Devotions

I attend a precious Bible study on Thursday evenings every chance I get. One of the attendees reminds each week that “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

I began my day today thinking about the ways of the Lord. I wish I could understand the ways of the LORD but most of the time I have a very poor grasp of them. Every time I think I have God figured out, He proves me wrong. Every time I think I know what God will do, He does something different. Every time I try to put God “in a box,” He blows that box wide open.

Isaiah is quite clear that God’s ways transcend ours. “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” [55:8-9 NLT]

While I may not be able to “understand” the ways of the LORD does not mean I don’t have a responsibility to them. The ways of the LORD reflect God’s character, His moral and ethical standards, as well as His divine plan for mankind.

The Ways of the LORD are central to our life of faith, and they guide us in our walk with God and how we relate to others. I think I will meditate on the ways of the LORD over the next few days. I need to see how closely my life reflects His ways.

I am still thinking about Philippian 2:5, my daily verse from yesterday morning, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had,” and my prayer to have a Christ-like attitude in all I do. [NLT]

Decades ago, not too long after I first surrendered my life to Jesus, I asked Him to help me love people like He did. I was working for the State of California. There were quite a few women in my office, most of them I liked.

There was one lady, however, that was difficult to like. She was annoying in so many ways. I tried to avoid her at all costs. Unfortunately, we ended up on the same lunch and break schedule and often found ourselves together in the lunchroom. She decided we should be friends.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not avoid her, nor discourage her from seeking me out, which drove me to my knees. I asked God to help me break loose! Instead, He reminded me she was the answer to my prayer and that I would learn to love like Jesus when I learned to love the unlovable.

I made it my mission then to choose to love her. Amazingly, once that choice was made, it became easier. I grew to enjoy her company.

The “unlovable” are all around us. It is our “choice” how we respond to them.

I put my phone on my nightstand when I go to bed each evening. I pull up my “Rain” app, turn it on, and then turn on the “Do Not Disturb” setting. If I fail to do that the phone chirps, buzzes and beeps all night long.

In the morning I turn my phone back on, turn off the “Rain” app and open my daily verse app. I want the first thing I see in the morning to be God’s Word. This morning my daily verse did NOT mesh with my attitude.

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” [Philippians 2:5 NLT]

(What follows that verse is called the “Kenosis” passage; it highlights the humility and exaltation of Christ Jesus.)

The attitude that Christ Jesus had was marked by humility, selflessness, love, obedience, and a servant’s heart.

That certainly wasn’t my attitude upon awakening. I was ready to complain a bit and bemoan my aches and pains. Instead, I remembered what Jesus did for me and what He endured on the cross.

My first prayer today: Help me LORD, to have the same attitude as you did. Amen&Amen

One of the greatest tools of the enemy is secrecy. We often hide the things that affect us the deepest. Whether they be things we did or things done against us, we bury them deep and cover them up. We think by keeping these hurts in the dark, they will be rendered harmless, not realizing that the enemy does his best work in the dark. Shame, guilt, or wounds intensify the longer they remain secret.

We are children of light. Ephesians 5:8-9 reminds us that “For once [we] were full of darkness, but now [we] have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!  For this light within [us] produces only what is good and right and true.” [NLT]

Many of us have things buried deeply in our souls. We are afraid if others knew, they would see us differently. We think we can’t take the chance that they will reject us or condemn us – but that is a thought that comes directly from the enemy of our soul.

It is only by exposing the depths of our souls to the light of Christ that we loosen the enemy’s hold. I sat with a group of women who did just that. Deep things were shared, tears were shed, secrecy was broken. There was no judgment, no condemnation, no rejection. Instead, there were hugs and prayers and shared love. There was a common compassion realizing that others were hurting just as deeply.

We need more of that. We need more kindness and compassion for our fellow pilgrims, knowing everyone has wounds.

Amen&Amen

I made a trip to downtown Boise two days in a row last week, and it took me days to physically recover! That made me laugh since I used to work in downtown Boise and made that 50 mile round trip every weekday.

At almost 80 I don’t handle things as easily as I did years ago. I am becoming “frail,” a term often applied to old people. Frailty in old people is defined as frequent fatigue or exhaustion, muscle weakness, reduction in strength, moving slowly, balance or stability problems. Yep, got all that!

People who only see my physical state may think of me as frail, but I don’t feel frail. In fact, I feel stronger and more robust than ever. I have found that as my physical strength wanes, I need to rely more and more on the LORD for His strength. My exterior may be suffering from “early onset rigor mortis,” but my interior is being renewed daily!

“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.” [2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT]

That promise from God used to be in the future. Now it is an everyday reality. I am strong in Him. I am renewed each day in Him. My present physical frailty is offset by a spiritual glory that vastly outweighs it and will last forever!

