Devotions

Isa 53:2: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” [NIV]

Ps 27:4: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [NIV]

Isaiah 53 paints a word picture of God’s Messiah, the Suffering Servant Savior. It is not a pretty picture. It speaks of bruising and crushing, punishment and wounds, judgment and slaughter and grave. It breaks the heart to read it.

Many movies have been made about the life of Jesus and the portrayals of Him on the cross are more than I can bear to watch–even knowing that the portrayals are done with special effects and make-up. I cannot even imagine what those who loved Him witnessed that day so long ago. There was no beauty to behold then.

Yet, it is precisely because He endured the bruising and crushing, the punishment and wounds, the judgment and slaughter and grave that we desire to gaze upon Him now. Now this One who had no beauty or majesty to attract, is the center of everything beautiful in our lives. Now our one desire, all the days of our life, is to gaze upon Him and seek Him.

Lord, the most beautiful sunrise is nothing in comparison to you. The most elegant flower of creation pales when placed in Your nail-pierced hands. How I long to stand in Your presence and see with heavenly eyes the beauty which has so captured my heart. Amen.

In Revelation 21 John describes the new heaven and the new earth.  He describes New Jerusalem, that heavenly city as he is shown it. He notes that there is no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. He also notes that the city does not need sun, nor moon to shine, for the city is filled with the glory of God and “The Lamb is its light.” [Rev 21:23 NKJV]

Light in Scripture often stands for joy, beauty, knowledge, and the presence of the LORD.

In that glorious city Jesus is the very center of it all.  Charles Spurgeon wrote: “The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this: Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus.”

Someone came to my door and showed me a drawing of the last days and asked if it scared me.  I smiled and said, “No! I am longing to see King Jesus return!”

I want to walk those streets of gold hand in hand with loved ones who have gone ahead of me. I am longing to sit and talk with great saints of God about deep things of God. I am yearning to abide in a place where all evil has been banished.  More than anything else, I want to bask in the light of the Lamb.

I want to spend eternity saying thank you to the One who “chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us….”

Josh 23:14-15:  “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” [NIV]

“Not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed.” That was Joshua’s testimony at the end of his life.  He then went on to remind the tribes of Israel of what God had promised and how He brought those promises to fruition. Every promise was fulfilled. Israel made it a lot harder on themselves than it needed to be because of their own stubbornness and rebellion. Still, God brought them out of bondage and into freedom in the Promised Land, just as He said He would.

Joshua then challenged Israel to live for the Lord and made the declaration that no matter what they decided to do, he and his household would remain faithful to Jehovah. [24:15]

Not one of the good promises the LORD our God has given us will fail either. And while I’d like to think that I’ve done better than Israel did and made it easier on myself, I know that I’m a lot more like they were than I want to believe. I, too, am stubborn and rebellious. I can be proficient at murmuring and complaining too!

Still as God brought them out of bondage, so He has brought me (and you).  As God brought them into freedom, so He has brought me (and you) into freedom in Christ Jesus.  And as He took Israel to the Promised Land, He will bring His children (me and you!) into His presence in Glory!

None of His good promises, no, not even one, will fail to be fulfilled.  Hallelujah!  Amen.

Fifty-seven years married, as of today at 2 PM PST. The church we were married in was in the shape of a cross, with a raised altar in the very center. It was very large, so the crowd looked sparse with just a couple hundred attendees.

I remember it was raining and I had to run from the car to the church in my wedding dress and veil. I remember the rain drops spotted the satin dresses the attendants wore. I remember that the communion cup contained “real” wine, not grape juice! And I remember how difficult it was to kneel during the service in a wedding dress.

But the thing I remember most was the look on the bridegroom’s face when he turned around and saw me coming down the aisle. It was one of love and amazement and tenderness – so much so that it is hard to describe and impossible to forget.

I wonder, church, what it will be like when our bridegroom, Christ Jesus, turns and sees His bride. I have a feeling it will be a look of love and amazement and tenderness.

