Devotions

I was browsing through the news Saturday morning on my online home webpage. One article after another about politics, sports, medicine, corporations, etc., could probably be summarized with one word – complaining. Almost every article was complaining about something or someone else.

Somehow, I went from that page to Jude’s letter. Jude wanted to talk about faith “But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.” [1:3 NLT]

As he goes on to describe these false teachers who were trying to infiltrate the church, he uses OT examples, and at one point, calls these infiltrators “grumblers and complainers.”  I thought his description sure fit what I was reading that morning on my online home webpage.

“These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” [1:16 NLT]

That description is a commentary on our unique times and social conditions. We are facing exceptional challenges living in these end times. We need to guard against false doctrines, wrong attitudes, and worldly behaviors. We need to have lives that reflect our Savior amid the grumblers and complainers that are so prevalent in our era.

Jude urges us to “defend the faith that God has entrusted” to us for all time. We are to be defenders and contenders, not grumblers and complainers.

Jude does not leave us wondering how to defend and contend for the faith. Before he closes out his letter, he outlines a few attitudes and actions that need to happen. Tomorrow!

I just saw an ad for “Frozen hot chocolate.” To me hot chocolate is something wonderful on cold winter nights, sipped slowly in front of a roaring fireplace, wrapped in a cozy quilt, soft candlelight bathing the room in a warm glow.  Okay, I’m a hopeless romantic, but hot chocolate should be hot … shouldn’t it?  Doesn’t freezing hot chocolate defeat the entire purpose?

The silliness of freezing something designed to be hot made me chuckle.  It reminded me of an old Burns and Allen routine when George caught Gracie freezing boiling water so she’d always have boiling water in the freezer when she needed it.  Made a great comedy routine.

There are some situations though where defeating a purpose doesn’t make such a great comedy routine, such as defeating the purpose of prayer by worry or anxiety.  The very nature of prayer is to make our requests known to God and to converse with Him about our cares and concerns.  Paul tells us to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  [Philippians 4:6]

Once our prayers and requests are offered to God, we should at that point be relieved of the burden.  To continue to worry and be anxious over the very things we have offered to Him is to defeat the very reason we prayed.  It is like “freezing” hot chocolate.

Does God immediately answer every prayer in the way and in the timing we think He should?  Not always.  But God does answer every prayer in His way and in His timing.  That is His prerogative.

Our job is to not defeat the purpose, but to be thankful and trust that He has our eternal interests at heart, He sees beyond the temporal into the eternal, and He knows the end before there is even a beginning.

Years ago my husband said things to the children that have since come back to haunt him, things like, “your mother shouldn’t have to carry in the groceries,” or “your mother shouldn’t have to take out the trash.” Well, the mother of his children often reminds him that I still should not have to carry in the groceries or take out the trash. With the children raised and gone, however, that only leaves him to take his own advice.

Another thing that has come back to haunt him is that he insisted that the job was “not done until you put a new garbage bag in the can.” Sometimes, when he remembers to do that now, he’ll give me a big grin and remind me that he put a new bag in the can “for me.”

Unfortunately, I don’t quite see it that way. That is not doing something special “for me,” that is simply doing what is expected. Take out the old bag, put in the new; it’s part of the job, simply, nothing more.

One of my favorite teachings of Jesus is found Luke 17:7-10, “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ ⁹ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’” [NLT]

Simply doing what is expected. Some things are just part of the job we are to be doing, they don’t demand that we be singled out as great heroes, or that we receive special awards or commendations. We are just doing our duty as servants of our Most High God.

I thought about my husband and his expectation for praise because he had put in a clean trash bag, part of that job’s requirements. And then I thought of myself, too often standing before God expecting praise, rewards, or notice for doing what was simply mine to do!

Romans 8:1-2: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” [NLT]

That is the most amazing promise – that there is no condemnation. It’s a done deal.

Colossians 2:13-14 confirms it is a done deal: “You were dead because of your sins …. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [NLT all past tense verses!]

In Romans times, the charges against convicted prisoners were recorded and posted on a sign outside their prison cells. Everyone knew why they had been judged and condemned.

That’s why the Jewish leaders wanted Pilate to post a different sign of judgment and condemnation on the cross of Christ than what he had posted. Pilate posted, “The King of the Jews,” and the Jewish leaders wanted, “He claimed to be the King of the Jews.”

I had a sign too: Mine said, “Terry Lema, Enemy of God, Rebellious Sinner.”

When I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus, those charges recorded against me were taken away and nailed to Jesus’ Cross … and now there is no condemnation anymore for me. There is no condemnation anymore for anyone who has surrendered their life to Christ Jesus!

We need to silence the three enemies we have in this life (the world, our flesh, the devil) who are always trying to make us take back that judgment and condemnation death record. They want us to think that it is no longer nailed to the Cross of Christ. They want us to feel condemned so that we won’t experience God’s love to the fullest measure the Father desires for us.

Oh Father, thank you that we can boldly say … There is now no condemnation!

I often hear people cry out in pain, “Oh God, I don’t deserve this!”  There are things in this world that can cause the most excruciating hurts.  At those times we look around and we see people who live far worse lives than we do, lives that ignore or openly defy God.  These people appear to have no problems and no pain, and we wonder “why?”  We serve God and this has happened to us.  They ignore God and live seemingly carefree lives.  We struggle; they abide in ease.  And we shout to the heavens, “God, I don’t deserve this!”

