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Devotions

Through (Again)

by TerryLema

Yesterday I was reminded about the promises of God to take us “through” the rivers of difficulties and the fires of trials in Isaiah 43. I also discovered that there are more than 800 uses of the English word “through” in our Bible translations. That is way more than I can study. I decided to just look at the use of the word “through” in one NT book, Ephesians.

The Greek word Paul used is “dia” and it means on account of, by the instrumentality of, by reason of, for the sake of, and because of. Wow. Here goes …

We have adoption through (dia) Jesus Christ [1:5]

We have redemption in Him on account of (dia) His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses [1:7]

We have the immeasurable riches of His grace because of (dia) His kindness to us in Christ Jesus [2:7]

We are saved by the instrumentality of (dia) His grace through faith – it is God’s gift [2:8]

We have access by one Spirit to the Father because of (dia) Him [2:18]]

We have boldness and confident access through (dia) faith in Him [3:12]

We have the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man because of (dia) His Spirit [3:16]

The Messiah dwells in our hearts by reason of (dia) faith [3:17]

What a list: Adoption, Redemption, Forgiveness, Riches, Grace, Kindness, Salvation, Access, Boldness, Confidence, Strength, Power, Indwelling Spirit.

All that comes “through” what our Father provided for us in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

Thank you, Father, may we be eternally grateful. Amen.

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Through

by TerryLema

I love that word “through.” It means moving into one side and out the other. There are about 800 occurrences of the word “through” in the Scriptures. One occurrence popped up in my daily verse the other morning—a most familiar one out of Isaiah 43.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.” [Isaiah 43:1b-2 HCSB]

Isaiah 43 is a chapter on the restoration of Israel, and this is God’s Promise to them. But, as God’s children, as those who are saved by His grace and called by His name (Christians), we too can claim the promise that God will take us “through.”

He will take us “through” the waters, and “through” the rivers and we will not be overwhelmed. He will make us to walk “through” the fire and we will not be scorched.

As much as we want Him to remove trials and tribulations and difficulties “from” us; I have found that I become much closer to my wonderful Father when He take me “through” rather than “out of” such things.

Somehow, I grow more, my heart becomes stronger, my spirit drives deeper into grace when I must depend upon God daily in the midst of a trial. Would I prefer to avoid difficulties, certainly! But life does not always abide with my preferences.

In the midst of those difficult times, I remember that God has ALWAYS brought me “through.” As He has done so in the past, He will do so now.

Praise His Holy Name. Amen!

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Olympic Gold

by TerryLema

I like sports. Most people who know me know I like sports. I like the Olympics and am partial to the summer games over the winter ones. When the swimming is on, or the track and field portions you will usually find me watching. I think I like the backstories as much as I do the events. Three caught my eye last week.

Allyson Felix, in her last Olympic performance on the track won the gold medal in the 4×400 relay. And with that gold medal, she now has 11 total Olympic medals, which puts her one more than Carl Lewis as the most for any American track and field athlete.

What makes her story even more remarkable is that she suffered a traumatic childbirth experience in 2018 where both she and her daughter, Camryn, were at risk. She was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, forcing her to undergo an emergency C-section at 32 weeks pregnant. Camryn was born two months early and spent a long time in the NICU. Felix has since joined a program called Better Starts for All, dedicated to battling maternal health issues for women. She took her most difficult experience and not only made it through, but she is now helping other women make it through theirs.

Then there were the two high jumpers from Qatar and Italy. They tied with the highest jump. Both had severe ankle injuries in the recent past and were even unsure of making the Olympics. When the official offered them a “jump off for the gold medal,” one of them asked if it would be ok if they shared the gold. When they stood on the platform, they placed a gold medal around each other’s neck and hugged and cried. They train together and were as happy for each other as they were for themselves. They understood what it cost each to stand on that platform.

What about Molly Seidel? She was working as a barista and babysitter until she entered the marathon at the recent trials. She had run one marathon previously and at the US Trials ran a second, came in second, and was put on the team. Last Friday we watched as she, in her third marathon in the sweltering heat and humidity, took the bronze behind two women from Kenya, one the world record holder. I guess you never know if you can until you try.

I learned three life lesson in these three stories. We need to use our difficult experiences to help others through theirs, we need to cheer each other on to success knowing how much it can cost, and we need to step out of our comfort zones and try.

“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” [Philippians 4:13 HCSB]

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God Loves Me

by TerryLema

I was sitting in my rocker in my living room the other morning. Bob was off doing some banking and other errands. The house was quiet. I was thanking God for a good report from my bone scan. In spite of being almost 75 and spending nearly 2 years on Prednisone, my bones are “very strong” according to the scan. That is a marvelous blessing.

