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Devotions

Be Still

by TerryLema

War. Inflation (Food, Gas, Cars, Electricity, Rents seeing the highest rates). Unpredictable pandemic. Tainted Olympics (Restrictions, Boycotts, a Doping Scandal). Supply Chain Issues (Empty Shelves). Education (Masks, Curriculum, Recalls). Rising Domestic Violence and Drug Use.

Overall, I cannot say 2022 has had a stellar beginning. Perhaps that is why one of my morning daily verses served as a great reminder. “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” [Psalm 46:10 NKJV]

The Holman Christian Standard renders it, “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

Psalm 46 is a song about God our Refuge. It begins with the declaration of God’s provision and presence in times of trouble, and ends with that reminder to stop, be still, and know who God is.

Looking around us now, the world could be described with one word—turmoil. (Turmoil means a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.) But if we look at history, there are very few times when the world has not been in a state of turmoil.

Turmoil insists on our attention. It saps our energy and depletes our mental and emotional stability at the same time it demands we run and strive endlessly without purpose. Turmoil loves to see us off balance and hopeless.

God, however, tells us to stop the endless running and be still in His presence. He tells us to “know” that He is God and that He alone is and always will be exalted. Our Father wants us to rest in Him, no matter what is going on around us. Maybe today is a great day to stop, be still, and memorize those first few verses of Psalm 46.

“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah” [vs 1-3 HSB]

Amen & Amen.

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Surprised by War?

by TerryLema

Russia has invaded Ukraine. We have sent soldiers (our precious children) to the NATO countries bordering Ukraine (with a promise that they will not be sent into Ukraine but will only protect NATO countries in the event the war expands).

War is doing what war does, destroying, maiming, and taking lives. Refugees are fleeing into surrounding countries. Sanctions are supposed to hurt Russia but will also hurt those nations that make the sanctions. Prices for gas and everything associated with the price of gas will rise. Eventually, most of the world will feel the effects of a war instigated by one man.

Are we surprised by war? Do we think that people and nations are too civilized or sophisticated to initiate a war in our age?

We shouldn’t be. God saw long, long ago before the flood “that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time.” [Genesis 6:5 HCSB]

God even went on to express His sorrow: “the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” [vs 6, HCSB]

Only one thing has the power to change the hearts of men and women and that is the sacrifice and salvation provided by God Himself through His Son on the Cross.

In Jesus’ first coming, He provided personal peace in the hearts of those who accepted His invitation to “come.” Now we have “the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, [to] guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:7 HCSB]

 But it will not be until Jesus’ second coming that the world will see peace. “He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.” [Isaiah 2:4 HCSB]

 Amen, Come Quickly, LORD Jesus!

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Why is it?

by TerryLema

Why is it some nights when sleep eludes that the mind begins to roll back and do funny things, like make a list of your life’s most embarrassing moments. Last night.

The first one that popped into my head was my sophomore year in high school. I tore a ligament in my knee playing basketball, and was helped to the nurse’s office, where it was determined I needed to see a doctor and my dad was called.

Now in 1962 gym uniforms were not as cute as they are now. Mine was green, one-piece bloomers with elastic at the knees. It is not something anyone would want to be seen wearing. They put me on a stretcher and called someone to help my dad carry me from the nurse’s office to the back of her station wagon. The boy who showed up was the star quarterback of the high school varsity football team, on whom I had a crush.

My dad had the head of the stretcher, my “crush” had the foot. Going through a doorway my dad rapped his knuckles on the frame and dropped the stretcher. So, me, in my green bloomers, knee wrapped in ice, slid not so gracefully off the stretcher and hit the floor, where I then had to be “reloaded” by my “crush” and father.

It was not my best hour and why in the world would I, 60 years later, still be remembering it in the middle of a sleepless night?

To answer my own question, it is both human nature and the prompting of the enemy of our soul to always bring up embarrassments and our sins. I have done a lot of stupid stuff in my life, far more embarrassing than this silly moment. I have sinned. I have spoken out things that should have been left unspoken and done things that should have been left undone. I remember and the enemy of my soul remembers.

