen

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A Night Prayer

by TerryLema

Nighttime. Sometimes I welcome it. Sometimes I curse it. It is a welcome relief when I am physically exhausted and just need to “lay me down to sleep.” Other times I curse it when sleep will not come.

Psalm 4 is described as “A Night Prayer.” It is a prayer of David who proudly proclaims, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace….” [vs 8a HCSB]

How can David find such restful sleep when he admits in the first part of the prayer that exalted men insult his honor?  He can because of Who God is, and who he is in God.

He declares right off the bat that God “vindicates” him. [vs 1]

He also declares that the LORD has “set apart the faithful for Himself,” and that the LORD will hear when he calls to Him. [vs 3]

Then he remembers that it is the LORD which has put “joy” in his heart. [vs 7]

Vindication. It means to have our distress relieved. God hears us and He is gracious to us.

Set Apart. It means we have been separated by God for His own special purpose. It carries the idea of being wonderfully distinct.

Joy. And when we know that our God hears us, relieves our distress, and has separated us for His own special purpose, that fills our heart with God’s joy!

Thank you, LORD, today our praise focuses on our vindication and separation for Your special purpose. We thank You for the joy You have imparted to our hearts. Amen

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Confidence in Troubled Times

by TerryLema

Between now and Thanksgiving Day, November 24, I am spending time in the psalms. I am praising my Redeemer for Who He is and thanking Him for who I am in Him.

Yesterday, I started in Psalm 3, titled in my translation, “Confidence in Troubled Times.” And I praised and thanked the LORD for being a shield around me, my glory and the one who lifts my head.

David, who wrote Psalm 3, did not stop with just those three things. Before he finishes, he adds two more.

“I lie down and sleep, I wake again because the LORD sustains me.”  Then He adds, “Salvation belongs to the LORD ….” [vs 5, 8 HCSB]

Sustains! The word in Hebrew means, “to lean, lay, rest, support.” What a wonderful picture.

In this world where nothing is permanent, sometimes including relationships, the LORD is the One person we can always depend upon to support us. We can lean on Him when everything else is crumbling. We can lay our head upon His Breast when everything else is rocky and unstable. We can rest in Him when there is only unrest surrounding us. He is our support in troubled times.

Salvation! Deliverance, health, helping, welfare, victory, aid – all those things are wrapped up in that word.

Pretty soon we will be reading the Christmas story and we will hear the declaration of the angels to the shepherds, “Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” [Luke 2:11]

Thank you, LORD, today our praise focuses on You as our Sustainer and our Savior. We thank you for coming to us when we could not come to You. Amen

 

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Thanksgiving 2022

by TerryLema

Thanksgiving Day this year is November 24. That is 17 days from today. As Christians, our attention should be on praising and thanking our Savior every day, but I have talked to many a believer who has problems with praise and thanksgiving.

Their attention is often on the temporal things going on around them – all of which will pass away at some point. Our praise and thanksgiving to our eternal LORD, however, will never die. I believe our praises will echo through the ages of eternity.

Sometimes we struggle with praise and thanksgiving because we just do not know where to begin. So, I thought for the next 17 days, let’s go back to some basics. If you want to know about the wonders of God, one of the best places to start is in the Psalms. They often tell us about who God is and what we are in relation to Him. They plainly express praise and things for which to be thankful.

Psalm 3 in my translation is titled, “Confidence in Troubles Times.” That pretty well sums up why we should be reading Psalm 3 in our day! After expressing the scorn of the foes, David reminds us, “You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.” [vs 3 HCSB]

God is our shield “around” us. To me that says He protects us in every direction. North, south, east, west, no matter where our foes try to attack, God is our shield.

He is also our “glory.” I am an almost 76 years old woman of little consequence to this world. I will have little acclaim or honor from this world when I leave it one day. But my God – He is my glory! When I enter His presence, when I proclaim “I am a child of God and I have come home,” all heaven will rejoice! Not because of what I have done, but because of Whose I am.

And my God “lifts up my head.” The world will try to beat me down, but it can only do so much. When the LORD lifts up my head, I see Him in all His glory and know that I am His!

Thank you, LORD. Today our praise focuses on You as our shield, glory, and the lifter of our head! Amen

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Joy & Gladness!

by TerryLema

I realized that I may have been a bit negative in a few devotions lately, and I do not want to dwell in negativity. Yes, our nation (society) is shaky at times. Yes, politics have become divisive. Yes, we do have personal times of trials and adversity.

But … BUT! We are not to dwell in the negative. We are to live in joy and serve with gladness.

“The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coasts and islands be glad …. Light dawns for the righteous,
gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones, and praise His holy name.” [Psalm 97:1, 11-12 HCSB]

“Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” [Psalm 100:1 HCSB]

While the Scriptures speak of adversity and tribulation, they also speak of rejoicing, and light, and gladness, and joy. They remind us that “The LORD reigns!” 

They remind us that, “Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.” [Psalm 100:5 HCSB]

As believers, we serve a good God whose love is eternal and whose faithfulness endures. What joy that should bring to our hearts! We, as the redeemed of the LORD (YAHWEH), alone can rejoice no matter what is going on around us (or even in us!).

The problems, the issues, the distresses of this life are limited. They will not (cannot) follow us into the presence of our Faithful, Good, Gracious, Loving, LORD! Hallelujah! Amen!

So, Today: I rejoice because You, LORD, reign! I will spend my day in rejoicing in You and serving You with gladness.

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Violence

by TerryLema

I am appalled at what I am seeing and reading in my daily news. Violence in our nation is rapidly becoming a way of life. If we do not like another person’s stance on a particular issue, we now regard that person as an enemy, one that needs to be silenced. And violence is becoming an acceptable means to that silencing.

We see violence in our streets, on our roads, in our homes. We see it on our campuses, in our workplaces, in our cities and in our government. You cannot post something on social media that another finds offensive without getting a backlash of nastiness.

We are supposed to be a “civilized society.” I thought that meant solving our problems apart from violence. Apparently, not. But then while I am appalled, I am not surprised. Violence has been around since God created mankind. Genesis, Chapter 6, tells the story of Noah and the violence that was on the earth during his day.

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart …. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” [6:5-6, 11 NKJV]

The violence we are experiencing is not something new. It is not something outside of us. It is not even because of the issues we face … it is because “the thoughts of [our hearts are] only evil continually.”

Until our hearts are changed, nothing changes. We are as “uncivilized” as they were in the days of Noah when God saw the great wickedness of mankind and was “sorry that He had made man[kind] on the earth.”

God sent Jesus to open to us the way to change our hearts. But we must allow Him to do so.

Thank you, LORD, for the way provided in Christ Jesus our Savior and LORD. I pray for revival in our nation.

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Another List!

by TerryLema

The same day that I found the list in Matthew 5 that I wrote about yesterday, I found another one in Psalm 1. This one is not quite as nice. It also begins with the word, “Blessed.”

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” [vs 1 NKJV]

The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates it this way. “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers!”

Notice the downward progression?

It begins with heeding the counsel or advice of those who do not belong to the LORD God Almighty. Every day we are bombarded with that kind of advice. It comes in the workplace, in educational institutions, it tempts us through various media, it woos us by lies and falsehoods. It promises, but never delivers.

Once heeded, it takes us down the path of sin. That path is wide and full of darkness and leads us away from our God.

When it comes to completion, we end up in fellowship with the scornful and mockers of all that is holy and good.

James outlines the same progression in his letter.  “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” [James 1:14-15 HCSB]

Today: Thank you, LORD, that you interrupted my downward progression and have set me on the path of righteousness through Christ my Savior and LORD.

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