Devotions

I have always been a “fast” person. I walked fast, ate fast, worked fast, learned fast, and played fast. I used to be able to stop on a dime spin around on my heel and head in a different direction. I could not sit without doing something with my mind or my hands, usually crocheting or knitting or reading.

That all has changed. “Fast” has been eliminated from my vocabulary. I don’t spin anymore, unless I want to land on the floor. My hands won’t allow me to crochet or knit much. And my mind…well, it takes a little while longer to process anything new. I have slowed down. And that often irritates me. I told Pastor Paco recently, “the spirit is willing, but the body says ‘Nope!’”

It is hard to be slow in a society that values speed and is always looking for ways to be faster. And yet being slow allows me to hear God’s voice more clearly. Being slow allows me to see my LORD and Savior all around me. Being slow allows me to be more aware of when people are hurting or confused or lost. Being slow now gives me time to be kinder, more encouraging, more patient, more responsive to the needs of others.

Romans 12:15 tell us to “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.” [NLT]

When we are fast paced we often speed right past those who are rejoicing or those who are weeping. We fail to bring comfort when we fail to notice it is needed.

Now I am slow. I cannot do what I once did … but oh my, the things I now have time to do! Praise God!

I was reading a story on Facebook the other morning from a woman who found an old man with Alzheimer’s lost in the grocery store looking for his wife. After finding a phone in his pocket, she called his daughter and waited with him until she arrived. The last sentence in this post was “kindness doesn’t cost anything.”

That post made me sad. Not because the story was sad, but because people were “celebrating” it as if it was this rare occurrence rather than what should be an everyday common part of life. Perhaps they were correct to do so. It seems our culture now has lost a lot of its kindness.

The child of God, the disciple of Christ Jesus, is always to be kind. The Holy Spirit, with our cooperation, produces the kindness fruit in us.  “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

A few years ago, when I was looking to purchase a car. After a long day of touring lots, I ended up at a dealership in Nampa. While browsing the lot, a young salesman joined me. He started asking a lot of questions and somehow, we got around to the fact that I was a Christian pastor. This young man was gay, and an immediate look of dread passed over his face when he heard I was a pastor. He took a step back as if unsure what I might say or do.

I smiled and we stood in the parking lot for a long time just talking about my life and about his. I told him I could sense how much God loved him. When it was time to leave, I put my arms around him and told him again how much God loved him and how Jesus died for him. He hugged me in return.

It cost me nothing to be kind that day. It still costs nothing to be kind. And I find that kindness prepares a heart to receive what it might not otherwise.

Life is funny.  Life is a struggle.  Life is complex.  Life is … well, life is an abundance of contradictions, delights and opportunities.

As Christians, we have former lives and new lives.  We have a life in the Spirit.  We battle the old life in the flesh.  Some people slide through life without giving much heed to learning or changing, the Christian is not to be so.

“You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”  [Ephesians 4:20-24 NIV]

We are taught to put off the old life, that old self which was corrupted and full of unholy desires.  We are to be different now that we have come to know the God of grace who saved us from such ignorance and darkness.

First the attitude of our mind must be renewed, it must be made new.  We are and do what we think.  If we want to be different, if we want to act differently, we need to think differently. We need to think the things of God now.  We need to study, to focus, to understand the ways of the Lord as He has outlined them in Holy Scripture.  By filling our mind with godly things, the old ignorance is pushed away, and the darkness that was in us must bow to the light of Christ that fills us now.

Second, we are to put on a new self, a new life.  By thinking the things of God, we allow God to create in us a true righteousness and holiness.  Not a false righteousness and holiness that springs from the old self, but instead is born of God through God.

Living a new life.

I had the privilege yesterday of bringing a devotion to the Caldwell-Middleton CFC Seniors Group that meets twice a month. God told me to change the devotion I had ready, and instead tell the story of my experience with the “earthen vessels” at the Boise Art Museum (BAM). A lot of you have heard it, but for those who have not, here it is once again.

It was during a visit with my grandson that I had one of the most profound experiences with God I have ever had. A new exhibit featured an artist who worked with glass vessels. There were glass vases and jars of different shapes and sizes. Each one was lit and featured a woodland scene, blue skies, green forests, woodland animals, birds, lakes circling the vessel.

