Devotions

While I am fussing with God about this recent health setback, I was reading in 2Timothy. That letter is thought to be Paul’s final letter, written while he was in prison in Rome.

The final chapter describes Paul’s feelings of loneliness and abandonment. Only Luke was with him. Demas had forsaken him for the world. Crescens was in Galatia. Titus was in Dalmatia. Tychicus was in Ephesus.

He also recognized that he would soon be martyred. But despite that, his main concern was for the church and for Timothy, his son in the faith.

After his instructions and encouragement to Timothy, in the closing chapter he expresses one of the greatest truths found in Scripture. “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me ….” [4:17 NLT]

How do we overcome loneliness? How do we overcome abandonment? How do we overcome fear or disappointment or confusion or those “Really Father?” events. Only by knowing that through everything “the LORD stood with me and strengthened me.”

I was very flexible when I was young. Not so much anymore. I used to be able to touch my palms to the floor, hold a lotus position (never did yoga just like to sit like that). I could sit on the floor and get up! I could move freely.

After nearly five years of two auto-immune diseases and the steroids required to get them under control, my skeletomuscular system is compromised. (The musculoskeletal system is the system that provides our body with movement, stability, shape, and support.) I am no longer flexible.

While that makes everyday life a bit more difficult, my concern is with a different kind of flexibility.

I receive a weekly devotion from Ron Nelson, “Monday Matters.” One of his recent devotions related an incident when he met another person who changed his plans for fallen trees on his property, making his task much easier. He concluded: “Plans are great, the direction is critical, but found that flexibility is key to experience and see what God has for us along the way. Sometimes in life there are perfectly timed miracles that God had crafted for us.” 

I have found in life that God often changes my plans. Still, we are to make plans as we understand God’s will. We are to set a direction, but we must always be open to having the LORD re-direct, stop, or change those plans.

Proverbs 16:9: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”  [NLT]

Yesterday we looked at the “resume” of Christ Jesus our Lord found in Colossians 1:15-17. There is a second page in that resume.

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God….” [Colossians 1:16-21 NLT]

Oh, stop right there!

God, through His Dear Son Christ Jesus our LORD, “reconciled everything to Himself,” and He also “made peace with everything.” EVERYTHING in heaven and on earth … and this “includes you!”

Paul goes on to remind us that we were once enemies. As enemies, we were separated from our Creator God, shaking our fist at God in rebellion. We declared by our sin that we would not have Him rule over us … yet our Father loved us and sent His Son to die for us and bring us reconciliation and peace.

Now, “As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” [vs 22 NLT]

Read that again … think again about the wonderful truth that because of God’s love, we are “holy and blameless,” standing before Him “without a single fault.” Amen!

My husband gets excited each day when the mail delivery comes. I am not sure why, since we would have no mail at all if it weren’t for election candidate promotions, internet provider ads, or deals from companies who want to clean our carpets or replace our windows.

Every election candidate has a resume promoting themselves and a reason why we should vote for them. While our mailbox is filled now with shiny brochures for the local primary election, other media are filled with news of the current frontrunning national candidates. It is a constant barrage of reasons why I should vote for them. This will go on for another 194 days!

I have read and listened to most all of the resumes and reasons why one candidate is better than the other and I am not impressed with any of them. But I admit, resumes are important. There is one in Colossians 1 that doesn’t just impress me, it leaves me breathless.

My Savior and Lord “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” [Colossians 1:15-17 NLT]

Oh King Jesus! Come Quickly!

I was reading the first chapter of Colossians after prayer last Thursday. I focused on Paul’s prayer for the Colossians.

As I read through the second half of the prayer, it seemed to me the translators missed a word in verses 11-14. I inserted it in the scripture below.

“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. [BECAUSE] 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.” [NLT]

Paul wants us to be strengthened with God’s glorious power and to have all the endurance and patience we need (and believe me, we need plenty!).

But he also wants us filled with joy and thanksgiving BECAUSE God has given us an inheritance. That inheritance belongs solely to people who live in the light … and notice … we live in that light BECAUSE He Himself arranged our rescue from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His Dear Son.

He purchased our freedom. We had nothing with which to buy it. He forgave our sins. We could not do enough “good works” to overcome our sin. It was solely His doing.