As I sat there thinking about what I’ll be “doing” next year after The Way, my God reminded me that He loves me for who I am, not what I do.

Who I am?  I am His child.

John 1:12: “But to all who did receive Him, [Christ Jesus] gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name.” [HCSB]

Because I believe in His name and have received the salvation He offered, Christ Jesus has given me the “right” to be God’s child. The word John used for “right” is exousia, which means power to act, or authority.

I heard that word described once in relation to the Greek word for power, dunamis. The speaker said that when a bank robber with a gun meets a police officer with a gun, both have power (dunamis), but only one has authority (exousia) to use that power. The police offer has been given the authority by right of the one he represents. His badge symbolizes that exousia.

I have been given the authority by right of the one I serve, Christ Jesus. I am a child of God, not because I claim to be, but because He says I am.

As I sat in my rocker, taking all this in, I knew that I knew that I knew I am His child. And that He loves me, not because of what I can do, but simply because I am His.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” [Romans 8:16 HCSB]

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The LORD Reigns!

by TerryLema

Last Sunday we sang that old worship chorus, “The LORD Reigns.” It was taken from Psalm 97.

“The LORD (JEHOVAN YAHWEH) reigns! Let the earth rejoice!”

“Fire goes before Him and burns up His foes on every side”

“The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD—at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.”

“The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory”

“For You, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth, You are exalted above all the gods.”

 Occasionally posts asking for comments come up on Facebook. The other day one appeared that asked people to say something wonderful with only three words. I guess I would have to reply, “The LORD Reigns!”

I cannot think of a more wonderful phrase for all time. I open my online news sources each day or listen to a news broadcast on television or radio and no one ever mentions the best news of all – the LORD Reigns.

Our LORD (JEHOVAH, YAHWEH) reigns! He is robed in majesty. Psalm 93:1

Our LORD (JEHOVAH, YAHWEH) reigns! He judges the peoples fairly. Psalm 96:10

Our LORD (JEHOVAH, YAHWEH) reigns! He is enthroned above the cherubim. Psalm 99:1

Our LORD (JEHOVAH, YAHWEH) reigns forever … for all generations. Hallelujah! Psalm 146:10

This morning my hearts sings because I know that no matter what I see with earthly eyes, no matter what I hear with earthly ears, My LORD reigns. There is coming a day when every person will acknowledge that truth.

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” [Romans 14:11 HCSB]

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The One the LORD Comments

by TerryLema

Yesterday we looked at how Paul warned against boasting in our own accomplishments.  He reminded his readers that “…the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.” [2 Corinthians 10:17 HCSB]

 The verse that follows is one of my favorite replies when people throw up those old, tired responses that all of us have heard.  (Such as the college professor who told me that she could never be a Christian because the KKK was a “Christian organization.”)

My response for such things is 2 Corinthians 10:18, “For it is not the one commending himself -who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.”

Anyone can call themselves “Christian,” but that does not make them one.

The Greek word for “approved” is dokimos, and it means approved, acceptable, tried.  It means it has passed the necessary test or scrutiny and been validated and verified. Paul reminds us that we cannot validate ourselves. It is the LORD who validates.

It is Christ Jesus who commends us. Commend is sunistemi and it means to place together, prove, stand near, establish. It comes from a word that means union, together with. Christ Jesus stands in union with those He approves.

I remind people of the virtues and character of Christ Jesus and ask them if they really think Jesus would stand in union with those who “call themselves Christians but do not exhibit Christ-like words or actions.”

It means nothing to commend ourselves. It means everything to pass the inspection of our LORD Christ Jesus and have Him stand in union with us. We need to make sure our thoughts, words and deeds pass His scrutiny.

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The One Who Boasts

by TerryLema

I was reading and studying in 1 Corinthians 10 for this Sunday’s message on strongholds. I got to the end of the chapter and came to a couple of my favorite Scriptures in this letter. Paul concludes this portion regarding his apostolic ministry and spiritual warfare with: “So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.” [2 Corinthians 10:17 HCSB]

“The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.” The NKJV uses the word “glory” for “boast.”

The word for boast or glory is kauchaomai and it means in Greek what the English words typify, to boast, to glory, to exalt proudly.

Paul warns the Corinthians that there is no value in bragging about any accomplishment that calls attention to themselves. Believers are to rejoice (boast, glory, exalt) in what Christ has done for them and give Him all the glory honor and praise.

We cannot save ourselves, only Christ Jesus is able to save us through the grace of the Father poured out on us at Calvary. We cannot transform our own lives, only He is able to do so. We cannot even provide the power for our own ministries. Christ Jesus empowers us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. God the Father has provided the works we are to do and the Holy Spirit gifts us in order to accomplish those works.

