Devotions

Today is Independence Day. It is a celebration of freedom. It commemorates the anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776.

There will be parades and speeches, picnics, and barbeques. There will be fireworks, large displays and small.

But as history has oft proven, national freedom can be overpowered at any time by a more powerful outside opponent.  (It can also decay and collapse from within.)

But there is a freedom which cannot be overpowered. It is the freedom we have in Christ Jesus our LORD. He purchased that freedom for us … forgiving our sins … and transferring us from the realm of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Paul reminds us of that in Colossians, Chapter 1.

“He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” [1:12b-14 NLT]

We were slaves to the darkness of our own sin. We stood convicted and doomed for punishment before our Creator. But with the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the Cross, all that changed. Sin was forgiven. Guilt was relieved. Punishment was removed. And in place of that, by faith and trust in His sacrifice, we are made Children of God, living in the Light of Christ.

We celebrate our national freedom today, but we should always remember to celebrate our eternal freedom every day!

Gosh, I love the Book of Colossians! Whenever I feel uncertain or uncomfortable with the events going on around me, I “run back” to Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae.

This letter was written by Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome. He heard that the church was struggling with heresy. Paul’s theme is the Preeminence of Christ and all that means for those who put their faith and trust in Him.

In Chapter 1, right before Paul paints the most glorious picture of the Supremacy of Christ Jesus, he prays for his readers for knowledge, spiritual wisdom and understanding, and for strength, endurance and patience. Then he reminds them of their standing.

“He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” [1:12b-14 NLT]

We “live in the light!”

No matter how much darkness surrounds us … we are people of light. We live in the light, and the light lives in us!

If God never does another thing for us, we can spend all of eternity thanking Him for rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and “transferring” us into the Kingdom of His Dear Son!

Thank you, Father! Amen

As I wrote yesterday—I am in the Book of Colossians. In that first chapter, Paul tells his readers that he is praying and asking God to give them a few things they will need to honor and please the LORD. These things will also cause their hearts to overflow with joy and thanksgiving.

His first prayer was that we might have complete knowledge of God’s will along with spiritual wisdom and understanding.

His second prayer is for three things that I find I need more and more each year. They are strength, endurance, and patience. “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.” [Colossians 1:11-12a NLT]

In some ways life gets easier as we age; in other ways life gets harder. I find that as my body succumbs to the effects of aging, I need more daily strength. As I am confronted with daily pain, I need more endurance.

And honestly, as I age, I am growing less and less tolerant of the foolishness, disrespect and evil I see in our world.

It is only God’s glorious power that will provide me with the joy and thanksgiving I need for each day. Amen & Amen

I am back in Colossians again. In that opening chapter, Paul tells his readers that he is praying and asking God to give them a few things that they will need to honor and please the LORD and to fill their hearts with joy and thanksgiving.

His first prayer is for knowledge of God’s will along with spiritual wisdom & understanding. “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord.” [Colossians 1:9b-10a NLT]

We are in the middle of a presidential election season. I think politicians would prefer to have us dumb, uninformed, and lacking in understanding. They want us to simply believe all they say, never checking facts, or questioning promises. Short sound bites are promoted. The thirty-second commercials are repeated over and over so we blindly follow where they lead.

But our God is not like that. He doesn’t want us to be dumb, uninformed, and lacking in understanding. Instead, He wants to give us a complete knowledge of His will. He wants to impart to us spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Paul reminds us to seek those things that God so willingly wants to give.

When we become knowledgeable followers, we will live in a way that will always honor and please our LORD Christ Jesus. With spiritual wisdom we can refute the messages of this world and the enemy of our soul.

Politicians want to be re-elected, so they need us to be blind followers. God isn’t up for re-election (ever!) and He wants us to be full of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

Half a year is gone today. The year 2024 ceases to be the new year and begins tomorrow to be the year on the way out. Most of the new year resolutions have long faded away. We just have to make it through the next couple hot months and autumn will proclaim its dominance.

I put out my July 4 yard flags, but it won’t be long (maybe two more months if we are lucky) and we will be seeing Halloween and Christmas decorations on store shelves.

The other night we had the earliest presidential debate … two candidates going at each other even before they have been officially nominated at their party’s convention.

We seem to be constantly rushing ahead, and in doing so already anxious about all the troubles and concerns that might arise. Our foolish theme song is “What’s going to happen IF ….”

Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, told us not to bring tomorrow’s troubles into our todays. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” [Matthew 6:34 NLT]

I must admit my heart and mind sometimes worry about tomorrow. I am closer to 78 now than 77. I have pain every day and in lots of places. I worry about how much worse that might be next year.

