Devotions

But God.  Heb 12:10-11: “But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.” [NIV]

Discipline, not the most thrilling of words. In the NT Greek, it means “to train up a child, i.e. educate.” It is often translated as instruct, learn, teach, and part of teaching can be punishment.

When my middle grandson was a preschooler, his parents were trying to teach him not to use the word “stupid.” Saying “stupid” brought a short time-out to enforce the instruction. Grandpa and I were visiting with them in California and as we sat around the kitchen table, Grandpa unfortunately used the word “stupid.”  Immediately, of course, little Marcus said, “PapaBob, you can’t say ‘stupid.’ We don’t say ‘stupid’ and you said ‘stupid’ so you have to go to time-out.”

My daughter-in-law smiled and backed up little Marcus, “Yes, PapaBob, time-out.” So, there went PapaBob to the time-out chair, the little kitchen timer counting down the seconds of his discipline, with Marcus sitting there watching and wearing the biggest grin.

God disciplines us. He does it to educate us for a divine purpose that we may share in His holiness. At times that education is reinforced with a bit of punishment when needed, a time-out as it were. We should never confuse God’s discipline with condemnation, however, for Jesus took our condemnation. Discipline is part of sanctification and designed to conform us into the image of Christ Jesus, God’s dear son.

Thank you, Father, for the discipline that makes me more like Jesus. Amen.

But God.  Paul had been worried about the church in Corinth. He had sent them a tough letter, urging them to deal with both the blatant sin in their midst, and the false teachers that seemed to be winning them over to a heretical gospel.  Paul had sent Titus to Corinth to get a feel for their reaction and report back.

Travel and postal service were a lot slower in those days, so Paul had to wait, and while he did, he worried. He worried that the work he had begun in Corinth was being perverted. He worried that his “children” were being lured away from the truth of Christ. Then Titus returned, and with his good report, brought comfort. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul identified that comfort as coming from God.

2 Cor 7:6: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” [NIV]

God comforts the downcast. He comforted Paul through the good news that Titus brought back from Corinth. God comforts us when we are downcast – and yes, even strong believers get downcast at times.  If it could happen to Paul, it can certainly happen to us.  Good News from God, however, will always revive and lift us.

If you are feeling downcast, read Romans 8. It is full of God’s Good News, and it is a great cure for being downcast.  Glory to God. Amen.

August 20

But God. Two 3-letter words. But God. Have you ever thought about what you would be, what your life would be if those two little words didn’t exist?  But God. It is an interesting study looking up “but God” in a concordance. I want to spend this week looking at a few of the “but God” occurrences in Scripture.

In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the master and the dishonest manager. He ends with a dynamic statement, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Luke 16:13]

Luke then tells us that there were Pharisees listening, “who loved money…and were sneering at Jesus.” 

Jesus sees their sneers and tells them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.” [v 14-15]

But God knows your hearts. That is both a negative and a positive statement. For those who sneer at the things of God and hold themselves up for glory in the sight of men, God sees through the arrogance. He knows their hearts. But for those who by their very lives seek to honor Him in the sight of men, God also knows their hearts and they are pleasing to Him.

Father, my heart breaks when I see the sneers or read the insults to You. May I always remember to pray for those souls. May my own heart always honor You. Amen.

August 19

The difference between dogs and cats according to one definition is that dogs belong to us and serve us; cats, however, think we belong to them and exist to serve them. Miss Molly Magee, my cat, certainly fits that claim. She expects a small saucer of milk at 7 AM and will chide me continually if I don’t oblige. She may or may not drink it, but that is not the point, it is still supposed to be there. She also expects part of my tuna at lunch, and to be carried to bed at 9 PM. Oh, and don’t forget her pillow! She is quite sure I exist to serve her.

She’s wrong; however, I exist to serve Another.  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” [1 Cor 6:19-20]

I am not my own. I belong to the One who bought me with His blood. That is a life-transforming principle of our Christian walk.  It means we belong wholly to Christ. Everything that is part of us is His, our bodies, money, time, talents, thoughts are His – everything.

