Devotions

My message at The Way Assembly of God today is about Mephibosheth – the man with the almost unpronounceable name and the crippled feet. He is identified as the only remaining direct descendant of Israel’s first king, Saul.  He was a son of the oldest son, Jonathan, and in direct line for the throne – if God had not taken the throne away from Saul because of disobedience and instead given it to a young shepherd named David. [2 Samuel 9]

Unfortunately for Mephibosheth, the common practice of the time was for the king of the new dynasty to annihilate the descendants of the old dynasty–can’t leave relatives around that might try to regain the throne through subterfuge or violence.

When news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan arrived, Mephibosheth’s nurse grabbed her young charge and in her haste to flee dropped him.  Mephibosheth never recovered from that drop; it left him with crippled feet. [2 Samuel 4:4]

After David fully assumed the throne, he remembered the promise he had made to Jonathan, a promise to be loyal to Jonathan’s family.  David begins a search and finally learns that a son of Jonathan is in hiding in a remote part of Israel.  He’s poor, exiled and afraid.

Can you imagine Mephibosheth’s fear when David’s servants arrive at the house where he is staying and whisk him off for an audience before the king?  I think he must have had what Hebrews describes as “…only a fearful expectation of judgment….”  [Heb 10:27 NIV]

Instead King David had a much different surprise in store for Mephibosheth.  Tomorrow, the best part of the story.

I’m not a stay-up-late person, even on the 4^th of July.  I know cities and regions are setting off fireworks, but my body is saying “bedtime!” I fell asleep easily Tuesday night, but woke up not long after. As one person on Facebook commented, it sounded like a war zone with all the illegal fireworks bursting in the dark around us in Idaho.

There were a lot of warnings about pets not handling the fireworks and to make sure they are in a protected area. Many dogs are frightened by the noise and lights.  What the news fails to mention, and what I learned at a clergy seminar on ministry to veterans, is that this is a difficult time for some veterans also. It does sound like a war zone, and many vets carry enduring effects from the actual war zones in which they fought.

As I listened to the bottle rockets and mortars bursting around us, and saw the brilliant flashes coming through the blinds, I thought about those who were struggling that night.  Sometimes sights and sounds leave marks on our minds and emotions, things we can never forget, things that immediately take us back to difficult or dangerous situations.  I still feel a momentary panic when it looks like a car is about ready to turn left in front of me–and that accident happened nearly ten years ago!

Not all memories are good.  For some, memories of rejection, abuse, struggles, deaths and the like drive them. Bad memories have an almost overpowering ability to carry us back where we do not want to go. They drain us of present day joy and peace. Jesus invited us to come during those times … “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matt 11:28 NIV]

That invitation is not just for salvation, but also for all those times when the past strives to dominate the present.

Father, may we always be aware of the struggles others might have.  May we be islands of peace and refuge for them.  May we remember to pray and come alongside them.  Amen.

“Kentucky Head Coach Shoots Down NBA Rumors While Riding Camel”  [NBC Sports, nbcnews.com, 06/30/2017]

I know news captions are designed to catch our attention. Most of the time I just buzz on past them without a second thought.  But this one…this one made me pause and read the story. The story, of course, is about John Calipari, head basketball coach at Kentucky.  Every year rumors fly that he’s leaving the college scene to become a head coach in the NBA. This year the rumors happened while he was on vacation in Egypt, thus the picture of him riding a camel as he denied them.

The story nowhere lived up to its catchy title!

With God, it’s not about catchy titles that draw you into little content. It’s about truth that is so simple a child can understand and so deep that decades of searching only crack the surface.  We could spend the rest of our lives getting to know the God who identified Himself to Moses as, “I AM WHO I AM.” [Ex 3:14 NIV]

We could hear every day what Jeremiah heard, “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” and still not have experienced all there is in that promise.  [Jer 31:3 NIV]

And who can fully appreciate the eternal promise contained in Jesus’ proclamation from the cross, “It is [and will forever be] finished!”  [John 19:30 NIV]

No, our God is not about catchy titles, He’s about promises and truth that will carry us into eternity.  Praise His Holy Name!