Instead, today, this last day of June, I think I will take Jesus’ admonition and just enjoy where I am. Tomorrow will take care of tomorrow. And I have the assurance that whether today or tomorrow, Jesus will take care of me.

It’s Hot! And I hate the heat. (I get grumpy!)

I’m Old! And I’m not too thrilled with that either.

I’m Tired! As I look at the years ahead, I have no idea how many there will be and no idea how able I will be to do the things I still want to do.

Looking at things from an earthly perspective, the future doesn’t look too bright.

As I was beginning to read Paul’s letter to the Colossians this morning, I was stopped in the first passage. The Spirit of God wanted me to focus on what Paul told his readers after the salutation — that he prayed for them and was thankful for them. And also, I am to focus on his reminder about their (and our) future!

“We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.” [Colossians 1:3-5 NLT]

These believers had faith in Christ Jesus and love for God’s people birthed out of a confident hope that erupted in their lives when they first heard the truth of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

That confident hope rests in what God has in store for those who love Him. That confident hope overcomes everything …

…the circumstances of daily life

… getting old

… even being tired.

I have a bright and glorious future!

As I slept last night, a portion of the chorus from “Through the Fire,” kept running through my mind. I kept singing over and over … “Just remember when you’re standing in the valley of decision, and the adversary says give in, Just hold on. Our Lord will show up, and He will take you through the fire again.”

One of the enemy’s favorite themes is “Give In!”

This morning, I was reminded of a famous Churchill speech given at Harrow School on October 29, 1941. “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparent overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Long before Churchill uttered that speech, Paul wrote a similar one to the Corinthian Church. Chapter 3 speaks of the New Covenant and the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. Chapter 4, however, speaks of the treasure of this new freedom and power in Christ, and begins and ends with “never give up.”

“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way [New Covenant], we never give up.” [4:1 NLT]

“That is why we never give up. 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.” [4:16-18 NLT]

I don’t know what you may be facing today. I know what I am facing. I know the adversary is shouting “Give in!” But, like Churchill and Paul, “We never give up!” no matter the “apparent overwhelming might of the enemy.”  (And the key word there is ‘apparent’!)

(2 Corinthians, Chapter 4 is a great read! Spend some time in it today.)

Monday morning’s daily Bible verse was about God’s faithfulness. “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” [2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT]

While I sat contemplating God’s faithfulness, my attention was drawn to the last part of that verse. The part that says the LORD will … “guard you from the evil one.”

I realized that I saw a perfect illustration of that Sunday afternoon. Bob and I were watching the final round of the Traveler’s Golf Tournament. There were three players in the final grouping, and they were heading to the 18^th green to finish the tournament. Two of them were vying for the championship, only one point separating them.

As they were walking to the green, Bob asked me why there were so many police officers walking beside them. I simply said that you never know what might happen and since these were some of the top golfers in the world, they were being cautious. Who knew how prophetic that would be in just moments.

As the golfers reached the green, protesters with smoke bombs and canisters of white powder broke from the crowd and began to attack the 18^th green. Instantly, the police were upon them and had them handcuffed and taken away from the golfers.

No one was hurt, and the golfers continued with their round, but one golfer commented that he was “afraid for his life.”

Our LORD is FAITHFUL. Praise His Holy Name. He WILL STRENGTHEN us. Thank you, LORD!

AND He WILL GUARD us from the evil one. He walks with us every moment of every day, and nothing can steal us from His Hand, nothing! 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]

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.

The prophet Micah asks the profound question we all must ask.  “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?”

Then he goes on and lists many things he could bring … burnt offerings of calves a year old, thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil. He even wonders if he should offer his firstborn for his sins and transgressions, hyperbole for the most extreme offering imaginable.

None of that is what the Lord requires of us, and Micah goes on to admit that.  “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” [Mic 6:6-8 NIV]

Justice, Mercy, Humility. I am reminded that if we strive to act justly in this unjust world, and walk in humility amid the proud and arrogant, we are certainly going to need to LOVE MERCY!  Mercy is God’s loving kindness and favor toward us that we also show toward others.

 I must love and cling to God’s mercy for me because there is nothing resident in me, apart from His mercy, that will enable me to be just and humble.  It doesn’t take much more than one long line in a grocery when I don’t feel well to prove that I need a constant infilling of God’s mercy.

Father, fill me anew with Your mercy so that I might also show Your loving kindness and favor to others. Amen.