But, my God has promised not to remember. In the New Covenant He has promised, “For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.” [Hebrews 8:12 HCSB]

That does not mean God is “forgetful.” It means that when we are under the protection of the salvation of Christ Jesus, our sins will never be held against us (remembered). Hallelujah! Amen!!

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Retrieving the Provision

by TerryLema

Phil 4:12-13:  I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me. [HCSB]

One final thought on the secret of contentment. Paul wrote, I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The strength is there, the provision for all things is present and available in Christ Jesus.  Like so many other things of God, however, the problem lies not with the provision but with our retrieving and living in the provision.

Too often we face situations in life with nary a thought of God’s provision.  We whine first, pray second.  We react first in our flesh before giving a thought to the spiritual. Our emotions, which we have allowed over the years to dominate, spring to life immediately.  We only see need, hunger, and want, and we neglect the provision God already has available.

That is where the learning comes in.  We must learn to live every moment in God’s provision, in Him who gives strength for everything.

Learning is always a choice.  We can remain ignorant and be blown about constantly by the circumstances of life, or we can learn to be content and then we are able to do any and all things through Christ.

 

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Plenty

by TerryLema

Phil 4:12-13: “I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance [plenty] or in need [want]. I am able to do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me.” [HCSB]

Paul reveals the secret to contentment—I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In any and all circumstances our dependence must be placed in Him.

Notice, Christ is our strength not just in the times of want but also in the times of plenty.  That seems odd, doesn’t it?  We expect Christ to be our strength in the times of want. When we do not have enough, we immediately turn our eyes toward Him to provide all we lack.

Yet Paul includes the idea of Christ being our strength in the times of plenty as well.  There is perhaps no more dangerous a position than plenty.  When we have plenty of money, plenty of opportunity, plenty of provision, plenty of success that is when we are inclined to believe it is because of our own doing.  Our eyes turn away from Christ onto ourselves.  We lose our thankfulness.  We lose our dependence on Him Alone. Pride begins to invade.

Paul had experienced the spectrum of want and plenty.  He found the secret to being content rested in dependence upon Christ in either.  Christ provided the strength. Paul was instructed and Paul learned to handle every situation and all the various and different temptations and challenges that came with each.

May we also learn as Paul learned to depend totally and completely on Christ in times of plenty and in times of want.

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Learning to be Content

by TerryLema

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” [Philippians 4:12-13 NIV]

Different translations render the phrase “I have learned the secret of being content” in various ways.  The KJV says, “everywhere and in all things I am instructed,” while the NKJV translates it this way, “everywhere and in all things I have learned.”

The Holman Standard (which I love), agrees with the NIV that there is a secret … “In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content.”

 So, what is the secret of being content?  Well, first notice one thing.  Being content in any and all circumstances does not come naturally.  We are instructed in contentment, and we are expected to learn it.  Learning contentment comes through experience and cooperation with the Holy Spirit of God, not a how-to set of instructions.

The secret of contentment is not really a secret in the way we think of that word either.  It is not something to be kept to ourselves. It is something to be shared.

The secret of contentment is Christ Jesus.  It is a secret to those who do not know Him, but a revealed secret to those who accepted His call to follow.

More about the secret tomorrow.

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The State of Being Happy and Satisfied

by TerryLema

Paul wrote to the Philippians church that he had learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.

Phil 4:12-13: “I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.” [HCSB]

Contentment.  Merriam Webster defines it as the state of being happy and satisfied, which is pretty much what the Greek word means also.

The idea of being content, happy, and satisfied when we are well fed and living in plenty is easy to comprehend. Nothing like a big meal in a great restaurant, or a full tummy, with more food in the fridge, freezer, and cupboard to underpin contentment.

Great to also have money in the bank, health in the body, a great job and loving family to spur contentment on.

It’s those other situations when there isn’t that much food around, or much money in the bank, health in the body or love in the family that eat away at the edges of contentment until it is replaced with anxiety and fear.

Paul, however, shared his secret for those times especially.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  I have been pondering that secret recently and what it means for our daily lives.