Three decades ago my brother Mike and I traveled from California to Pennsylvania for a 50^th anniversary celebration for our aunt and uncle. On the trip, Mike took his two daughters, 8 and 6, and I took my youngest child Dan who was 10.  We traveled in Mike’s RV.  The trip took 10 days and we visited many states and sites along the way.

It was hot and muggy when we arrived in Western Pennsylvania in July.  We parked the RV alongside this house that had been like home to us in our childhood. My aunt insisted that I sleep in the house, relegating Mike and the kids to sleep in the RV. I told her I was fine staying in the RV, but she kept insisting that she had a room all prepared for me upstairs. I gave in to her wishes.

I soon discovered that the upstairs of the house had no air conditioning and that the bedroom window had been secured so it could only be raised about two inches. As I lay gasping in the heat, I could hear the air conditioner on the RV whining away below me. I pictured my brother and the kids comfortable and cool. My thoughts in that moment were not happy thoughts!

In the morning, my aunt said that a thunderstorm had blown through in the middle of the night and cooled things off.  I certainly didn’t feel any cooling. I asked her if she was sure about that.  She said, “Oh, yes it definitely cooled off. We have the heater set at 72^o and it kicked on around 2 AM.”

I laugh now; I didn’t laugh then.  “A merry heart does good, like medicine.”  [Proverbs 17:22 NKJV]

Father, how I look forward to seeing those ones who have been so dear to me who are now in Your presence.  I want to laugh again with them. Amen. 

I am not sure what evoked the nostalgia this morning, perhaps that it is July and hot. I got up early and opened all the windows to cool off the house and give the air conditioner a break before it gets warm in the afternoon. When I was a child we left our windows open all night to cool the house down, but that is no longer an option if we hope to stay safe.

This morning I recalled those hot summer nights as a child in Western Pennsylvania. All the neighbors would sit outside on porches waiting for houses to cool a bit, often holding glasses of home-made ginger ale and root beer. I remember mason jars full of fireflies and the old-fashioned water pump in my uncle’s yard. I can still hear the squeals of joy as kids chased each other with sprinkler cans filled from the pump. I remember lemonade and ginger cookies, old men talking, women fanning themselves, rocking chairs and porch swings.

Then they started finding ways to keep houses cool all the time. No longer was it necessary to remain on the porch late into the evening. We traded fellowship with our neighbors for sitting around a television, another new innovation in my childhood. I think we lost more than we gained.

I wonder if heaven will have porch swings and rocking chairs, lemonade and ginger cookies. I know the fellowship will be sweet as we share with each other the joys of simply knowing Jesus.

John 14:2-3: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”  [NIV]

“Happy Independence Day!”  This day commemorates what happened on July 4, 1776, when the original thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence and declared they were a new nation, no longer under the rule of an English monarchy.  We celebrate with parades, speeches, fireworks, picnics and patriotism.

As a nation and a people, we really identify with “independence.” We even get a bit arrogant in it. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do or how to do it. Our battle cry is freedom, liberty, self-determination, self-sufficiency! We want that in our politics, our social climate, and our religions.

Unfortunately, independence doesn’t wear as well on religion as it does on politics.  In fact, as Christians, it is not “independence” that we should be celebrating at all, it is “dependence.”  It is only in Christ Jesus that we find true freedom and liberty.  Abandoning our self-determination and self-sufficiency, we find we are truly free as we cast everything upon Him.  He takes our sins, our shame, our burdens and bondages and gives us righteousness, hope and true peace.

Beloved, let us celebrate every day as “Happy Dependence Day!”

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” [Psalm 68:19 NIV]

Bob and I went to Costco to pick up supplies for the church. We needed bottled water. Water is heavy. I can lift the smaller packages of water I get from the grocery stores, a 24-bottle case is doable, but Costco cases are double that. I can’t lift them, and Bob is limited following his shoulder replacement to less than 20 pounds until October. So, he used his good arm and grabbed one side of a case, I grabbed the other, and between us we got the water in the cart, from the cart to the car, and from the car into the church. Neither one of us could have done it alone, but by working together we finished what we set out to do.

Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” [NIV]

Paul writes that we as spiritual believers are to help carry each other’s burdens. By doing that, we fulfill the law of Christ, which is the law of love.  That is what happened when I called my friend last Thursday and broke open my heart before her. I offered up my burden and she got under the load to help me carry it. In turn, she opened her heart to me and I am praying for her.

When we listen or pray, when we respond in love, when we give a smile, hug someone or hold them as they cry, we help them to carry their burden. We may think we can do this life on our own and maybe we will even succeed for a time, but at some point, we are going to meet up with a burden that is too big, too heavy to carry alone.  Bob and I could carry the water only by doing it together.  When my sorrow of heart became too heavy, my friend came alongside.

Father, thank you for godly friends who are willing to help bear our burdens.  Help me to also be that kind of friend to others.  Amen.

Ps 13:2: “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” [NIV]

David’s songs always impress me with their honesty. He is so transparent as he puts pen to his soul, whether he is praising God’s goodness and greatness or examining his own thoughts and desires.  Often his songs begin with his troubles and end in God’s praise.  Psalm 13 is structured that way.

David seems a bit worn down in this song; worn from the constant battle with his enemies.  His cry of “How long …?” is one that has probably crossed all our lips.  How long, God, must I face this problem, endure this sickness, struggle with this circumstance?

I know lately I have wrestled with my thoughts and had sorrow in my heart, so much so that I called my good, trusted friend last week knowing that she would understand.  And she did.  She didn’t solve my wrestling or remove the sorrow, but she listened as I poured out my heart. I know that she will be praying for me, just as she knows I pray for her.

I know also that like David, I can give this sorrow of heart to my Lord and Savior.  He will listen.  He wrestled with a sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane that nearly overwhelmed Him, so I know He understands mine.  I know that I can trust His love.

Ps 13:5-6: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”  [NIV]

Deuteronomy 6:23: “But he brought us out from [Egypt] to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers.”   [NIV]

“He brought us out … to bring us in.”  The Israelites were camped next to the Jordan River just across from the Promised Land.  Moses is reminding the nation about everything that has happened to them since God brought them out of Egypt, which included 40 years of wilderness wanderings while they got their act together.

God had brought them out of Egypt to bring them into the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They could have gotten there in 11 days. That was all – 11 days; instead it took them 40 years.

Why so long to realize the wonderful inheritance they had in God?  Because they were stiff-necked, rebellious murmurers and grumblers. Every time they encountered a challenge or difficulty they wanted to run back to Egypt, to the land of “cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.”  Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10 that what happened to Israel after their exit from Egypt were examples and warnings to us so that we might not follow in their footsteps.

“He brought us out … to bring us in.”  God through the salvation of Jesus Christ brought us out of sin and darkness for a purpose – “to bring us in….” He brought us out so that we “may know the hope to which he has called [us], the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”  [Eph 1:18-19 NIV]

I guess my thought today is, are we really living in the hope, the riches, the inheritance, and His incomparably great power, or are we, like Israel was, still wandering around in the wilderness, saved but stiff-necked rebellious, murmuring and grumbling?

Father God, I want to live in Your presence and in Your power and in Your promises.  Remove my hard heart, my rebellious will, my murmuring and grumbling spirit.  Amen.

Paul closes his letter to the Romans with greetings to a list of people.  On Paul’s list is a man named Apelles.  “Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.”  [Romans 16:10 NIV]

Not much is known about Apelles, but what we can glean from this short greeting is amazing.  His name, Apelles, means “called.”  At some time, Apelles heard the call of Christ in salvation and responded.  We also can glean that he was known to Paul.  Their paths of ministry crossed at some point and Paul now sends his greetings.

There are two other notable things we know about Apelles. We know he was tested.  We can only imagine what that testing was.  The very fact that Paul, who was grievously tested throughout his ministry made note of it, implies that Apelles may have faced something quite severe.

The second thing we know is that Apelles stood faithful to his Lord in the testing … his “fidelity to Christ has stood the test.”

That is high commendation coming from such a one as Paul the Apostle.  That is praise any of us would love to have … called, tested, and found faithful.

I can’t wait to meet Apelles around the throne and hear “the rest of the story!”

Father God, may you find us faithful in whatever test we face for the name and glory of Christ Jesus. Amen