Devotions

I was reading in Matthew 10 as part of my yearly plan to read through my Bible in 2024. The chapter begins this way:

“Summoning His 12 disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.” [HCSB]

There are two Greek words we often see translated as power or authority. They are:

Exousia (ex-oo-see’-ah) – it means authority jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

Dunamis (doo’-nam-is) – it means force, power, ability, strength.

In this passage, some translations say Jesus gave them authority, some say Jesus gave them power. The Greek word used is exousia.

I heard a minister once describe the difference between exousia and dunamis this way:  A policeman meets a criminal on the street, both have a gun. Both have power, dunamis. But the policeman carries a badge and has the weight of the law behind him, that’s exousia, authority.

Jesus delegated His authority over evil spirits, disease, and sickness to His disciples as He sent them out. Mark tells us the outcome. “So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they were driving out many demons, anointing many sick people with olive oil, and healing them.” [Mark 6:12-13 HCSB]

We are often reminded that discipleship has a cost, but we should also note that discipleship has a delegated authority to function in the name of Jesus Christ. We are not perfect vessels and do not always operate in that authority. We don’t always hear distinctly what Jesus commands us to do. But we should be aware that when we hear Jesus tell us to pray a certain way or speak a certain word, His authority is with us to do so.

One of my favorite events in the life of David is found in 2 Samuel 5. Whenever I read it, I think about how I would react to what God told David to do.

“The Philistines came up again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord, and He answered, ‘Do not make a frontal assault. Circle around behind them and attack them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.’  So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.” [5:22-25 HCSB]

This passage always makes me chuckle because it highlights my own impatience at times. I know I’d be out there shaking those trees with all my might instead of waiting for God to move.

Charles Spurgeon related the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees to God moving in the lives of Christians in special anointing.  He said, prayers become powerful, Scripture comes alive, the Spirit of God gives abundant joy, gladness, and a closer communion with Christ than ever experienced.

I truly believe that God is calling the Church to listen for His sound moving across this land.  We need to get in the flow of His anointing.  We need to acknowledge that we are tired of doing things our own way and then seek the flow of God in our lives, our homes, our families, our work, our play, our churches.

David had to listen, which means he had to grow quiet and attentive.  He had to embrace a spirit of expectation that God was about to move and give him the victory over his enemies.  Listening made David ready when God did move in the treetops.

Beloved, listen for the sound!  Become attentive to what God is saying.  Develop a spirit of expectation.  I know I don’t want to miss the sound of [God] marching in the tops of the balsam trees. I don’t think you do either!

I was reading in Joshua the other day and came across a very ugly word in Chapter 18 – neglect.

Josh 18:1-3:  Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?”  [NKJV]

The children of Israel had been in the Promised Land for some time, probably around six or seven years. They had been conquering kings and taking cities.  They had set up the Tabernacle of Meeting in Shiloh.  Five of the tribes had received their inheritance, but there were still seven who had not.  Joshua’s question to them is telling … “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?” 

Neglect.  Per Strong’s Old Testament Hebrew Words, this is a primitive root which means to slacken (literally or figuratively).  In the King James, it was translated as cease, fail, idle, slack, be still, be slothful, or weak.  Like I said, it’s an ugly word.

Unfortunately, even though we know it is ugly, it is a word which may define our spiritual life at times.  We neglect our walk with the Lord.  We slacken our pace, grow idle, even become slothful (lazy).

Joshua challenged the seven tribes to get moving, to press on toward their inheritance.   The next chapters in the book show that they did exactly that.  The seven tribes went out and surveyed and divided up the land.  Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan received their inheritance.

We cannot allow neglect to find its way into our spiritual walk.  God has promised us an inheritance too.

Father, it seems so many times I am neglectful of my walk of faith.  I grow lazy, dim, slack in pursuing everything you have for me.  Forgive me for my slackness.  Energize me to meet the challenges and opportunities until I arrive at my promised inheritance.  Amen.  

I love waiting on the LORD. Well, actually, that is not quite true. I am not naturally a very patient person. I have had to work to keep my impatience at a minimum. I am a little better with long lines and traffic, and a little better with waiting on the LORD. But still … not a strong point!

The other morning Psalm 130:5 appeared in my inbox as part of a daily devotion. As I read the psalm in my Bible, I was struck by not just verse 5 but also by verse 6.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord, More than those who watch for the morning—Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” [Psalm 130:5-6 NKJV]

The HCSB translates verse 6 as: “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning—more than watchmen for the morning.”

In ancient Israel, those who watch for the morning, or watchmen, were often stationed on high walls or in watchtowers. They were responsible for protecting the town’s citizens from potential dangers. They would warn the townspeople of any perceived threats. They would be EAGER for morning light so they could see all around them.

We are to wait for the LORD just like those watchmen wait for the morning. That means purposefully watching and listening for His voice.

Too often when we are waiting for the LORD, we are fussing rather than intentionally listening. We should have a quiet soul that God can speak to.

Are we like the watchmen? Eager to hear His voice. Intentionally listening?

Today is a good day. Today we celebrate the birthday of my first child, my daughter 54 years ago. I am so blessed to be a mom. I am so blessed to have Michele in my life. God has been so gracious to me.

Birthdays always prompt me to remember the past. Sometimes in that remembering I gain a new perspective. I see where and how God moved. I may not have seen Him during the creating of that memory but looking back, I see how things turned out—and I see His Hand.

It reminds me of that amazing verse in Romans. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28 HCSB]

Paul writes, “We know ….”

