Devotions

Romans 12:9: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [NIV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. [NKJV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. [Christian Standard Bible]

When I’m studying a verse or passage of Scripture, one of the first things I do is look at it in different translations.  Then the I look at it in the original language through one of the study lexicons or guides.

The verse above caught my attention this morning.  Love, of course, is the same in each translation. It is agape in the Greek and represents that unconditional love that isn’t based on anything of worth in the recipient. Love must be sincere, unfeigned, meaning real and without hypocrisy.

We are also to abhor, detest utterly¸ all things evil. Evil is poneros, and it covers just above every kind of evil, bad, grievous, harmful, lewd, malicious wickedness there is.

Last, we are to cling to, cleave to all that is good. Good is, well — good. But what really interested me this morning was that word kollao, translated as cling to or cleave. It comes from kolla (glue).  Kollao (cling to) means to glue.  While we abhor and detest evil, we glue ourselves to what is good! Does that capture your imagination as it does mine?

Good, good Father. I want to glue myself to You. I want to cling to all the good that flows from You! Amen.

The first 10 years of my life were spent in Western Pennsylvania. I think we lived in 5 different houses between Charleroi, Leetsdale and Sewickly. Then we moved to California where my parents were eventually able to buy a home. I spent my teen years there. Since Bob and I married 51 years ago, we have moved 22 times.  If my calculations are correct, I’ve lived in 30 different houses in my 71 years.  Home to me has always been rather transient.

Maybe that’s why I’ve never been attached to any one place. It doesn’t really matter to me if it is a house or apartment, or whether we own or rent. I don’t get attached to the dwelling I’m living in.  I’m blessed if there is a good air conditioner (I don’t do well in the heat) and hook-ups for my washer/dryer (I don’t like laundromats).

And, maybe that why’s that phrase in the song I wrote about yesterday, “When Mercy Found Me.” touched me so deeply. When mercy found me, like it found the author of the song, “my heart found a home.”

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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [NIV]

My heart has found a permanent home in the love of my LORD. And the day is coming when I shall be with my Savior, in my Father’s House, with a room that is eternally mine. I won’t have to ever move again! Amen.

Recently the temperature where I am in Idaho has climbed into the 50’s, unusual for January. It has been sunny and warm and I’ve been able to “worship walk” outside. As I walked I was listening to a song called, “When Mercy Found Me.” I didn’t know much about the performer/author, but you can read his story and find the full lyrics to the song with this link:  http://www.klove.com/music/artists/rhett-walker-band/

I was touched by the lyrics.  The part that spoke to my soul while on my walk was: “My Savior’s arms were open wide / And I felt love for the very first time / When mercy found me / My mind found peace / My soul found hope /My heart found a home.”

“My Savior’s arms were open wide and I felt love for the very first time.” On Sunday mornings, two little girls, ages 5 and 8, come into the church building. Before too long I hear, “Pastor Terry!” and find them both running toward me. I open my arms wide and give them both a big hug. I love these little ones and nothing does my heart better than having them run into my open arms. As I listened to those words on my walk, I saw myself, a little one running into the arms of my Savior. No fear of rejection. His mercy first found me in 1976 and His arms are always open wide to me now.

“My mind found peace.”  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Phil 4:7 NIV]

“My soul found hope.” We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. [Heb 6:19 NIV]

“My heart found a home.”

Our plan to mature in our faith, to become more like Jesus in 2018 than we were in 2017 has two parts now. Part One: Knowledge (from January 18). That requires reading and studying God’s Word. Part Two: Doing. That means we live out in our everyday lives what we have learned (from January 19).

Great plan, right? Well, good beginning anyway. It’s going to take a little more if we want to see results in our goals of maturing faith, Christ-like character, and true worship. It’s going to take the power of the Spirit of God to accomplish these in us. Jesus promised that upon His return to the Father, He would not leave us alone; He would send the Spirit to teach and to guide us in all things.  He said, the Spirit would also provide us the power to witness.

John 14:26: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.”  [NKJV]

Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  [NIV]

Witnessing is more than standing on a street corner and shouting to the crowd, it’s more than speaking quietly to an individual the truths of God. Witnessing encompasses taking what we know of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and living it out in our lives.  It’s that plan, first knowledge; second doing; and third, accomplished in us and through us by the power of the Spirit.

You cannot know the things of God or do the things of God apart from the Spirit of God.

 Father, I want my faith to be mature and full of the power of the Holy Spirit! Lead me and guide me into all truth. Give me power to witness by both my word and my life. Amen.

I remember my time of greatest growth in the LORD. My children were all in school and I didn’t have to go to work until later in the day. I would sit on my couch after everyone left and I would read and journal. I had a Bible reading plan that, if followed, would have me reading through my Bible once a year (Gospels, Psalms and Proverbs twice a year).  I also had a journal plan that allowed me to focus my thoughts each day. It was called “ACTS,” which stood for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. I added a section at the end on Listening.

It was a great time of learning what God requires through reading His word, and beginning to broaden my approach to Him from merely asking for stuff to adoring, confessing, and offering thanks also.  It was the beginning of maturity, but had it remained only there on my couch for a few hours every morning, it truly would have accomplished little.

Because the second part of any plan must be implementation.  James wrote: “Do not merely listen to [read] the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” [1:22 NIV]

If we aren’t translating the knowledge into action, the plan to mature and grow, worship more, be more like Christ, will accomplish little in our lives. It will be like those New Year’s resolutions that are forgotten by February 1.

May I be so bold as to say you haven’t really learned the Word until you live the Word. We have to know, but we also have to do. Otherwise, we are, as James reminds us, deceiving ourselves.

Father, may I learn what you require, and may I do what you require. Amen.

