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Devotions

Repentance (Part One)

by TerryLema

It doesn’t take long when reading the Scriptures to see that a key component to a true relationship with God is repentance. Peter reminds us that God is patient with mankind (even delaying judgment) because He wants to see all come to repentance.

“The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9 HCSB]

To repent is to change our minds and direction. It is a change that happens in the inner man. Where once we shook our fist at the will of God, repentance brings an acceptance of it. It is turning in the opposite direction we were headed and turning to God instead.

We must come to repentance to enter a relationship with God as His child. That is accomplished through the cross of Christ Jesus.

But there are also times when we must again approach God and repent of things we have done, or things we did not do that we should have done.

John reminds us that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1John 1:9 HCSB]

Thankfully, when we sin, we can come to God immediately, repenting, knowing He is faithful to forgive and set us back on the path of His righteousness.

More on Repentance tomorrow.

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Thank You For Your Righteousness

by TerryLema

Spending the summer in the Psalms is the spiritual emphasis at church July through August. Each week we read 30 psalms. As I read through each song, I am asking the LORD to “highlight” in my spirit something He wants me to think about.

Yesterday it was Psalm 5:11, shouting “joy forever!”

Today, it was a reminder in Psalm 7 to thank the LORD. “I will thank the Lord for His righteousness.” [vs 17 HCSB]

Other translations remind us to thank the LORD “according to” or “due to” or “because of” His righteousness. But when I read that I am to thank the LORD “for” His righteousness, I had to stop and think.

Have I ever actually thanked God for being righteous?  I thank Him all the time for what He has done, is doing and will do for me. I thank Him for His wonderful creation, for His salvation, for His love and compassion. But I can’t remember if I ever thanked Him for His righteousness.

God will always do what is right, according to His Holiness. That is so important! It means God never changes, never deviates from what is right. I never need to worry that the God who saved me will one day abandon me.

I think I should have thanked Him for His righteousness every day of my life! I think I will start today! Amen.

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Joy Forever

by TerryLema

The emphasis at church from July 3 through August 30 is “Summer in the Psalms.” Along with the weekly messages we are reading through the book of Psalms. The first week took us through Psalms 1-30. I love the songs of the Scriptures and readily dived right in.

As I was reading through Psalm 5, I stopped on two words in verse 11. Those two words are “joy forever.”

“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever.” [HCSB]

Other translations say, “let them ever shout for joy,” or “let them ever sing for joy.”

I think I like the “joy forever” translation the most.

Those two words lifted my spirit this morning. As I came upon them, I could almost visualize heaven where the saints of all the ages are shouting for joy around the throne together. It is a joyful shout that will go on throughout eternity.

Our joy will never fade. It will never diminish. There will be nothing there that will threaten it. No one, nothing, will try to silence our joyful singing or shouting. And getting to know God more and more will give us never ending reasons to shout for JOY!

Won’t that be amazing!

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Exposed By Light

by TerryLema

I came around the corner from the hallway into the kitchen this morning. The kitchen was flooded with light from the sliding door and windows. It revealed a lot—a lot of fingerprints and smudges on my stove front (black glass), the microwave above the stove, and the tile on the wall between them.

Now, I was just in the kitchen last night and did not see any of that. What made the difference was the sunlight streaming through the windows and sliding door.  I guess I know what I’ll be doing today!

Light reveals. It exposes things we do not see when it is dark.  Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light.” [5:13-14a HCSB]

I remember a friend telling me once that when she would be around certain people they would “accuse” her of judging them, when she had not said even one word. That is because some people love darkness and when a person of light comes near, they feel the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of Christ.

“For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.” [John 3:20 HCSB]

Jesus said He was the Light of the World (John 8:12) and declared that believers who dwell in Him would also be Light in the World (Matthew 5:14).

No matter how uncomfortable we make some people, we must let our light shine – like a city on a hill!

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End of the Stroll

by TerryLema

Every now and then I stroll through Romans 12 to make sure that my heart, mind, and life are on the right track. I spent a while on my walk in verse 9. “Detest evil; cling to what is good.” [HCSB]

We are to cling (cleave) stick like glue to what is good. And what is good are all those things that originate from God and flow to believers through faith.

I finished my stroll in the final verse. “Do not be conquered [overcomed] by evil, but conquer [overcome] evil with good.” [vs 21 HCSB]

There is that word “good” [agathos] again. And it follows an interesting quote from Proverbs 25 about when we are kind to our hungry and thirsty enemy, it is like “heaping fiery coals on his head.”

There are many ideas about what that means, including it being a metaphor for ancient customs. However, I think we get hung up on the “fiery coals” and forget the “conquering or overcoming evil” part.

Anyone can payback evil for evil. We see that all the time in our world. If Christians operate under that principle, we look no different from the world. Jesus said we are to love our enemies—and that sets us on a different path. Our “payback” to our enemies is all those “good things” we ourselves received from God. Mercy. Grace. Love. Forgiveness. Compassion. Kindness.

That is the only way to overcome evil. Vengeance must be left in the hands of our God.

