Devotions

Psalm 25:10-15 declares that “The ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”  [NIV]

The ways of the Lord are made for keeping!

God reminds us that His ways are loving and faithful to those who remain watchful of them. For those who keep their eyes upon Him, for those who respect and fear Him, for those who repent when they find they have sinned, He is “faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9]

God always does His part. God instructs us in the way chosen for us. God confides in those of us who fear Him. God makes His covenant know to us. God releases our feet from the snare of the enemy.

Our part is to keep the demands of His ways, and to seek forgiveness when we fail. Our part is to keep our eyes ever on the Lord.

The ways of the Lord are made for keeping!

Second Chronicles 17:3-6 recalls the character and acts of King Jehoshaphat. God was with the King and one of the things the Lord notes about Jehoshaphat was that “he was devoted to the ways of the Lord.” [NLT]

“The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. The LORD established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. His heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.”  [NIV]

The ways of the Lord are made for worshipping!

The one notable thing in this passage about Jehoshaphat is that He worshipped God singularly. He did not follow the pagan practices that Israel had developed. He did not allow the high places of idolatry or the pagan worship symbols to remain but instead removed them from the nation. He worshipped God and God alone.

Our hearts are to be singularly devoted to the ways of God. We are not to be half-hearted. We are not to develop idols in our lives. Granted none of us probably has an Baal image in our backyard, but we may have created an idol in our 401K or in another person, or a hobby, or a religion, or a practice or an attitude.

The Lord God Almighty is to be the center of our lives; we were made to worship, to honor, to adore Him and Him alone.

The ways of the Lord are made for worshipping!

I often do not understand the ways God moves in my life and the lives of others and just when I think I do, He changes the way He moves. Scripture, however, talks about the ways of the Lord and reminds us that while we may not understand, we still have a responsibility to them.

Psalm 138:4-6 declares, “Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord, for all of them will hear your words. Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great. Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.”  [NLT]

The ways of the Lord are made for singing!

There is nothing grander on earth than a king, yet God commands kings to sing of the ways of the Lord. He also reminds them in this psalm that God looks upon or stays close to the humble of heart but removes His presence from those who are proud.

When we sing, or proclaim the ways of the Lord, we must acknowledge the grandeur and the glory, the awesome nature of our God. When we sing of His glory, we are reminded how much higher He is than we are, how mightier he is than we, how He is the Eternal Creator and Sustainer of all Things.

Whether we are a factory worker or the President of the United States, we must remain humble before Him. We cannot truly sing or proclaim or praise Him without that humility.

The ways of the Lord are made for singing!

God works in mysterious ways – yes, He does. And I don’t often understand His ways. But, not understanding does not eliminate my responsibility to walk in God’s ways.

Hosea 14:9 tells me that “The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” [NIV]

The ways of the Lord are made for walking. Those who do right things (righteousness) will walk in the ways of the Lord without stumbling. Our walk is how we live our lives, including our actions, thoughts, choices, and character. Our walk reflects our relationship with God. Our walk and God’s ways are reflected in …

… Our Obedience & Righteousness: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” [1John2:6]

… Our Faith and the Spirit: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” [Galatians 5:25]

… Our Love and Holiness: “Walk in a manner worthy of God.” [Ephesians 4:15]

The ways of the Lord are made for walking!

I attend a precious Bible study on Thursday evenings every chance I get. One of the attendees reminds each week that “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

I began my day today thinking about the ways of the Lord. I wish I could understand the ways of the LORD but most of the time I have a very poor grasp of them. Every time I think I have God figured out, He proves me wrong. Every time I think I know what God will do, He does something different. Every time I try to put God “in a box,” He blows that box wide open.

Isaiah is quite clear that God’s ways transcend ours. “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” [55:8-9 NLT]

While I may not be able to “understand” the ways of the LORD does not mean I don’t have a responsibility to them. The ways of the LORD reflect God’s character, His moral and ethical standards, as well as His divine plan for mankind.

The Ways of the LORD are central to our life of faith, and they guide us in our walk with God and how we relate to others. I think I will meditate on the ways of the LORD over the next few days. I need to see how closely my life reflects His ways.

I am still thinking about Philippian 2:5, my daily verse from yesterday morning, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had,” and my prayer to have a Christ-like attitude in all I do. [NLT]

Decades ago, not too long after I first surrendered my life to Jesus, I asked Him to help me love people like He did. I was working for the State of California. There were quite a few women in my office, most of them I liked.

