Devotions

I cannot count the number of times when I was going through a difficulty someone quoted Romans 8:28 to me. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” [HCSB]

I cannot count the number of times that God proved that Scripture true in my life.

But, as much as I love that scripture, it is the following two Scriptures that I love even more!  “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.” [8:29-30 HCSB]

Two things about those two verses make my heart sing with joy and reassurance. First is that word “conformed.” According to Strongs, conformed (Gk: summorphos) means sharing the same inner essence-identity (form).

One day I am going to share the same inner essence-identity as Christ Jesus, God’s Only Son. This, however, is nothing I can do on my own. Every time I do try to do it on my own, I fail.

So, what is the second thing about those two verses that makes my heart sing with joy and reassurance? It is that God is the One Who promised that I would be conformed to the “image of His Son,” and not only conformed … but also called, justified, and glorified in Him.

That assurance is for all of us. When we are discouraged … when the enemy is telling us to give up because we will never measure up … when we feel weak or defeated … we have the joyful assurance that God will finish in us what He has started! Amen & Amen!

Lately, I have been spending so much time thinking about problems or difficulties. That is easy to do because difficulties and problems are often demanding and require immediate attention.

The problem with paying constant attention to those things is that it can become habit forming. We wake up thinking about them, deal with them all day, and then they are the last thing we think about before bed. Eventually that becomes our life.

As I thought about my attitude over the past few weeks, it became clear that something needed to change. And one of the best ways for me to generate that change is when I find my focus on the difficulty, I start to praise instead.

This morning I turned to Psalm 150. Thirteen times in six verses we are commanded to praise. The song begins simply, “Praise the LORD!”

Then it tells us to praise God in both His sanctuary and His mighty heaven. We are to praise him for His mighty works and His unequaled greatness.

Our praise is with a blast of the ram’s horn, or trumpet. It is with lyre, harp, tambourine, strings, flutes, and dancing. And if that isn’t enough, throw in a clash of cymbals along with the loud clanging cymbals. (That tells me God is not afraid of noise!)

Finally, the song clarifies who is to praise – “everything that breathes” is to “Praise the LORD!”

Well, if that doesn’t change my attitude, I am not sure what will! “Praise the LORD!”

My friend posted a meme on Facebook the other day that brought an uproarious laugh to my soul.  “If I woke up and nothing hurt, I would think I was dead.”

 A couple weeks ago I had a follow-up visit for a recent bout with infection. My doctor’s office called and requested I come in to make sure the infection was gone. They told me that my primary physician had hospital duty that week, but I could see someone else.

The “someone else” visit was “something else.” She reviewed my chart, asked some routine questions, and then asked a question for which I really had no answer. She wanted to know “when did the pain start?”

I could not tell her when that “particular” pain began. She looked at me strangely. Then tried to elicit an answer by re-phrasing the question. “How long have you had that pain?”

I tried to explain to her that when you wake up every day with pain, you hardly notice a “new one.” It just slides in with the old ones, and you go on with your day. We batted the “pain” question back and forth for a while until I gave up trying to explain and she finally gave up asking and told me if it came back to call them.

It took me days to get over feeling like an idiot until I realized that she had probably never experienced chronic pain and could not understand where I was coming from.

When I read my friend’s meme I did laugh, but then I thanked my LORD and Savior because one day that is going to be true … all pain (chronic, acute, emotional, mental, relational, and every other) will be “gone forever!” Amen & Amen

Revelations 21:4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” {NLT]

How do we live victorious Christian lives.  Too many of us are defeated. Each day when we get up the enemy of our soul runs us aground, there is no soaring on wings of eagles for us. We barely make it out of bed before we are beset with discouragement, hopelessness, defeat.

The enemy drives our emotions, fuels our addictions, tempts us constantly with that “sin that does so easily beset.” His goal is to keep us from living our life in the power of Christ and claiming the authority that is ours under the blood of Christ Jesus. Instead of taking our rightful authority in Christ over the enemy of our soul; we are waiting for him to leave on his own so that we might be the kind of people we know God wants us to be. The enemy, however, won’t leave on his own.

We need to remember that Christ already has gained the victory over him. Satan, the devil, whatever you want to call him, is a defeated foe. He was defeated through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Christ Jesus now sits at the Right Hand of Power of the Father and He has all authority and power given to Him.  But the best part is that we also have that power and authority delegated to us.

“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” [Eph 2:6-7]

We, mere mortals, are seated already in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus. We can live victorious in Christ. It’s about time we rose up as believers to claim our authority and power and remind the devil he’s defeated and has no part of us.

We may be mere mortals, but we are also children of God, seated in Christ Jesus in this age and the one to come.

Standing up for Christ often makes us targets for those who wish all mention of God to be silenced. The enemy of our soul wants to instill fear. He wants us to believe that he has the power—when it is Christ Jesus who has both the power and authority over all of heaven and earth.  The enemy knows the time is short, he can hear that chain rattling in the hand of the angel that will one day bind him and cast him into the Abyss.

While we know that vindication and vengeance are in the Hands of God, how do we deal with the day-to-day assaults. For me, there is only one way – that is to praise and thank God Almighty. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” [Heb 13:15 NKJV]

It is NOT a sacrifice to praise God when everything is going well, and we are coasting through life.  It is easy to thank Him when blessing after blessing pours down upon us.

