Devotions

One of the delightful things about reading various translations of Scripture is that every now and then a new translation will give you a new look at a Scripture you know so well.

One of my favorite chapters in the New Testament is Romans 12. (I have so many favorite chapters in Scripture – usually a favorite is what I need at the time!)

I was reading the comments on a recent Facebook post where I posted about this recent health issue. So many people replied that they understood, they were praying, they too experienced pain. It reminded me of the verse that said we were to “weep with those who weep.”

That caused me to look up that verse in Romans 12 in a new translation and to my delight, I found a new look at a familiar Scripture.

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” [Romans 12:14-16 NLT]

It was the last part of that passage that made me stop! “Don’t think you know it all!”

Usually that verse reads something like, “Do not be wise in your own estimation.”

Oh, did that make me laugh! I really “don’t know it all!” Amen!

One of my favorite times of day is the hour before bedtime. I usually pull up some YouTube videos and listen to music. The other night “Forgiven Again” came up on my screen. I had not watched that video by “Signature Sound” in a long time.  The song touched my heart like it always does.

Chorus: “Just insight of the place where the lane meets the road, The Father is waiting to carry your load. His big arms are longing to draw you to Him, Forgiven, forgiven, forgiven again.” [Forgiven Again, by Gloria Gaither, Benjamin W. Gaither]

This song is based on a parable Jesus told. It highlights the wondrous love of God. It is the Parable of the Prodigal found in Luke 15. We are all familiar with that parable. The son wanted his inheritance, the father gave it to him. The son then ran through that inheritance with wild living. When the son reached rock bottom, he decided to return to his father and beg to be taken back into the family.

But … and here is the best part … “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” [vs20 NLT]

The son begins to beg for forgiveness … but the Father has already started the party!  “His father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” [vs 22-25]

“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” [Luke 15:7]

Thank you, LORD, for loving and forgiving this prodigal. Amen

Never forget – never ever forget – God loves you!

I remember my former pastor always said it was easier to get people to love God than it was to get people to allow God to love them.

None of us think we are worthy of God’s love. (None of us are!)

Most of us think we can do something to make God’s stop loving us. (We can’t!)

God is love. Love is the core aspect of God’s character, His Person. God is the perfect example of true love. God is also all-powerful – there is nothing in or out of all creation that is more powerful than our God.

If anything (we do) could change God’s love for us – that would mean it is stronger than our all-powerful God. And if anything ever changes His character, His Person, then He would cease to be God.

While we cannot make God stop loving us – we can please or displease Him.

We need to live our lives in a way that pleases God. Always aware how much God loves us.

“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God.” [1Thessalonians 4:1 NLT]

I was reading 1 Peter Chapter 1 recently and came to the beginning of verse 6. In the NLT it reads, “so be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead ….”

I love that! Of course, the remainder of that verse reads, “even though you must endure many trials for a little while.”

Peter explains that trials have a purpose and that is to show that our faith is genuine. He also reminds us that when our faith remains strong through the many trials of life, it will bring us much praise and glory and honor when “Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” [vs7]

So often trials dominate our lives. It is easy to become focused on the trials because that is what we see daily. They are right in our face demanding our attention. If only we could shake ourselves free from the difficulties of life, we could be truly happy!

Peter, however, makes the bold statement that it is what we DO NOT SEE that is the most important thing. “You love [Christ Jesus] even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.” [vs8]

It is not the elimination of trials that sets us free to rejoice with “glorious, inexpressible joy.” It is focusing the eyes of our soul on Christ Jesus our LORD that floods us with true joy.

There will be trials in this life, but trials have an expiration date. Once this life is over, trials will be forever gone.

That “glorious, inexpressible joy” found in Christ Jesus has no expiration date – it will forever be ours. Amen

“All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last, under their standards.” [Numbers 2:31 NIV]

There was a particular order in which the tribes of Israel camped and marched in the wilderness.  The tabernacle and ark were always in the center, with tribes in front, on both sides and behind.  The Danites were assigned to be the rearguard.  [Numbers 10:25]

I’m not sure if any of want to be assigned to bringing up the rear, especially if a few million people are marching in front of us. I can only imagine what it was like for the Danites back there, eating the dust of people, dodging the droppings of the herds of sheep and cattle.

And yet, the rearguard is vitally important.  They make sure the stragglers don’t get left behind. They also make sure that the enemy doesn’t go around and attack from the rear.

The rearguard must be just as vigilant as those in the front and on the side, maybe more so. The enemy of our soul seldom comes knocking on the front door declaring his intentions to subdue us, but he will mount an attack from the rear and hope we have left that unguarded.

Our Father God thought it so important to have a rearguard that He Himself promised to be ours! “The LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” [Isa 52:12 NIV]

Father, thank you for being my rearguard. Let me be mindful of the Spirit’s warnings and promptings. Help me to remember that the attacks against my soul are seldom head on but will often blindside me or sneak up from behind. I know, Holy Spirit, you send out the warning. Help me to be vigilant in hearing Your alert!  Amen.

The Question: How do we get people to fall in love with Jesus?  The answer: We must fall in love with Him first.

David wrote Psalm 59 to memorialize God’s rescue when King Saul sent men to David’s house to try to kill him. “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”  [Vs 16-17 NIV]

Twice in this song David uses the phrase “my loving God.”  I often think about how we portray our God to others. Are we singing every morning about our loving God, our fortress and refuge? Or do we portray Him shaking His finger in anger at everyone not living as we think they should?

I had two great aunts who were zealous about seeing me come to Christ Jesus for salvation. One came shaking her finger and telling me all the things I needed to remove from my life. The other came joyfully telling me how much God loves me and wants me. Can you guess which one influenced me?

It was only after God captured me with His love that the indwelling Spirit began to help me remove all those things from my life that needed removal—and by then I wanted Him to!