How could we not be filled with joy and thanksgiving? How could we not be praising our God with great enthusiasm and fervor?

I am not sure how I ended up in the first chapter of Colossians after prayer last Thursday morning, but I am glad I did. There is a marvelous prayer contained in that first chapter.  Along with a marvelous description of our LORD Christ Jesus and our reconciliation to Him.

Paul’s prayer begins … “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, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” [vs9-10 NLT]

I was never good with math, but I spotted the equation in Paul’s verse right away.

Complete knowledge of his will + spiritual wisdom and understanding = a life that will always honor and please the LORD.

The proof of that equation is a life that produces every kind of good fruit.

Too often when we pray for people, we are not specific. I think there are too many, “Bless them, God!” styles of prayer. Paul often prayed for people, and he was always specific in what He asked God to do in their lives. And his prayers often focused on spiritual wellbeing, things needed to live a life “that will always honor and please the LORD.”

Let’s make sure when we pray, we follow his example.

The other day we were blessed to go to a Little League game. It is such fun to watch youth as they learn and engage in team sports. Lots of lessons which I could expand on, but instead there was one priceless moment that captured my thoughts.

One of the younger and smaller players came up to bat. His dad moved to the fence beside home plate. I heard him tell his son, “Move closer to the plate,” as the boy was standing farther away than normal.  The son obeyed his dad and stepped closer.

The next pitch was wild inside and would have hit the boy had he not jumped back just in time. He turned slowly and looked at his dad … you can imagine a look that spoke volumes.

I admit, I have seen “that look” in my mirror on occasion. My Father God tells me to do something and wham(!) there’s a wild pitch coming straight for me. My reaction usually is not what I would call “saintly.” It is more like, “Really Father?”

When that happens, I am reminded of Teresa of Avila who on a mission for God ended up in the mud when her donkey cart flipped and tossed her in a ditch. She said something like, “No wonder you have so few friends if this is the way you treat the ones you do!”

But … as Teresa of Avila well understood, as I am growing to understand, our Father God cares deeply for our welfare and has promised to always be with us when those “wild pitches” are aimed at us. We can step up to the plate boldly and without fear.

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God.” [Isaiah 43:1b-3a NLT]

“Life is hard, and then you die.” I have seen many versions of that rather pitiful view of life. Its origin is unsure. The one thing that is sure is that it is a cynical view of this world. But when you live in a world that has no hope of its own, it is a legitimate view.

I like Paul’s view better. He expressed it in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. In fact, as I age, it becomes even more precious!

“While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.” [vs 4-5 NLT]

I admit I do a lot of groaning and sighing! I groan when I get out of bed, and sigh when I go to sleep! I have developed my “father’s noise” that always escaped his lips when he climbed out of his recliner.

Paul says, however, that for those who have surrendered their lives to God, these bodies that are weathered and beaten by time and living will one day be “swallowed up by life.” God has “prepared us for this” and to guarantee that promise He has given us His Holy Spirit.

There is even more … “So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord…. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” [vs 6, 8 NLT]

So yes, “Life is hard, and then you die,” but for the Christian, that is when it gets REALLY GOOD! Amen

Ps 89:15: “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.” [NIV]

Each day is getting longer by a few minutes. Sunset comes later every day. The days are getting warmer and soon the summer heat will set in.  I am starting to walk in the early morning hours rather than later in the afternoon. My walking hours always change with the weather.

For now, I head out in the morning with my worship music, and I sing and worship as the day begins. I sense the presence of my LORD with me as I walk and worship Him.

Ethan the Ezrahite is the author of Psalm 89. You probably haven’t heard much about him. I know I haven’t. He began his song with, “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever, with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.”

Further along he promises blessings to those who walk in the light of the presence of the LORD. While walking in the light, we also learn “to acclaim” or “make an acclamation of joy” about the LORD.

Where God is, there is light. The darkness for believers was DISMISSED the moment we were saved, and the light of God’s presence came into our souls and spirits in the person of God’s Holy Spirit. We may walk THROUGH valleys of darkness in this life, but the darkness that was once IN us has surrendered to the light of the glory of our Savior.

Thank you for the light of Your presence, O LORD.