It IS a sacrifice to praise God amid the trouble.  When we least feel like praising God is when we need to praise Him the most. When there appears to be nothing going on for which to give thanks, that is when we must thank him continually.

To praise and thank when everything seems wrong, when we can’t discern God’s presence with us takes a sacrificial act. (Remember, a sacrifice in the Scriptures often required the death of something.)

When we offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving amid trouble, we are putting to death our own expectations, our own sufficiency, our own perception, and instead embracing God’s opportunities, His all sufficiency and His will.

No part of this is easy, but then things eternal seldom are.

Yesterday I wrote that I came across two familiar verses from John’s Gospel this week.  The first was John 1:12 and spoke of those who believe on Christ Jesus as LORD who have been given the “exousia” – the right, power, and authority to be children of God, birthed supernaturally of Him. That left me with such a sense of wonder.

But as enthralled as I was by that verse, I think the second one even more so.  Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17. The part of His prayer that left me awestruck was the first three words in verse 23: “I in them….”

 Jesus was praying shortly before his arrest and crucifixion. He was praying for His disciples and all those who would come after them (you and I are included in that prayer). He spoke of sanctification, and glory and unity, but it was those three little words that moved me today.

“I in them….”  Jesus in me. Jesus in you. Jesus in us. The Creator of this universe, the Word of God, the One raised to the Right Hand of the Father, the One who is Alpha and Omega, deems to be “IN” us by the power of the very Spirit of God.

It makes me cry out, “Why me, God? Why would you want me? I am a nothing as far as this world views me. A hyperactive child, a rebellious teenager, an imperfect wife and mother, an old woman. I’ve been fearful and arrogant most of my life. I’ve not achieved any weight of glory in this world. I’ve made wrong decisions and done so many things I ought not have. I’ve been selfish and envious and things much worse. And You want me?”

Yes. He does. You see, it isn’t about what we were, it’s all about what He can do in us and through us. It’s all about “I in them.”  Praise His Holy Name forever and ever. Amen.

I recently came across two verses in John’s Gospel that gripped me. The first is John 1:12-13. “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”  [NLT]

 The “right” to become children of God. The KJV uses the English word “power.”  The Greek word is “exousia,” and carries with it the idea of authority.

Children of God. Children born supernaturally of God. I am not sure words can convey the sense of wonder I find in those few words. Christ Jesus has given those who surrender to Him, the “right,” the “power,” the “authority” to be children of God.

Me. You. Anyone. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in our past. It doesn’t matter our social standing, our political affiliation, our financial situation. It doesn’t matter if we are sick or healthy, young or old, weak or strong. It only matters that we believe Jesus Christ is Savior and LORD, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Of course, that “belief” on Christ Jesus isn’t just words, it is a heart offered to Him, a life given over to Him. I remember a line in the chorus “I’m Yours LORD,” it says … “everything I am, everything I’m not.”

That’s what we give to Him. And in return He gives to us the authority to be children of God, born supernaturally into God’s family. I know we got the best part of that trade.

Mother’s Day has always been a day of mixed emotions for me. Unlike so many people I know, my mother had mental and emotional problems that made her difficult. She evaluated everything by how it affected her. My mom could be extremely rude and hurtful. She had little regard for other’s feelings. It was a tough way to grow up.

I remember standing in front of Mother’s Day cards trying to find one that said simply, “Happy Mother’s Day,” instead of all the ones that acknowledged the wonderful things moms do.

At the same time, mom was blessed with a wonderful musical talent. Even when her hands were twisted with arthritis, she played a mean piano! She came to know Christ Jesus later in life, and she offered her musical talent to the church. She was faithful to be there every Sunday.

I will readily admit that I had many hard feelings to sort through about my mother—anger and bitterness to name just a couple. Then one day God brought healing to my heart.

He reminded me that when we enter His presence, we leave everything not of Him on this side of the grave. We do not take our sin, our failings, our infirmities with us. We are made complete and whole in Him. He reminded me that the mom that I always wanted to have is waiting for me on the other side of the veil.   

1 John 3:2: “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” [NLT]

I worked at a hospice for a few years and pastored for a lot more. I don’t think I would be exaggerating to say that I think I’ve seen it all. Let me toss out a few words and you’ll understand. Cancer. ALS. Alzheimer’s. Suicide. Murder. Accidents. Child Abuse. Domestic Violence. Infant Death. Most pastors could toss out the same words, and perhaps even more.

There have been times when I wondered how people could go on after experiencing such tragedies. When I get to thinking like that, I remember a phrase in a verse in 2 Corinthians, “the God of all comfort.”

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” [2 Cor 1:3-4]

I believe that the source of all comfort is God, that He truly is the Father of compassion. I believe that all comfort originates in and disseminates from Him, whether people are aware of that or not. When we display compassion, when we offer comfort to the wounded and hurting, we are offering them something straight from the heart of God.

I remember a lovely British man named David. He was living in a small trailer in a back yard, and he was dying. I visited him often. He refused to believe in my Jesus, but he still wanted me to come and talk. I would leave after each visit, devastated that I was unable to convince him of his need for salvation. I wept over him. I heard God tell me to continue to offer him compassion and comfort – as that may be the last time he’d experience that. Thoughts of David still make me hurt.

Beloved, never hesitate to be God’s hand of compassion and comfort—even to those who might reject His salvation.