“How do we get people to fall in love with Jesus?”  It is simple, “we must fall in love with Him first.”

Father, I am so grateful that you love me. You, indeed, O God are my fortress, my loving God. May I always project that message to others. May they see my love for You and Yours for me and be drawn to that love. Amen.

After fully assuming the throne, David began a search throughout the kingdom for any descendants of Jonathan remaining.   He found one son, Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth had been crippled when a nurse dropped him as they were fleeing after the deaths of then King Saul and his son Jonathan.  They were fleeing because it was the practice of the day for the new dynasty to kill any remnants of the old dynasty. That was to prevent rebellion and attempts to re-take the throne. [2 Samuel 9]

Mephibosheth was in hiding, in a remote part of the kingdom.  He was poor and shamed, even referring to himself as a “dead dog.” David sends for Mephibosheth, who as I wrote yesterday, probably came with “…only a fearful expectation of judgment….”  [Heb 10:27 NIV]

After falling prostrate at David’s feet, the king surprises him.  He lifts him up and gives him life instead of death. He invites him to sit at the king’s table for the rest of his days, he calls him “a son” and restores to him the fortunes of his grandfather Saul.  Mephibosheth did absolutely nothing to deserve any of this.  It was an amazing and beautiful act of mercy and grace on the part of King David.

Let’s face it, we are all Mephibosheth’s.  We are descendants of Adam who sinned and passed that sin and punishment to all of us.  We had “…only a fearful expectation of judgment….”  

Instead of death however, when we prostrated ourselves at the feet of Jesus we received life, sonship, acceptance, and restoration.  We now sit at the table of the king as sons and daughters.  We have an eternal inheritance and God will one day restore to us all that sin has taken.

John 1:16:  From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. [NIV]

Mephibosheth – the man with the almost unpronounceable name and the crippled feet. He was the only remaining direct descendant of Israel’s first king, Saul.  He was a son of the oldest son, Jonathan, and in direct line for the throne – if God had not taken the throne away from Saul because of disobedience and instead given it to a young shepherd named David. [2 Samuel 9]

Unfortunately for Mephibosheth, the common practice of the time was for the king of the new dynasty to annihilate the descendants of the old dynasty–can’t leave relatives around that might try to regain the throne through subterfuge or violence.

When news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan arrived, Mephibosheth’s nurse grabbed her young charge and, in her haste to flee dropped him.  Mephibosheth never recovered from that drop; it left him with crippled feet. [2 Samuel 4:4]

After David fully assumed the throne, he remembered the promise he had made to Jonathan, a promise to be loyal to Jonathan’s family.  David begins a search and finally learns that a son of Jonathan is in hiding in a remote part of Israel.  He’s poor, exiled, and afraid.

Can you imagine Mephibosheth’s fear when David’s servants arrive at the house where he is staying and whisk him off for an audience before the king?  I think he must have had what Hebrews describes as “…only a fearful expectation of judgment….”  [Heb 10:27 NIV]

Instead, King David had a much different surprise in store for Mephibosheth.  Tomorrow, the best part of the story.

The last few weeks have been rough, and I have needed to laugh. Last night I watched some funny YouTube videos. As I was closing my phone for the night, God brought back to my memory a trip from almost four decades ago.

My brother Mike and I traveled from California to Pennsylvania for a 50^th anniversary celebration for our aunt and uncle. On the trip, Mike took his two daughters (8 & 6), and I took my youngest child Dan (10).  We traveled in Mike’s RV.  The trip took 10 days, and we visited many states and sites along the way.

It was hot and muggy when we arrived in Western Pennsylvania in July.  We parked the RV alongside this house that had been like home to us in our childhood. My aunt insisted that I sleep in the house, relegating Mike and the kids to sleep in the RV. I told her I was fine staying in the RV, but she kept insisting that she had a room all prepared for me upstairs. I gave in to her wishes.

I soon discovered that the upstairs of the house had no air conditioning and that the bedroom window had been secured so it could only be raised about two inches. As I lay gasping in the heat, I could hear the air conditioner on the RV whining away below me. I pictured my brother and the kids comfortable and cool. My thoughts in that moment were not happy thoughts!

In the morning, my aunt said that a thunderstorm had blown through in the middle of the night and cooled things off.  I certainly didn’t feel any cooling. I asked if she was sure about that.  She said, “Oh, yes it definitely cooled off. We have the heater set at 72^o and it kicked on around 2 AM.”

I laugh now; I didn’t laugh then.  “A merry heart does good, like medicine.”  [Proverbs 17:22 NKJV]

I have always chosen to deal with life’s problems with humor, maybe not right away, but later – a habit I developed growing up in a dysfunctional home. I didn’t learn until later that humor would be good medicine for my soul.

Ps 13:2: “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” [NIV]

David’s songs always impress me with their honesty. He is so transparent as he puts pen to his soul, whether he is praising God’s goodness and greatness or examining his own thoughts and desires.  Often his songs begin with his troubles and end in God’s praise.  Psalm 13 is structured that way.

David seems a bit worn down in this song; worn from the constant battle with his enemies.  His cry of “How long …?” is one that has probably crossed all our lips.  How long, God, must I face this problem, endure this sickness, struggle with this circumstance?

How often I have wrestled with my thoughts and had sorrow in my heart. When that happens, I usually call one of my good, trusted friends knowing that they will understand.  And they do.  They don’t solve my wrestling or remove the sorrow, but they listen as I pour out my heart. I know that they will be praying for me, just as they know I pray for them.

I also know that like David, I can give this sorrow of heart to my Lord and Savior.  He will listen. He wrestled with sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane that nearly overwhelmed Him, so I know He understands mine. I know that I can trust His love.

Ps 13:5-6: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”  [NIV]