I wonder what it would be like if we lived that principle to its fullest measure. I wonder how much we would influence and change our world. What would it be like if every morning when we arose we intentionally committed ourselves to do all and only what the Holy Spirit of Life in us directed?

I know that I do that sporadically. My efforts to cooperate with the Spirit of God are too often hit and miss. Yet in my heart of hearts, I strive to make Christ Jesus the Lord of all my life. I know He sees that. I know even that desire pleases Him. And I know that He will continually urge me on to more and more of Him and greater and greater heights in Him. Thank you, Lord, that you do not give up on me even when my efforts to serve You are feeble and few. Amen.

“To him who is able … to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” [Jude 24-25 NIV]

I do love this doxology that closes Jude’s letter.  Wednesday I wrote about our God and His ability to “keep us from falling,” the first praise expression of Jude.  But there is a second reason Jude is praising God, and that is God is able to present us before His glorious presence faultless and with exceeding joy.

Faultless. The Greek word means simply unblemished, without blame or fault. Have you ever wondered what it will be like to be faultless; no blemish on our soul? Have you ever wondered what it will feel like to be completely, absolutely without shame?

I know that is the way God sees me now in Christ. I also know that is not how others see me, or even how I see myself. In this life, my blemishes and faults are often very visible. And inside my soul I am often reminded I have no one to blame but myself for my choices, my sins, my flaws.

But the day is coming … that day when all my blemishes, faults, shame will remain in the grave and I will exit into the presence of the Lord white as snow. No wonder Jude says that when that happens there will be great, exceedingly great joy!

Thank you, Father, for Christ whose sacrifice makes me white as snow. I long for the day when I will no longer be able to see (or perhaps even remember?) the faults and failures of this life. Amen.

August 18

I am not sure I will be able to put into words what I experienced last Monday, but I’m going to try. It rained Sunday evening. That created a Monday morning light fog. It was cooler than normal, so I began my 2-mile worship walk a bit later. As I left my house the sun was already above the horizon and it was clear. I walked my usual route. About halfway I made a sharp left turn as always and then I stopped.

The street I turned onto is not a through street. There are a couple of large red and white barriers at the end which prevent the vehicles and pedestrians from going farther. On the other side of the barriers are fields of wheat and mint.  That morning the barriers were bright as day but just beyond them the fog had settled on the fields. Past the barriers I could just make out shadows of the harvest, beyond that the homes and trees in the distance were even more in shadow. I could not see the mountains farther out at all even though I knew they were there.

I stood looking at the scene and thinking about what I was seeing. I knew that in just a short while, the sun would rise high in the sky and the fog would burn away. I knew that when that happened, I would see the harvest and the homes and the mountains – no longer as shadows but just as they are. And I remembered the Scripture: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” [1 Cor 13:12 NIV]

At that moment, I knew beyond any doubt that one day (perhaps sooner than we expect) the Son of Righteousness is going to rise, and all will see Him. The dim fog that now shadows beyond the veil will be burned away. We not only will see the harvest, but will be part of it. We will see our heavenly home. We will see the Heavenly Mountain of God. We will! Praise His Holy Name!

I visit people in the hospital as a pastor and friend. Sometimes there are signs all around the rooms, and often patients wear a bracelet identifying them as a “Fall Risk.”  From what I understand, now they even have sensors on the beds that sound when a “Fall Risk” patient tries to get out of bed without assistance. When in weakened conditions, patients don’t always think clearly and or realize there isn’t enough strength to walk without falling.

At the very end of Jude’s letter is a doxology – an expression of praise to God. The first praise Jude expresses is for God’s ability to keep us from falling. “To him who is able to keep you from falling …- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. [Jude 24-25 NIV]

God is able to keep us from falling. Yes, He is! The problem seems to be that I often try to do it on my own rather than depend on God’s ability.  Remember the warning Paul gave in 1 Cor 10:12-13?  “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” [NIV]

When my children were very little and I would try to keep them from the everyday “disasters” of toddlers and preschoolers, they would often get miffed and yank their hand away and yell, “ME DO!” Ah, Lord, I think that is when I get in trouble also, when I think ME can DO anything apart from YOU!