I wrote yesterday about having a plan. Nothing sinks our goals faster than not developing a plan to achieve them. God had one for our salvation. We should have one for growing and maturing in our faith and worship, becoming more like Jesus in our character.

The first part of every plan is knowledge. We want to be more like Jesus. That’s a great goal but what does it mean to “be more like Jesus.”  What was Jesus like? We want to grow and mature in faith. Great – but what does mature faith look like?  To find out we need to study.  We need to immerse ourselves in the life of Jesus in the Gospels. We need to read what determines mature faith in the Epistles.  Want to learn how to worship, then read the psalms, sing them even. Want wisdom, head for Proverbs.

The plan begins with knowledge. Dig into the word. Set aside a time each day to read a few Scripture verses. Check out commentaries and read what others have found in those same verses.  It doesn’t have to be giant blocks of Scriptures. Pick a paragraph or chapter that’s relevant to your life at the moment and determine to focus on that for a few days or a week. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” [Col 3:16 NIV]

Moses laid out a plan for the children of Israel to learn what God required of them so that they could grow and become mature.  “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” [Deut 6:4-9 NIV]

Now that’s a plan!

I open my online news page each morning. Always like to find out what the world considers important. Among the political headlines I learned that the 20-year-old man who won $451M in the lottery “retired.” (Did anyone really expect him not to?) Someone discovered a spider that looks like a pelican. (Oh joy!) I also learned a fan was ejected for yelling obscenities at an NBA star and why it makes more sense to rent than buy.

The only one that really interested me was the slide show on “Why you can’t stick to your New Year’s resolutions.” There were 15 different reasons why, things like your goal is weight loss or one you don’t really want to do or your motivation is negativity. Out of the 15 the one that caught my eye was “you don’t have a plan.”

“You don’t have a plan.” How often have people told me that they want to grow more in the Lord, become more like Jesus, become more fervent in their faith or worship. I wonder what response I would get if I asked them if they had a “plan” to accomplish their goals? Too often our spiritual goals are vague. We kind of know where we want to go, but have no plan to get there.

God is a planner.  He set His goal and then made a plan to get there. It says so right in Ephesians 1. “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will….”   (vs 11 NIV]

God purposed by His will to save His people and He made a plan to do just that. If we want to be more like Jesus, more fervent and mature in our faith or worship, shouldn’t we also have a plan?  More on that tomorrow.

My husband is getting the itch to go fishing.  He’s anxious for spring so he can load up his rods and reels and head out to some lake or pond. Bob has loved to fish for as long as I’ve known him.

Last year at this time he was waiting for shoulder replacement surgery, which happened on February 6. His right shoulder had been bothering him for a long time, but it wasn’t until it affected his ability to fish that he finally gave up and sought medical help. He could no longer cast his line out to the water.

In 1 Peter 5:6-7, Peter tells us we are to “cast” all our cares upon our Mighty God. “Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” [NKJV]

The Greek word for “cast” means to “throw upon.” As a fisherman throws his line upon the water we are to throw all our cares upon our Mighty God. We can do that because we know our Mighty God cares for us. He’s proven that over and over and over again in the mercies He has bestowed upon us and the promises He has made to us – all of which are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus.

The one problem we have, however, is that too often while we cast our cares like a fisherman casts his line, we also tend to “reel” them back in!

Father, I want to cast all my cares upon You, and I want to leave them with You! By the power of your Spirit help me to do just that! Amen.

Merriam-Webster.com defines humble as not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive.  I think humble is one of the hardest words to define. I think even Merriam-Webster found it difficult to define because they simply tell us what being humble is not.  It’s not pride nor arrogance. So, what is it?

I’ve heard being humble defined as “not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”  That helps a little, but perhaps being humble is best defined with an example.  And the best example is found in John 13: “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”  [Vs 2-5 NIV]

Jesus knew … He knew that all power in heaven and earth was given to Him. He knew He had come from God and was soon returning to God. He knew who He was, the Son of God, the Almighty Creator of all things. So, what does He do? He performs for his disciples the task of the lowliest slave in that society, that of washing dirty feet.  He then tells them that He is giving them an example of what true humility is.  “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” [Vs 15-17 NIV]

We are not to ignore or discount who we are, or the talents or abilities we possess.  We are not to “pretend” to be anything other than what we are. We are, however, to use everything we are and everything we have in order to serve others … even performing the lowliest of tasks … and in that we will find true blessings.

Thursday did not turn out at all as I had planned. I didn’t feel well, so postponed my luncheon and shopping. Bob was gone in the morning taking the cat to the vet, and again in the afternoon for an emergency dentist appointment. I was alone, and it was quiet for much of my day. It was probably the quietest day I have had in months.

I read Psalm 46 in the morning. We are probably all familiar with that often-quoted verse 10: “Be still and know that I am God.” 

Would it surprise you to learn that still does not mean to be quiet and not talk? The word is raphah, and it means “to cast down, let fall, to let hang down (especially the hands).” It is used in the sense of not making any effort or putting forth any exertion.  It carries the idea of ceasing all struggle and leaving everything in God’s Hands.

Read Psalm 46 and notice how God is portrayed. Our refuge, strength, ever-present help. He is the LORD Almighty, our fortress. He works among us; bringing desolations and causing wars to cease and defeating enemies. It doesn’t matter if the very mountains fall into the sea or quake mightily … our God is mightier than anything and as verse 11 points out … He is “with us.” It is only in knowing our God after that fashion that we can cease all struggles, be still, and leave everything in God’s Hands.

Father, the struggles I face are nothing in comparison to Your greatness. You are my fortress and strength, my ever-present help. By Your Spirit, enable me to be still today and know beyond all doubt that You are God and You are with me. Amen.