There was one lady, however, that was difficult to like. She was annoying in so many ways. I tried to avoid her at all costs. Unfortunately, we ended up on the same lunch and break schedule and often found ourselves together in the lunchroom. She decided we should be friends.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not avoid her, nor discourage her from seeking me out, which drove me to my knees. I asked God to help me break loose! Instead, He reminded me she was the answer to my prayer and that I would learn to love like Jesus when I learned to love the unlovable.

I made it my mission then to choose to love her. Amazingly, once that choice was made, it became easier. I grew to enjoy her company.

The “unlovable” are all around us. It is our “choice” how we respond to them.

I put my phone on my nightstand when I go to bed each evening. I pull up my “Rain” app, turn it on, and then turn on the “Do Not Disturb” setting. If I fail to do that the phone chirps, buzzes and beeps all night long.

In the morning I turn my phone back on, turn off the “Rain” app and open my daily verse app. I want the first thing I see in the morning to be God’s Word. This morning my daily verse did NOT mesh with my attitude.

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” [Philippians 2:5 NLT]

(What follows that verse is called the “Kenosis” passage; it highlights the humility and exaltation of Christ Jesus.)

The attitude that Christ Jesus had was marked by humility, selflessness, love, obedience, and a servant’s heart.

That certainly wasn’t my attitude upon awakening. I was ready to complain a bit and bemoan my aches and pains. Instead, I remembered what Jesus did for me and what He endured on the cross.

My first prayer today: Help me LORD, to have the same attitude as you did. Amen&Amen

One of the greatest tools of the enemy is secrecy. We often hide the things that affect us the deepest. Whether they be things we did or things done against us, we bury them deep and cover them up. We think by keeping these hurts in the dark, they will be rendered harmless, not realizing that the enemy does his best work in the dark. Shame, guilt, or wounds intensify the longer they remain secret.

We are children of light. Ephesians 5:8-9 reminds us that “For once [we] were full of darkness, but now [we] have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!  For this light within [us] produces only what is good and right and true.” [NLT]

Many of us have things buried deeply in our souls. We are afraid if others knew, they would see us differently. We think we can’t take the chance that they will reject us or condemn us – but that is a thought that comes directly from the enemy of our soul.

It is only by exposing the depths of our souls to the light of Christ that we loosen the enemy’s hold. I sat with a group of women who did just that. Deep things were shared, tears were shed, secrecy was broken. There was no judgment, no condemnation, no rejection. Instead, there were hugs and prayers and shared love. There was a common compassion realizing that others were hurting just as deeply.

We need more of that. We need more kindness and compassion for our fellow pilgrims, knowing everyone has wounds.

Amen&Amen

I made a trip to downtown Boise two days in a row last week, and it took me days to physically recover! That made me laugh since I used to work in downtown Boise and made that 50 mile round trip every weekday.

At almost 80 I don’t handle things as easily as I did years ago. I am becoming “frail,” a term often applied to old people. Frailty in old people is defined as frequent fatigue or exhaustion, muscle weakness, reduction in strength, moving slowly, balance or stability problems. Yep, got all that!

People who only see my physical state may think of me as frail, but I don’t feel frail. In fact, I feel stronger and more robust than ever. I have found that as my physical strength wanes, I need to rely more and more on the LORD for His strength. My exterior may be suffering from “early onset rigor mortis,” but my interior is being renewed daily!

“Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” [2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT]

That promise from God used to be in the future. Now it is an everyday reality. I am strong in Him. I am renewed each day in Him. My present physical frailty is offset by a spiritual glory that vastly outweighs it and will last forever!

Amen&Amen

I was reminded recently about chronic pain and the toll it takes on lives. Not that I needed to be reminded as chronic pain has been my companion for the past seven years (a short time compared to what others have endured.)

Chronic pain significantly affects daily life. Have you ever overdone it at the gym? Or maybe went on a long mountain hike? Or did a full day of heavy yard work? You go to bed at night thinking you’ll be able to sleep because you are so tired but then find out you can’t get comfortable because of the aches and pain? After a few days, however, things improve and you are “back to normal?”

With chronic pain things don’t improve and you never “get back to normal.” Your new normal is to wake up hurting, hurt all day, and go to bed hurting. Doing everyday things that others take for granted requires physical and emotional energy that you no longer have.

When I think of facing life with chronic pain, I remember God’s response to Paul when he pleaded three different time for God to remove what he called his thorn in the flesh. “Each time [the LORD] said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” [2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT]

I believe in the healing power of God, but I also know that sometimes God allows things to remain for a time. My prayer is that others will see not my pain, but the grace of God and the power of Christ working in and through me for His glory. Amen&Amen