It will be a look we will carry through eternity, one that is hard to describe, but impossible to forget.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” [Rev 19:6-8 NIV]

I am walking through the first half of Romans 5, verses 1-11. God reminded me that I needed to again remember all He has done for me through the salvation provided in the death and resurrection of His Dear Son.

“For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” [vs 6-9 HCSB]

Look at those descriptions … ungodly, sinners (and a few verses later … enemies). That was me. And you. And all of mankind. But while we were those things, look at what God did. He proved His love for us. And Christ confirmed that love by dying for us. But there is even more …

“Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.” [vs 10-11]

Now we are no longer ungodly, sinners, enemies. We are “much more then.” We are His children, reconciled to Him as Father God, saved in the resurrection life of Christ Jesus.

0I guess, I should back away from my bad attitude and rejoice instead in all God has done for me and all that is mine in Him. PTL

My attitude lately has not been all it should be. I feel like I am not responding well to physical challenges, nor the mental and emotional ones. So God, in His mercy, reminded me of all that I have in my salvation through Christ Jesus my LORD. He did that by taking me to Romans 5. I am now following His lead and taking a walk-through those first 11 verses once again.

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith ….” [verse 1 HCSB]

I have been declared righteous by the faith I placed in Christ Jesus. That is a done deal. He did all the work, and I simply surrendered my life to Him. As glorious as that is … and believe me that is glorious(!), I have even more.

“…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” [vs2]

I have peace with Him, access to His grace, and the hope of the glory of God in my life. But there is still more …

“And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.” [vs3-4]

I can rejoice in troubling afflictions because I have the assurance that they are producing something in me. I am developing endurance, proven character, and hope.

And what a hope! “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” [vs5]

Thank you for the reminder. But there is more, the other half tomorrow. PTL

I woke up on Monday after a rough night. I could not get comfortable no matter which way I turned. After five years of steroids I don’t sleep well anyway, so when the little sleep I am used to is interrupted, I am not a happy camper. In other words, I am grumpy and wallowing in a bit of self-pity.

As I opened my computer and went through the usual morning routine of sending out and posting devotions, checking the bank, my email, etc., I found the following verse in my verse of the day. “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!” [Romans 5:10 HCSB]

I sat there confronted by one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament. The first half of Romans Chapter 5 (verses 1-11) always brings joy to my soul. I love going through verse by verse. So, there I was, sitting in my chair, grumpy and hurting … and God reminds me of the “how much more!” of my salvation.

One thing about the Bible, which makes it far different from every other book, is that it is not only read by us, but it also reads us. And that morning Scripture read me.

I had a choice, to remain in my bad attitude, or to allow the “how much more” God provides to guide me to a better one.

I think I will take a stroll in Romans 5:1-11 and remember “how much more” I have in Him. PTL

I was talking with someone recently about titles. The world is hung up on titles and rankings, but I do not think the LORD is overly impressed by titles. I also do not think that when we get to the rewards ceremony in heaven that God is going to rank us by our titles. I think His criteria for rewards is very different.

“Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength.” “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” [Ecclesiastes 9:10, Colossians 3:17 HCSB]

That said, I admit to having a favorite title. I was in a traditional denomination when first saved staying there for nearly six years until it became apparent that I needed to leave. That meant taking my children out of that church’s school and finding another place for them.

I found Trinity Christian Schools and the principal there was kind enough to make room. I was so grateful to them that I asked God to use me in any way that would serve them. I told the principal that I wanted to help.

The school had no cafeteria. The principal asked if I could figure out a way to provide the kids with lunch once a week, using only the tiny faculty room and mini-kitchen. I ended up doing “Hot-dog Thursday’s.” I cooked hot dogs for hundreds of kids, brought chips and drinks, and brought in home-made cookies and cupcakes for dessert. Every Thursday lunch, with the help of some of the moms, we served the kids.

I got to hug and bless lots of children as they came through the line. And when they saw me in church on Sundays, they would come running to get another hug from the “Hot-Dog Lady!”

To this day, it is that “title” that I cherish the most.