Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions
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In the Day of Trouble …

by TerryLema September 10, 2020

I love mornings. I am an early riser, usually between 4:30 and 6:00 AM. I wake up, grab a cup of coffee and head to my bonus room in the quiet. I watch as the world gets lighter around me, darkness flees with each passing minute.

In those early morning hours, I write, I pray, I study, I converse with my LORD and Savior. Those hours are the most precious to me – I hate anything that interrupts them.

I think David must have been an early riser. Maybe all shepherds have to be so. Many of his songs speak of mornings and his attention to the LORD upon rising.

“But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.” [Psalm 59:16 HCSB]

God is a stronghold and refuge in the day of trouble. I think 2020 could be described so far as a “year of trouble.” It certainly has abounded with fear, misinformation, loss, hopelessness, and opposition. The horizon of change still seems to be far off. So much talk of things not getting back to normal until … until the infection count goes down … until a vaccine is available … until … until. There seems to be no set plan or date for returning to normal, and I wonder if the old normal will ever return.

Amid all this the church is being called upon to repent and turn back to God. So many heavy-duty issues to deal with daily. Still, amid all this God is reminding us that He alone is our stronghold, He alone is our refuge. It is His strength and His faithful love that comes to us every morning.

Thank you, LORD, for being there each day, providing a stronghold and refuge for your people. Amen.

September 10, 2020 0 comment
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A Call to Repent

by TerryLema September 1, 2020

1 Kings 13 is an odd chapter in the Old Testament. At least it seems odd to me. Solomon had died, his son Rehoboam had foolishly acted in a way that split the nation. The tribes Judah and Benjamin remained faithful in Jerusalem (becoming the Kingdom of Judah) while the remaining tribes split from them under the leadership of Jeroboam and set up their capital in Samaria (becoming the Kingdom of Israel). Jeroboam, worried about people returning to Jerusalem to worship at the temple and thus reunite with the House of David, set up a false worship, and installed anyone who wanted to be a priest to lead that false worship.

God sent a prophet to Jeroboam to proclaim judgment on the false altar and worship. Then it gets weird with that prophet being seduced by another and eventually killed.

But it is not the weird part I focused on this morning as I read the chapter. It was what Jeroboam did not do at the end of the chapter. “After all this Jeroboam did not repent of his evil way but again set up priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained whoever so desired it, and they became priests of the high places.  This was the sin that caused the house of Jeroboam to be wiped out and annihilated from the face of the earth.” [vs33-34 HCSB]

Jeroboam, even after being warned about the evil of setting up false worship and idolatry, did not repent. He continued in his wickedness and was eventually destroyed.

God is calling His people to repent. That is the theme for this September 2020. Everywhere I look I hear the call of repentance. And as we know so well, it must begin with the church. We need to look at our ways and see if we have allowed a false worship or a shallow or perverted Gospel to infiltrate our gatherings. We need to determine if our leaders are following God as they should or if they have “become priests of high places.”

To repent involves sorrow and an acknowledgement of guilt as well as the courage to turn from our wicked ways back to our Savior and King. I pray, beloved, that the church finds that courage. Amen

 

September 1, 2020 0 comment
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Dying is gain …

by TerryLema August 28, 2020

I must admit that I am already tired of the politics and election drama. I have read the draft platform from one party (all 80 pages) and waiting to read the draft platform for the other one. I also must admit my soul is vexed by the rhetoric, it is sorrowed by the hatred spewed back and forth, and almost overwhelmed by the issues. The other day I stood in the kitchen and thought I understood, maybe for the first time, what Paul wrote in the beginning of his letter to the Philippians.

“For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” [Philippians 1:21-24 HCSB]

I know my life is Christ here now, and when I die I shall go to be with Him. That sounds so much better than staying where everything is such a mess in our world at present. Yet I also know, that as a pastor, I must complete my course; I must serve Christ now in the toughest times I have seen since I began.

I am not the only pastor who feels this way, many others are feeling the same. There are just times when pastoring is difficult and uncertain. We are not immune from discouragement, nor do we have all the wisdom and knowledge to confront every problem facing our country.