 Sometimes we see God moving amid those “all things” we all go through. Sometimes God’s working isn’t readily visible. Sometimes we cannot even image how anything “good” will ever come out of our situations and circumstances.

Yet when we look back – when we remember the past – we can often see how God moved even when we were unaware that He was moving. We see the “good” that emerged from those trying times.

Yes, today is a good day. Good in many ways I would never have expected. And looking back I can absolutely agree with Paul that “We know all things work together for the good of those who love God.”

Amen!

I have had a lot of bad days recently. Lots of pain. Not sleeping well at night. It has been tough and a bit discouraging. I wonder if all my days ahead will be filled with chronic pain coupled with fatigue.

Maybe that is why I ended up in Luke 4 this morning. I found comfort when Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath day and picked up the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and began to proclaim. [vs 16-21 HCSB]

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.”

Thank you, LORD, I am so blessed to have heard the good news when I was poor and needy with nothing to offer.

“He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives .…”

Thank you, LORD, I am so blessed to be set free from the sins and guilt that held me captive.

“He has sent Me to proclaim … recovery of sight to the blind .…”

Thank you, LORD, I am so blessed because once I was blind to the things of God and now I see!

“He has sent Me … to set free the oppressed.”

Thank you, LORD, I am so blessed to have been set free from the oppression of my past, from the bondage of my dysfunction.

“He has sent Me … to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”

Thank you, LORD, I now live in the LORD’s favor, in Your grace and mercy.

No matter what each day holds, whether it be a day of chronic pain and fatigue, or a good day without, I live in the year of the LORD’s grace. Amen!

I share much of my life in these devotions, the good, the silly, the difficult, and even the failures. I do that not to garner praise or sympathy but to remind all of us that while we are not perfect people, we are overcomers.  We may stumble, fall, fail, or get knocked down, but we are never out!

John wrote that “everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”   [1John 5:4-5 NIV]

In his letters Paul often reminded people of his struggles. He was forthright in telling of how he persecuted the church, of how he pleaded with God to remove his thorn in the flesh, of his difficulties in ministry.  He did it to identify with his readers and to point them to Jesus. Paul was an overcomer precisely because he placed his faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

I have had to overcome a difficult childhood, my own personality flaws, my sins, circumstances, and failures.  Many of you have had to overcome the same, or even worse.  We are overcomers because of Christ Jesus.

I encourage you to share your life with others, not just the good and great, but the silly, the difficult and the failures also.

When they see how you have overcome all, they will ask, “HOW?”  Then you can tell them that it’s all because of faith in Jesus, the Son of God.

In John 17, Jesus prays with and for His followers. At one point in His prayer He prays for “all those who will believe in Me ….”  [vs 20]

I am always astounded that I am included in His prayer. You are also. Jesus prayed for us. He asked that the full measure of His joy might be in us. He asked that we might be protected. He asked that we might be sanctified by His truth.  (Read His prayer for you today in John 17.)

What blesses me most is found in verses 22-23: “I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. I am in them…” [HCSB]

 “I am in them.”  Jesus in me.  Say that with me, Jesus in me. Have you ever pondered all that means?

Charles Spurgeon wrote of this verse, “This is no narrow pipe through which a thread-like stream may wind its way, it is a channel of amazing depth and breadth, along whole glorious length a ponderous volume of living water may roll its floods.”

“I am in them.”  Jesus in us.  May we not restrict this flood of living water but instead by the power of, and our cooperation with His Spirit keep the channel uncluttered by doubt and sin.

Oh LORD, let your living water roll its floods through me!

I repeat myself. I remember in bible college one of the professors would constantly say, “Repetition increases remembrance,” as he repeated himself.

I used to laugh at old people who would tell the same stories again and again.  Now I am one of them. I wonder why I repeat. Perhaps as we age, we experience less so we have less to tell. Our adventures become less adventurous and our excitement less exciting. So, we repeat the things that were.

My college professor was right on; however, repetition does increase remembrance.  Peter thought so too.  In his second letter, he reminds his readers of their faith and the things he wanted them to add—goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. He also urged them to make their calling and election sure so that they would not fall.

Then he started to sound like my college professor, “Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you have. I consider it right, as long as I am in this bodily tent to wake you up with a reminder …. And I will also make every effort that you may be able to recall these things at any time after my departure.” [2 Peter 1:12-15 HCSB]

The things of the LORD need to be repeated. The world, the flesh and the enemy of our soul are loud and determined to erase biblical truths and the knowledge of God from our remembrance. Instead of always seeking new things we need to be like Peter – it is right to refresh our memories of the biblical truth we already know.

Recently I was out walking later in the afternoon when it warmed up a bit. I was listening and singing to the worship songs on my playlist. Amazing Grace came up and I was singing those old familiar verses. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…. When we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun….”

I thought about that wonderful reminder when we hear those words of God’s salvation and the marvelous future we shall have with him. Then I stopped; my thoughts had totally skipped over the middle verses. I heard God’s Spirit whisper … those middle verses are where you live right now.

“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.” [Amazing Grace, John Newton 1779]

God’s grace, God’s amazing grace has brought us to where we are. God’s grace, God’s amazing grace will lead us home to Him.

That’s where we live, beloved, in the power and presence of God’s grace in our lives. His unmerited favor is stronger than anything that might come our way. His undeserved grace will embrace us and lead us every day in Him.  How could I have skipped over that truth?

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for reminding me that my past is covered with God’s grace, my future is promised in God’s grace, and my present is protected by God’s amazing grace.