But that begs the question, what do we deserve? Ezekiel tells us just what we deserve, death.  “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me.  The soul who sins is the one who will die.”  [18:4]

That’s not an easy concept to absorb, and when we do, we will find ourselves crying out like Isaiah, “I am undone!” But just as God did not leave Isaiah undone, neither does he leave us undone. For “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  [Romans 5:8 NIV]

God did not give me the justice I so richly deserved, instead, while I was a sinner, He poured out his mercy upon me.

When I look with my heart at Jesus, I find myself crying out “Oh God, I don’t deserve this!  I was Your enemy, a lawbreaker deserving justice.  That You would send the most precious gift of Your Only Son to a Roman cross to die for me is almost too unbelievable to contemplate.  Instead of punishment as Your enemy, Your Son paid for my sins.”

Instead of an outcast lawbreaker, I am adopted into the family of God.  I am a child of God.  No longer estranged from my Father and deserving death, now I reside in God’s heart and one day I will reside in His house.  “Oh God, I truly don’t deserve this!”

There are times when I just want to cringe at what Christians post on social media. It seems that we are developing the ‘Chicken Little’ syndrome.  We post rumors and respond to tales and fables as if they are Gospel.  We often fail to check facts. We perceive threats where there are none, and often ignore the very real threats that are out there!

Paul in 2Timothy 4:3-5 foretold about our times: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation….”

The NIV translates the beginning of verse 5 as “But you, keep your head in all situations …” and the NKJV says, “be watchful in all things….” 

The Greek word there is nepho (nay’-fo), and it simply means to abstain from wine or be sober. Translating it that way doesn’t make me smile as much as keep a clear mind or keep your head in all situations.

If there was ever a time to keep our heads, it is today.  Our world is much more dangerous, our culture is shifting, and the church has hit a crossroads where it must determine if it is going to embrace the times or the truth.

We are, as Peter said in 1 Peter 3, supposed to be prepared to give an answer when people see the hope in us … but if we continue to act like fools no one is going to see anything in us they want!

Remember – keep a clear mind, keep your head in all situations!

I was reading something the other day when all of a sudden my mind went in a totally different direction. I heard the LORD whisper … “all things work together ….”

How often have we read, quoted, or heard that Scripture out of Romans 8.  “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” [v28 NLT]

How often have we thought of that scripture when things are tough and circumstances are difficult, “Really, God, this is going to turn out for good? Really?”

As I sat there, I heard the LORD whisper again … “Why do you only think of this in the tough and difficult? Why are you not thinking of this in the beautiful and gracious? Read on child.”

So I did. “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn[supreme] among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” [v29-32 NLT]

God knew us, chose us, makes us like Jesus, gives us right standing, glory. God is for us, protects us, gives us salvation and everything else!

Everything, the tough and difficult AND the beautiful and gracious, works out for our good. Thank you, LORD!

I receive a daily Medical Newsletter. Not sure how I signed up for it originally, but I often find it interesting. That was the case recently when it referenced a study about old people! Since I qualify as one, it caught my attention.  The study was: “Folks Who Cope, Adapt Do Well in Old Age: Study” (The new study was published Sept. 3 in the journal BMJ Mental Health.)

I really zeroed in on one paragraph toward the end of the article.  “The findings indicate that having a purpose and remaining optimistic in the face of uncertainty can help a person persevere in circumstances that might otherwise lower life expectancy, researchers concluded.”

One of the things about the principles of God is that they work all the time. They work when applied to all areas of life. They work whether we believe in them or not. As I read that article, I thought about all the Scriptures that tell us about our purpose, how to respond to uncertainty, how to persevere in circumstances … all the things this article found to be true!

Rejoicing/Thanksgiving: “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” [Philippians 4:4-9 NLT]

Purpose: “…you who have been called by God to be his own holy people.” [1 Corinthians 1:2 NLT]

Perseverance:  “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” [1 Peter 5:10 NLT]

Recently our son married a lovely woman with four children. We were so excited for him! We absolutely love her. She welcomed us into her home, her family, her heart. With that marriage we were blessed with four more grandchildren to love. I know technically, we are “step” grandparents, but there is no “step” in the way we feel about them.

This week, my son and daughter-in-love became grandparents, and we became “greats.” A beautiful little boy.

I remember years ago seeing an illustration about love. One candle, representing “LOVE” was lit, then that flame was used to light another candle, and another candle and another. After lighting all the other candles, the flame on the original one was just as bright as when it was first lit.

Love is like that. You can love more and more and more, and still love remains strong. You cannot diminish love by sharing it with more and more people.

Before Jesus went to the cross, He gave us (His disciples) a great command: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” [John 13:34-35 NLT]

Love is our greatest testimony in this world—not our words, our love seen in action. And like that candle flame, we can never diminish our love by giving it away, we can only create more light.

Zechariah 4:6:  “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”  [NIV]

I remember something Lloyd John Ogilvie said of this Scripture, “If we are not now in situations in which we are forced to say, ‘Lord, not by might nor by power, but by Your Spirit,” then we probably have settled for a safe but unadventuresome life.”

I first read that comment in the early 1990’s, and it has remained with me.  If we choose to walk with God, I guarantee our lives will be anything but unadventuresome.

Every day with God is an adventure if we allow Him to guide it.

He took Gideon from hiding in the winepress to the battlefield.  He stripped him of all his warriors except 300, and Gideon and those 300 warriors went into battle carrying only trumpets and torches. And God gave the victory!

Adventuresome!

That is what God truly wants to do with us.  Don’t settle for less!