We do have “The Answer,” and that is Christ Jesus is Savior and LORD. How we communicate that answer to a dying world, how we encourage people to persevere, how we deal with overwhelming societal problems, that is the hard part.

So, a part of me yearns for that “dying is gain” that Paul wrote about – at the same time, I understand that at least for now, God is not yet ready for me. I must have some more fruitful work to complete. Ah, but deep within my soul is that desire to be with Him that yearns to be fulfilled.

Amen, LORD Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

 

August 28, 2020 0 comment
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Waiting on the LORD’s promises …

by TerryLema August 22, 2020

One of the important things about the two auto-immune diseases currently trying to make their home in my body is that there is the possibility that they will go into remission or even simply go away in 1-5 years. That is something I have been working towards, because as bad as they are, the side effects of the medication needed to keep the symptoms at bay are almost as bad. So, I take the medications and do the infusions praying for remission and healing.

I had a setback recently. After reducing the medication dosage following my infusion, my right temporal artery became inflamed again with throbbing eye and head pain, with the risk of losing the sight in that eye or suffering an aneurism. So, the medication dosage was raised again to a level that might be described as uncomfortable. It was disappointing.

Of course, that happened right between two Sunday messages on “waiting on the LORD’s promises,” as illustrated by the life of Abraham. What do I always say? “You have to live it before you can give it!” Okay, LORD, I am back to waiting again.

Psalm 27 is a song by David about the LORD our Stronghold. It begins, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?” [HCSB]

 After David describes the wonders of the LORD as his stronghold and refuge and prays for God’s intervention in his life. He ends the psalm on both a certain assurance and a command to his own spirit. “I am certain that I will see the LORD’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord.” [vs 13-14 HCSB]

So, I am back to waiting on my remission or healing. Like Abraham, and David, and so many before them, I am certain that I will see (and I do see) the goodness of my Savior and LORD, Christ Jesus now, and have the promise that there is so much more of that coming. And waiting in a green pasture by still waters is not all that bad!

August 22, 2020 0 comment
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OFFLINE JUNE 6 TO APPROXIMATELY JUNE 15

by TerryLema June 6, 2020
June 6, 2020 0 comment
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O LORD Send Now

by TerryLema April 29, 2020

Praying through Psalm 118 in order to keep my attitude adjusted to the glory of God rather than the doom and gloom message of this world. Today I am in verses 25-26: “O LORD save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.”

When I read this verse, I got stuck on that word success. The NKJV translates verse 25 as “Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.”

The Hebrew word for success or prosperity means “to advance, to prosper, to make progress, to succeed, to be profitable.”

In our culture we often think of prosperity in terms of financial rewards. Success is tied to our own efforts, to job promotions, sports, or other personal achievements. It is an “I did it” type of thing. I got that promotion. I won that race. I invested in the right stocks. I made it happen.

I think the Psalmist gives us a different perspective. “O LORD, grant us success; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.”

Fear of a virus has shut down our economy. Opportunities for personal success or prosperity have been crushed in fear’s wake. When told to stay home, shut doors, do not work, there is not much we can do to be able to proclaim, “I did it.” But with the LORD, godly success and prosperity are not only within reach, they are ours for the taking.

Our success, our prosperity is contingent upon our relationship with our God. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” [2 Peter 1:2-4 NKJV]

Now that’s success and prosperity! Amen.

April 29, 2020 0 comment
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Falling Short

by TerryLema March 7, 2020

Right after the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God disciplines us in order to provide spiritual vitality, he also encourages us to “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.” [Heb 12:14-15 NKJV]

Three things to consider in that short sentence. First, we are to “pursue” peace with all people. I noticed that it doesn’t say we are to “achieve” peace with all people. That would be an impossible task. Some people just won’t make peace with us. Whatever their reaction is, however, we are still to pursue that possibility of peace through Christ Jesus.

In addition to pursuing peace with all people, we are to also pursue holiness. Just like we’ll not achieve peace with everyone, we are not going to achieve complete holiness until we stand in the presence of God. In this life we are going to fail. Still that doesn’t mean we simply give up or make excuses. Yes, we’re human, but we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God whose job it is to lead us into righteousness and holiness.