More tomorrow.

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Dangerous Grace

by TerryLema

Jude 4: They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude told his readers that some have claimed the grace of God as something it is not – a license for immorality.  That is the danger in grace, that mankind will corrupt the freedom it brings into a license to do whatever they want.

I once heard a man incorporate grace into the equation while trying to justify leaving his wife for another woman.  He could do what he wanted now and always repent later on and God would give grace and forgiveness.  I bet there have been occasions when you have heard similar twisted logic.

The men Jude warned about were apostates. They were renouncers or defectors from the faith—if they ever had faith to begin with.

I cannot see how those who pervert grace ever really experienced it. 

The grace of God sets us free from bondage, free from sin. It carries forgiveness on its wings.  It flows from the Father’s heart, through the work of Jesus Christ.  It operates in us in the power of the Holy Spirit.  To experience grace that way, in truth, is an experience that is never forgotten, can never be trivialized.

Each day grace reminds me of the love of the Father.  It reminds me even of the pit from which I have been dug.  It holds me close to Christ Jesus, my Sovereign Lord.  That grace makes me want to do anything He might ask.  I may falter at times in my obedience, but grace always draws me back to God’s love.

I cannot think or write about it enough. Amen!

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I Hope for a Lot of Things

by TerryLema

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word. [HCSB]

I hope for a lot of things.  I hope to have enough money to pay my bills each month.  I hope my children and grandsons will be strong in the LORD. I hope retirement will be rewarding and I’ll have many good days to enjoy it.

Paul in the passage for today reminds us that God, our Father, loves us, and because of that love His grace comes to us so that we might have eternal encouragement and good hope.

The encouragement that God brings into our lives through His grace is strong enough to weather the greatest storms and take us into the eternal presence of God.  And the hope that grace brings is good hope.  It is not wishful thinking; it is not based on our efforts; it is totally of God and totally of His grace. It is secured, as Paul reminds us, by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Christ Jesus.

This grace, full of eternal encouragement and God’s good hope, strengthens us in our words and in our deeds.  It makes sure we are founded in truth in our daily lives.  It buries itself deep into our hearts where it can then blossom.  Our words take on its character, we speak grace.  And our deeds take on its strength, we live grace-filled lives.

Our God does not just save us … our God transforms us … and our God keeps us by His grace.  We will thrive when we depend on grace, and we will stand in the presence of God one day.  Eternal encouragement and good hope … flowing in God’s grace.

What a way to live!

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Living By the Well

by TerryLema

I was reminded this morning just how dry we can get if we wander away from the well.  The final months of last year were very different and I didn’t spend as much time with the Lord as I should have, and it still shows.

When pregnant Hagar was mistreated by her mistress, Sarai, after being given to Abram to bear a child, she ran away into the desert.  There she sat down by a spring, a well.  And there the Lord found her.  He gave her instructions to return to Abram and Sarai, telling her that she would give birth to a son and his name would be Ishmael.  When the Lord left, Hagar “called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, ‘In this place, have I actually seen the One who sees me.’ That is why she named the spring, ‘A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.’ It is located between Kadesh and Bered. [Gen 16:13-14 HCSB]

Beer Lahai Roi means “the well of him that lives and sees me,” or, as some render it, “the well of the vision of life.”

Later in Genesis we read that it was not Hagar’s son who ended up dwelling at Beer Lahai Roi, it was actually Abraham’s and Sarah’s son, Isaac.  “After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.”  [Gen 25:11 HCSB]

Isn’t it interesting that Hagar (who we know from Galatians represents the law) visited the well, Beer Lahai Roi, in her time of desperate need, but it was Isaac (the son of promise) who ended up living by the well?

Too often we are like Hagar, we visit the well of God when we are in trouble and need help fast, when we really should be living by the well as Isaac did, drawing living water daily.

Ivan Parker sings a song that I have always liked, “Close to the Well.”  Take a moment to listen to it, I’ve provided the YouTube link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOl4tmqhM08&index=68&list=PLhlFlu7EQ7RjjCsGaVSRB916hkGi4NEh3
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