Father, thank you! Thank you for enabling us to stand firm and not fall. Remind me, Holy Spirit, when I’m tempted to “ME DO!” life that I need You to keep me from falling. Amen.

As I write this last Friday morning, my best friend of 38 years is 700 miles from me in a hospital fighting for her life.  All I can do at the moment is pray and wait for further word. When I think of her I always am reminded of Proverbs 18:24b, “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” [NKJV]

She has always been that kind of friend. I never had a sister, but had I been able to design one for myself she would have looked like my friend. She always encourages, she always keeps a confidence. I can tell her anything and I know she will respond with truth, even when the truth might not be in my favor. And she always responds with love. My friend loves me, and I love her.

My friend grew up in the church. She has always loved the Savior.  She has a servant’s heart. She also has a tender heart, tears come easily for her.  I remember the time she went with us on our Friday convalescent hospital ministry. Our goal in that ministry was to sing uplifting songs and bring a brief message of encouragement and the love of God. She started crying the moment we walked in the door and didn’t stop until we left. I told her (kiddingly) that she wasn’t much help since we were trying to get patients to stop crying!

 As I write this I don’t know if I shall see her again in this life. I know I will see her in the next. I am certain that if she loses this battle she will be immediately in the present of the Lord. I am also certain that if she loses this battle, my life will be diminished until we meet again on the other side of the veil.

Father, thank you for my friend. I simply pray Your most perfect plan for her life. Amen.

 P.S. As of today, she is showing improvement, still a long road to recovery, but there has been progress. Prayers are still requested for her and her family.

How we need each other! I prepare every week for Wednesday night Bible Study. I enjoy researching and studying. I go over early to the church and I walk around and talk to God for a while. I set the chairs around the tables, go over my Bible Study notes one more time. Then I wait.

Sometimes I read, or listen to music on my phone while I wait. I keep the outside door locked because I’m alone. Then I spot familiar cars pulling into the parking lot as the Wednesday night group arrives. I unlock the doors and when this little group comes in I am blessed and comforted.

Paul wrote from prison about the comfort he received from his fellow Jews. He said, “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas…. Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.” [Col 4:10-12 NIV]

Paul needed people. For him, having fellow Jews working with Him for the Kingdom brought peace and comfort. I think they gave him hope—they were a firstfruit that one day his own people would be brought into the Gospel of Christ.  My little group on Wednesday brings me comfort also. I am not alone in my desire to know more of God, others also want to walk alongside. I will say it again, we need each other.

Father, thank you that others who love you are walking with me through this life. Amen.

I bought another case of water in plastic bottles recently. I usually have a filtered pitcher of water in the fridge that satisfies my thirsts. Bob, however, prefers bottled water and since getting him to drink enough water is always a problem, I buy the bottles. When I came home from the board meeting Tuesday, an unopened bottle was sitting on the counter. I got lazy and grabbed it—only to have it leak all over me, the counter and the floor. Bob came out of his office as I stood dripping water everywhere and told me he accidentally cut into that plastic bottle when he was opening the case. Thanks for the warning.

The bottle appeared just fine, until I put pressure on it when I tried to open the cap. Unfortunately, we often resemble that bottle, we leak—emotionally, spiritually, mentally.  We may look fine, but the minute pressure is applied from the outside, we realize that we are not.

God wants to fill us with His presence through the power of the Holy Spirit. He wants to fill us with hope and joy and peace and comfort. He wants us to overflow with power and love. And He will fill us. Unfortunately, until we reach our eternal home, we are going to keep leaking and will need to return to Him to be filled again and again.

Ps 16:11:  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. [NIV]

Father, thank you for always being willing to fill us when we seek You. Thank you for all the good things you put in our life. Remind us when we are getting low and need to return to You once again to be filled. Amen.