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Out For a Stroll

by TerryLema

I was strolling through Romans 12 recently. It is a chapter I love to stroll through—just to make sure my heart, mind and life are on the right track. The world, the enemy of our soul, and our own sinful flesh (that refuses to die) love to try to divert us from that “right track.”

Along my stroll I found a place to stop and ponder.  It was in the second half of verse 9—especially that little world “cling.”

“Detest evil; cling to what is good.” [HCSB]

Some of the older translations use the word “cleave.”

The word for cling/cleave is kollaó, and it means to glue or bond, to become intimately connected.

Doesn’t that just paint a beautiful picture. We are to stick like glue to what is good.

So, to do that we must determine what is good. The word for good is agathos and for the believer describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in our lives through faith.

Ah, what a beautiful “good” originates in God and flows to us through faith in Him.  Grace. Mercy. Love. Redemption. Joy. Life. Light. Forgiveness. Compassion. Inheritance. Freedom. Adoption. Wisdom….

The list is eternal. Hallelujah!

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What We Live For

by TerryLema

Last Sunday Pastor Jerrod brought a message out of Psalm 91. He titled it “The Secret Place,” drawn from the first verse. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” [NKJV]

The message was full of truth as Pastor Jerrod took verse by verse, pointing out so many wonderful promises of God to those who “dwell” in God’s protection. The church rang with “Amens!” so it must have been something we all needed.

He said one thing that ministered to me. We have a purpose—to love and be loved by God. That is what we were created for.

Among all the wonderful truths and promises pointed out, I think that stood out the most Sunday morning because of what I had heard just an hour before. Bob had on a news broadcast before we left for church. One story was about an actor who died this week. It ended with the actor saying, “Acting was my life.”

The second story was an interview with another personality. He said several times that “woodworking is my life.”

If we were asked what our life is all about, I wonder how we would respond. I was reminded this morning that this life is truly about one thing – to love and be loved by God. To dwell in that “secret place” of the Most High.

Amen.

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An Expression of Freedom

by TerryLema

Yesterday I spoke about the true eternal freedom we have when the Son of God sets us free. While granted freedom through our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, that freedom can be taken away at any time, either through internal events or from outside sources.

But when the “Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  That is a freedom that overrules every other freedom a government controls.

To me one of the most precious parts of that freedom is expressed by the writer of the Book of Hebrews. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” [Hebrews 4:16 NLT]

We have the freedom, expressed with reverent confidence (boldness) to come to the Throne of our Gracious God. There we can present our requests and be assured that God’s mercy and grace will flow to us.

Yet, while I think of that precious part of freedom with great joy, I am saddened at times by how few really partake of the opportunities to pray. There are 168 hours in a week. Jesus once asked His disciples if they could spend just one hour with Him.

I remember holding one hour prayer meetings. Often it was just a few of us who came to pray. At times, I was the only one there.  That is a sad expression of our glorious freedom.

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Free Indeed

by TerryLema

Citizens of the United State of American celebrate their liberty on this date. It was on July 4, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. The document explains to the world why thirteen colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule.

Almost all citizens of the United States are familiar with the beginning sentence of the second paragraph (even when they can’t quite remember that it comes from the Declaration of Independence).

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Independent. As a nation we are definitively independent. As citizens of that nation, we loudly proclaim that Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness are ours.  But do we really have life? Are we truly free and happy?

May I say, we cannot be truly free until the Son of God sets us free from our sin, our shame, and our guilt before our Creator and Father God. Jesus reminded His listeners that when we “know the truth, the truth will set [us] free.” [John 8:32 HCSB]

He also declared that He Himself was Truth and the only Way back to God the Father. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” [John 14:6 HCSB]

 While the Declaration of Independence declared freedom for the future United State of America and its citizens, we can only be fully and eternally free when we are set free by the Son of God. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” [John 8:35 NKJV]

Free Indeed! Amen!

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What A Sight!

by TerryLema

I mentioned in yesterday’s devotion that I attended a class at Christian Faith Center (CFC) Nampa. I want to be involved in ministry when Middleton launches in the fall and the class was required.

Arriving a bit early, I could hear the music signaling the end of the service. As I waited to sign in for the class, I had the wonderful opportunity to see the doors open and people flooding out of the sanctuary.

What a sight! The first group I saw looked as if they’d be more at home in a biker bar. Right behind them was a young man and woman. She was carrying a tiny baby in a carrier.  Behind them was an older couple decked out in Sunday best. Everyone was wearing a smile.

I thought about the Phil Wickham song “Joy in the House of the LORD.” I have been trying to learn the lyrics and thought how one of the verses described what I saw. “We were the beggars. Now we’re royalty. We were the prisoners. Now we’re running free. We are forgiven, accepted. Redeemed by His grace. Let the house of the Lord sing praise.”

Those words do not just apply to the ones looking like they are refugees from rough and tumble biker bars. They apply to the young men and women beginning their walk with God and to the older couples who have walked with God for decades.

We all were beggars having nothing to offer God for our sins. We all were prisoners of our old sin nature, guilt, and shame. We all needed to be forgiven, accepted, and redeemed by His grace.

Now we are all singing our joy in the house of the LORD–together. Amen!

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