Initially I though the artist painted those scenes on the outside of the vase, but when I went into the viewing room to see how these pieces of art were created … I found I was wrong. The video showed the artist blowing glass and creating each vessel individually – all shapes and sizes.

After that, he took paint and completely covered the glass, one color on top of the previous color. Then he took a scoring tool and began to cut through the various colors until he found the color he wanted to create a sky, lake, bird, tree, or animal. Some cuts were shallow, some bore down very deep until a beautiful picture emerged around that vessel. The last step was to place a light inside each one; the places that were cut the deepest revealed the brightest light.

As I sat there watching these vessels turn from nothing into works of art, I was overcome by the Presence of the LORD and thought of the Scripture found in 2 Corinthians 4: “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” [vs6-7 NKJV]

I heard Him whisper to me that I was seeing through this artist’s work, the very work He was doing and would continue to do in my life. The places of the deepest wounds, the deepest cuts from circumstances and trials, is where His light would shine the brightest.

Some of us have been deeply scarred by life. We have journeyed through grief, battled sin, been discouraged, faced trials of all kinds. Beloved, it is in those deep places that the greatest glory of God will shine through.

I Corinthians 16:13: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. . ..”  “Watch, stand fast in the faith . . ..”  [NLT NKJV]

As I have aged, I heed the “Watch Your Step!” signs much more carefully.  When I was young and agile, able to leap and bound over things, it wasn’t as necessary to notice the “Watch Your Step!” warnings. If I tripped or fell, I just got up and brushed myself off and went on my way. Not so anymore.

I don’t bounce as nicely as I used to. When I fall, I stay down longer and get up slower (usually with needed help).  Then I feel it for days. I have learned to check for ice, check tiles floors when I have wet shoes, and be on the alert for broken sidewalks and uneven walkways. I “Watch My Step” even when there is no warning to do so!  Age has had that effect on me. The specter of broken bones keeps me awake to the dangers I face.

Scripture also wants us to be alert to danger, in fact that’s what the “watch” in I Corinthians 16:13 means, to be alert, spiritually awake, vigilant, and ready. It’s even translated “vigilant” in I Peter 5:8, “be sober, be vigilant (watchful) because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

I don’t know much about lions, I’ve seen them on TV and in zoos, but what I do know about them tells me that I would not want to meet one unaware and unarmed.

So how do we stay alert? In Scripture, the word “watch” is often coupled with the command to pray. Ephesians 6:18, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful …” and Colossians 4:2, “continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant (watchful) ….”

Prayer and watching go hand in hand. Remember those “Watch Your Step!” signs posted everywhere? Someone put them there, someone went ahead of us and surveyed the terrain, noted the dangers, and issued warnings. Our job is simply to watch and heed the posted signs.

By prayer, we stay in touch with the One who has already posted the spiritual danger signs, the One who has mapped out the terrain, the One who hears the lion’s roar and warns us it’s getting close. It really is that simple. God tells us often in Scripture that he “watches” over us, but if we don’t keep our relationship with Him vital and current, we can easily miss His “Watch Your Step” signs. Today, practice listening to the Lord, and “Watch Your Step!”

Most of the schools in our area started back last week. A lot of Facebook posts were “First Day of School” pictures. Some kids were happy to be going back. Most parents were probably happy to see them going back!

One complaint I noticed is that the cost of sending a child to school is rising. More and more materials and supplies are required. I remember we brought pencils in a neat pencil box with an eraser, some paper and maybe Elmer’s Glue.

Now teachers provide a lot of their own supplies, and parents are asked to contribute supplies to the classroom as well as outfit their own children. And the cost to participate in extra-curricular activities is spendy also. Learning is costly.

Learning is also not limited to pre-school through high school. Learning is to be a lifelong experience. Especially for the Christian.

“Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.” [Psalm 86:11 NLT]

The psalmist tells us that we should be petitioning the LORD to teach us. It’s imperative to know God’s ways if we plan on living truthful, pure, honorable lives.

“To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.” [Proverbs 12:1 NLT]

Learning for the Christian also involves discipline. It is not a gathering of facts about God’s ways. It is not about just memorizing Scriptures or studying the Bible. It is about living out God’s ways each and every day and receiving the correction from our Father when we fail to do so.

Teach me O Lord!