When we look at “our” accomplishments through that understanding, just what do we find to boast about – except in all God has done for us, in us and through us.

Thank you, Father for Your amazing work! Amen.

 

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Spiritual Warfare

by TerryLema

Spiritual Warfare! Those two words can and do evoke all types of reactions. Typically, they are either “YIKES!” or “YEAH!” Mention that the messages for August will be on Spiritual Warfare (which they will be this month at The Way in Middleton) and people think either “YIKES! Let me outta here! I don’t want anything to do with the ‘demonic’ or such things.”

Or, you have those who start to pump their fists and yell “YEAH! About time. Hang on while I get my ‘spiritual bazooka’ and I’ll join ya!”

It is readily apparent that there is conflict all around us, and not just between nations or organizations. The enemy of our soul senses the time to do his best to hurt God is dwindling so he is going after the hearts and minds of men and women. As believers, we need to be wise about spiritual warfare. First, we must understand that it has two components, offensive and defensive.

1 Corinthians 10:4-5 gives us a battle plan: “The weapons of our warfare are not worldly but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.”

We are to demolish strongholds on offense. We are to take every thought captive to obey Christ Jesus on defense. The main battlefield has always been our thought life. Spiritual warfare is much, much more than just inserting the “name of Jesus” in commanding sentences.

It is meeting the enemy of our soul right where he wants to insert himself … in our thoughts, choices, and decisions, and drive him away. It is placing our souls and spirits in that wonderful refuge and fortress—God Almighty! It is recognizing the authority that has been given to us to be victorious over all the wiles of the enemy.

The Scriptures also describe the weapons used to win the battle.  The first thing, however, is to recognize and acknowledge that we are in a battle!

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Restart!

by TerryLema

The backlight on my phone was misbehaving. It dimmed and would only light up for a second when I scrolled through screens. As soon as the new screen settled, it dimmed again. I tried going into settings to see if I had accidentally pressed something I should not have. (I tend to do that with my Kindle, especially with the auto-rotate function.) I was hoping the solution would be found there, but nothing I did changed that misbehaving backlight.

Then I remembered my days interacting with IT departments in the various organizations where I had worked. The first thing they always asked was, “Did you do a restart?” It became a habit when having computer problems to just do that restart before calling IT instead of waiting for them to remind me.

So, I restarted my phone and miraculously the backlight was no longer misbehaving and thoughts of having to buy a new phone exited my mind.

Restart. Don’t you wish you had a restart button on your life or your relationships or your finances? Let’s go back to bed and restart this day. Let’s go back and fix that relationship before it blew apart. Let’s go back and save more, prepare better for retirement years. Unfortunately, for many things in this life there is no restart.

Except for God and His grace. I was reminded of that as I read Psalm 103 this morning. God takes our sin and removes it from us as far as the east is from the west.  His restart in our lives is found in His faithful love and grace shown to us in Christ Jesus. The penalties that we deserve have been removed and we now are blessed with His compassions that fail not.

“He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” [vs 10-13 HCSB]

I love the song, “Except for Grace,” sung by the Martins. It always ministers to my soul – I pray it ministers to yours.

(105) The Martins - Except for Grace/Grace Grater Than Our Sin [Live] - YouTube

 

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A Permanent Residence

by TerryLema

There was a post on Facebook recently asking people how many places they had lived. I knew I had lived in a lot of places, but when I started counting them up from my childhood, I was surprised to find they numbered 30. At almost 75 years old, that means I have moved every 2.5 years to a new residence.

Maybe that is why those first verses in Psalm 91 mean so much to me.

“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” [vss1-2 HCSB]

Look at that wonderful word, “dwells.” It means “to take up a permanent residence in.”

We have a place of refuge that is permanent. We have a fortress that we never have to leave. It is found in the best place ever.

It is in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY, (SHADDAI), the all-sufficient God who is more than adequate for every situation, trial, and circumstance.

When I am in that place, I am under the protection of the MOST HIGH, (ELYON), the name found first in Genesis 14:18-20. He is higher than the kings of the earth and the false gods of the nations.

While in this place my refuge/fortress is my LORD (JEHOVAH, YAHWEH), the covenant-making God who is faithful to His promises.

I can trust completely in my GOD (ELOHIM), the powerful God whose greatness and glory surpass anything we can imagine.

I may have lived in 30 places here on earth, but my permanent dwelling is in my relationship and fellowship in Christ Jesus where I am invited into the very Holy of Holies to live a life of worship and communion, obedience, service, and love.

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