Past Devotions

David wrote Psalm 57 as he fled from Saul into a cave. It was a cry for mercy, a cry for God’s purpose to be fulfilled, a cry for the evidence of God’s love and His faithfulness, and a cry for David’s soul to awaken.

Listen to verse 8, “Wake up, my heart [soul]! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.”

 “Wake up Soul!” Ever do that—shout at yourself to “Wake up Soul!”

When we battle God, when we turn a deaf ear to His pleas, when we ignore His purpose for our lives, it isn’t long before our soul simply goes to sleep. The voice of the Lord becomes increasingly distant until finally we simply do not hear it anymore. It is not that He has quit talking; it is that we have become deaf to His voice.

As David was in a literal cave, pursued by his enemies, crying for God’s mercy and purpose in his life in Psalm 57, we can find ourselves in a spiritual cave, one dug by our own disobedience, our own attitudes, and our own rebellions.

“Awake, my soul!” means it is time to repent and leave the cave, time to realign our attitudes with the will of God, time to admit His purpose in us and time to change. Let us “wake the dawn with our song!”

Ever say the words, “Something has to change!” Sometimes I shout those words. I look around me and think “enough is enough,” or “I don’t want to do this anymore!”

I am usually miserable when I say things like that. And I am usually making everyone around me miserable. (Why suffer alone?) When I say things like “something has to change,” it is usually me that has to change.

Psalm 57 begins, “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by.” Then Verse 2 continues, ^“I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.” [NLT]

God has a purpose for us, one that does not involve depression, or bad attitudes, or lack of joy, or fear. Often when we cry out in our misery that “something has to change,” it is because we have been fighting God’s purpose for us. (Fighting God? How did we ever think we could win that battle!)

Fighting God is not the way to have a good life, or even a good day. Doing what we want when we want does not make us happy. It makes us miserable. The only way to have the joy God wants us to have is to allow God to fulfill His purpose in us.

Soul! Stop fighting God! LORD, have Your purpose in my life! Amen

After spending the last few days thinking about our three enemies (the world, devil and our own sinful nature) and the battles we often face against them, and victories and weapons and such, I want to think about other things this morning.

I want to think about that iconic Louie Armstrong song, “What a Wonderful World.”

“I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and for you. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world. I see skies of blue and clouds of white, The bright blessed days, dark sacred nights, And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, saying, ‘How do you do?’ They’re really sayin’, ‘I love you.’

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know. And I think to myself What a wonderful world. Yes, I think to myself What a wonderful world.”

When you read Armstrong’s biography, it is a wonder that he could write such a song, how he could think that this is a “Wonderful World?” After watching the evening newscasts, how could any of us think this is a “Wonderful World?”

But we can. It will require making an effort to seek out the beautiful things God displays all around us. And it will require fixing our “thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable….things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” [Philippians 4:8 NLT]

“What a Wonderful World”

Scripture is clear that we have three enemies, the world, the devil, and our flesh (sinful nature). It is imperative that we discern between them because the “weapons” required will be different.

We battle the world and the enemy of our soul using God’s mighty weapons and with His authority. But Romans 8:13 tells us that we battle our sinful nature differently. That battle involves putting it to death through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. “For if you live by its dictates [the sinful nature], you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.” [NLT]

Our “old nature” is a traitor within us. It refuses to acknowledge that it no longer has power to rule us. And you cannot command your sinful nature to die “in the name of Jesus.” I guarantee it will not obey.

But you can starve its desires and choke out its commands until it acknowledges that it is dead. “…that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” [Ephesians 4:22-24 NKJV]

One last thing about warfare and enemies and weapons and such. The greatest dangers are when we focus too much or too little on these things. We cannot ignore spiritual battles, but we cannot dwell on them constantly. We need to trust the Indwelling Holy Spirit that He will warn us when we need to face our enemies, and He will provide everything we need to do so.

I wish we lived in a world without evil, a world without enemies. But we do not. Just listening to the news broadcasts tells us that this world is dangerous, that it is filled with evil.

I was reminded as I am writing this of that Louie Armstrong song, “What a Wonderful World.” God’s creation is wonderful, those “trees of green, red roses too.” And I am reminded often of “friends shaking hands, saying ‘How do you do?’ They’re really saying, ‘I love you.’”