Amen&Amen

I was reminded recently about chronic pain and the toll it takes on lives. Not that I needed to be reminded as chronic pain has been my companion for the past seven years (a short time compared to what others have endured.)

Chronic pain significantly affects daily life. Have you ever overdone it at the gym? Or maybe went on a long mountain hike? Or did a full day of heavy yard work? You go to bed at night thinking you’ll be able to sleep because you are so tired but then find out you can’t get comfortable because of the aches and pain? After a few days, however, things improve and you are “back to normal?”

With chronic pain things don’t improve and you never “get back to normal.” Your new normal is to wake up hurting, hurt all day, and go to bed hurting. Doing everyday things that others take for granted requires physical and emotional energy that you no longer have.

When I think of facing life with chronic pain, I remember God’s response to Paul when he pleaded three different time for God to remove what he called his thorn in the flesh. “Each time [the LORD] said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” [2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT]

I believe in the healing power of God, but I also know that sometimes God allows things to remain for a time. My prayer is that others will see not my pain, but the grace of God and the power of Christ working in and through me for His glory. Amen&Amen

What in the world?! Recently a brawl broke out during a kindergarten graduation at an Ohio Catholic school, with parents seen pulling hair and tossing other adults onto the group. The fight broke out after a dispute over seating. One woman went to the hospital with head injuries, another was arrested. One woman caught my attention when I watched the video as she was dressed in red pajamas and furry bedroom slippers.

It was a perfect example of Proverb 14:29: “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.” [NLT]

Anger in the US is widespread and fueled by many issues. Secular wisdom says it is fueled by political polarization, economic stress, social media, and cultural shifts and that those issues affect nearly half the population. Chronic anger has serious consequences for both individuals and society and can be linked to higher risks of heart disease, burnout, domestic violence, and other harmful behaviors.

Godly wisdom, however, is different. Godly wisdom reminds us that while anger is a human emotion and if it is left unchecked it will not produce the righteousness God desires. Anger needs to be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” [James 1:9-10 NLT]

“Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” [Deuteronomy 4:9-10 NLT]

Moses knew he was about to die. He would be gathered to his ancestors without stepping foot inside the Promised Land of Canaan. He had watched one complete generation die in the desert, the generation that refused to take the Promised Land when they were at its border nearly 40 years ago. Now a new generation was hearing the words of the Lord.

Moses knew he would not be going over, so he reminded the people to teach their children, the next generation, and even the generation after that one all the things they had seen and heard. He told the people to “never forget.”

There is something about teaching others about the Lord that causes us to remember our own relationship with Him. You cannot teach what you do not know. You cannot teach of the Lord if you do not know Him.  You cannot teach how to hear Him if you yourself are deaf to His call. You cannot teach others to follow if you have not learned to walk with Him.

Moses is quite clear on two issues. Teach, and Remember.

I was reading 2 Peter, Chapter 3 about the coming of the Day of the Lord. Peter writes “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.’” [Vs 3-4 NLT]

God gave a promise that the Lord would return. The prophets of old spoke that promise. Jesus foretold the promise of His return. The angels on the mount when Jesus ascended into heaven reiterated that promise. The Lord WILL come again.

If the people in Peter’s day were wondering why it was taking so long to realize the promise, how much more are we wondering the same 2000 years later? Our world is filled today with scoffers who follow their own evil desires, who say nothing ever changes.

Peter goes on and reminds us that the scoffers who mock the coming of the Lord are deliberately forgetting things. They deliberately forget that God can (and has) changed things in an instant through the Word of God.

They also forget that God has a purpose in His timing. “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” [vs 9 NLT]

Be prepared – change IS coming – it can happen in an instant!

Revelation 22:3-6: “And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. Then the angel said to me, ‘Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true.’” [NLT]

Six words within the above passage thrill my soul. Six words make me bow my knee and praise my God. Six words lift me above the trials of my life and hold a promise for my future that is so beyond my ability to describe. Those six words are, “there will be no night there.”

Night. So much of our lives are lived in the night. I’m not talking about that physical night when the part of earth where we make our abode is rotated away from the sun. I’m talking about those dark nights of the soul when we despair of ever seeing anything besides the darkness. I’m talking about those nights we grieve loss, those nights we agonize over our sins, those nights of physical or emotional torment. That is the true night.

Amid that night, we have a promise, a trustworthy and true promise, that all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, will abide in a place where there will be no more night.

There is a song that says, “No more night. No more pain. No more tears. Never crying again. And praises to the great ‘I AM.’ We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.”

No more night.  Not for all eternity.