Last of all, we are to be very careful that we don’t “fall short of the grace of God.” That little phrase always confounds and amazes me. God’s grace, His unmerited favor is given to us for both salvation and for sanctification – for becoming conformed to the image of God’s Dear Son.

We need His grace for salvation because we can’t save ourselves. The price is too great to pay and we are bankrupt. We also need His grace to grow in our spiritual walk. It’s there, in abundance, ready and waiting for us to appropriate as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. God makes His grace available to us. It confounds me why He would do such a thing for us. It amazes me that we might leave His grace sitting there and not use it to become more and more like His Son, Christ Jesus our LORD.

March 7, 2020 0 comment
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I Press On …

by TerryLema December 5, 2019

While our children gathered in California for Thanksgiving, we were in Idaho. We took care of our daughter’s and her husband’s pooch, Bennie Boo. He’s a good dog, one trained in the cooperative program between the Humane Society and the State Prison.

We took care of Bennie because he doesn’t do well in Doggie Daycare. His early life, prior to coming to live with Michele and Mike, was difficult, being returned to the Humane Society a few times before being put through the Prison Program. So, when it seems as though he’s been left again, he gets nervous and that leads to some bossy behavior that’s not welcomed in Daycare. But when he’s with Grandpa and Grandma, he relaxes, gets all the attention, and of course, gets a bit spoiled.

Bennie reminded me that it is often difficult to let go of our past. Even though he’s now with wonderful owners who treat him well and care for him greatly, when put in a position that reminds him of how difficult his early life was, he reverts to old ways of coping.

We often do the same thing. We forget the new life we have in Christ Jesus and we revert to old habits we thought we conquered, addictions we thought we’d overcome, old ways of thinking and acting. We need to understand that the goal of the enemy of our soul is always to try to put us in positions that remind us of difficulties and trials, of old life, rather than the new life we have in Christ. The enemy wants us looking back rather than looking ahead.

Paul wrote in Philippians “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” [3:13-14]

While we need to remember what we were before coming to Christ (so we can appreciate all Christ Jesus has done for us and in us), we are not to return to those things. We are to keep our focus ahead … toward that goal, that prize, that we will have when we enter the presence of Christ Jesus. Let’s let go of our past and embrace our present redemption and future glory in Him.

December 5, 2019 0 comment
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Offline November 13-18

by TerryLema November 12, 2019

Just a note that I will be offline tomorrow through the 18th. I’ll be traveling without my computer.

I pray you spend the time in thanksgiving and praise – tis the season for such!

Terry Lema

November 12, 2019 0 comment
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Enter His Gates

by TerryLema September 5, 2019

Yesterday I wrote that I’m jumping right over Halloween and heading straight to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I figure if Halloween (candy, costumes and god-awful movies) can begin in August, why can’t Thanksgiving.

A better question might be, why aren’t we celebrating Thanksgiving all year long? Thanksgiving is the key that opens the gates into the presence of the LORD. I truly believe that God will not grant the “awareness” of His presence to the ungrateful.

Yes, God is omnipresent, ever-present. He’s ubiquitous, present in His fullness everywhere. He is always with us. But we are not always aware of that. And, we won’t ever be aware of that if we do not unlock His Gates with thanksgiving. The psalmist wrote, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” [Ps 100:4-5]

Praise and the giving of thanks for all the good the LORD has done, for His faithfulness, for His everlasting love will unlock the awareness of His Presence to us individually. We will learn, as we praise and thank Him, how precious it is to walk together with Him. We will sense His comfort, compassion and kindness no matter how harsh the world is to us.

I’m not celebrating a holiday just because the world says I must. I’m celebrating God’s Holy Day every day! I fully intend to bask in His glory from now, today, through eternity.

Thank you, Father God, for Your infinite mercy and grace, for calling me into Your Presence, for making me Your own. Amen & Amen

September 5, 2019 0 comment
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Pastor Terry Lema

Pastor Terry Lema has been married for 53 years, and has 3 children and 3 grandsons. Terry graduated from Trinity Bible College, and and recently retired as Lead Pastor at The Way Church in Middleton, Idaho.

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Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions
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