But, the enemies of God have corrupted this world, those “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world … mighty powers in this dark world…evil spirits in the heavenly places,” have sought to ruin God’s Wonderful World. [Ephesians 6:12 NLT]

As Christians, we find ourselves engaged in a battle against the enemies of God, but God has provided everything we need to do so. He has given us the Indwelling Spirit of Christ (who gained the victory over all God’s enemies with His Cross, Resurrection and Ascension into Glory). We now battle FROM victory, not FOR victory.

We need not fear for He also provides the weapons and authority we need to battle …

The World: “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” [2Corinthians 10:4; Read Ephesians 6:10-18]

The Enemy of Our Soul: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” [Luke 10:19]

Glory to God!

A quote (“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts”) from Søren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher, started me thinking about our thought life. Romans 12:1-2 urges us to renew our minds, to move our focus from this world to the things of God. That requires a battle. When we battle, however, we do so FROM a position of victory, rather than FOR victory. [1Corinthians 15:57]

In any battle you must know your enemy, and in this life, we have three—the world, the devil, and our flesh (sinful nature). We must distinguish between these enemies if we are going to be victorious.

Ephesians 6:12 defines two of our enemies. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” [NLT]

There are unseen forces in this world. The Scriptures do not hesitate to call them evil and mighty. These unseen enemies seek to influence, tempt, undermine, and subdue. They seldom mount an all-out frontal attack but prefer to use lies, doubt, ridicule, and other such sleight of hand tactics.

But whatever tactics they may employ against us; God has already provided weaponry to overcome them. And the greatest weapon is the Indwelling Spirit of Christ within. Praise God!

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” [1 John 4:4]

“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.” That quote from Søren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher, started me thinking about our thought life.

Thinking about thoughts governing our actions took me to Romans 12:1-2 where we are urged to renew our minds by removing our thought’s focus from the world.

If our thoughts (our minds) indeed govern our actions in life, that also means that if we want to live a Christ-like life, there will be a battle. The world, the enemy and our flesh do not easily surrender the hold they have on our thoughts.

When we strive to renew our minds and give our bodies to the LORD to use as wonderful, willing, living sacrifices to Him, we are going to enter a battle zone. It is called “spiritual warfare,” and the Bible has numerous references to its reality and how we are to engage.

There is one vital truth that sets the foundation for our spiritual battles. That truth is that we battle FROM a position of victory, rather than FOR the victory.

Many Scriptures proclaim that truth. One is 1Corinthians 15:57: “…thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.” [NLT]

(There are others: 2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:37, Philippians 4:13, 1John 5:4) More tomorrow.

I came across a quote in one of my daily newsfeeds. It is from Søren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher.  “Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.”

That got me thinking. My immediate thoughts went to Romans 12:1-2 where we are urged to do two things (become living sacrifices and renew our minds).

 “…I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” [NLT]

We cannot know the will of God until we are “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind.” [vs 2 NKJV]

If we are thinking like the world, there will not be the slightest urge to do the things of God.

Our thinking is what determines our doing. “Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.”

That is where my immediate thoughts went when I read Kierkegaard’s quote. But the more I thought about that, my continuing thoughts went further. I began to think about how our thought life is also where the greatest spiritual battles take place.  (More tomorrow)

As I wrote yesterday, nothing arouses my anger quicker than when I see someone who claims the label “Christian” yet represents God as something other than who He is, or salvation as something other than what it is.

GOD IS LOVE! (All Caps, Exclamation Point): Everything in the Scriptures declares that God is Love, from His marvelous creation to His amazing salvation. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.” [Psalm 19:1-2 NLT]

God’s amazing salvation is not something we earn by our righteous acts. It is not something we appropriate by our religious affiliations. It is a gift which is received. God offers it to us. All we do is reach out and take hold by faith. We can claim no credit for our salvation, NONE.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” [Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT]

And nothing in this life (NOTHING!) can rip God’s love from us! “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:38-39 NLT]

GOD IS LOVE! SALVATION IS BY HIS GRACE! (All CAPS, Exclamation Point!)

I used to have a terrible temper. I still have a temper, but over the years it has become less terrible. God has been gracious and enabled me by the power of the Holy Spirit to lessen it. Now, having said that, I am sure I will see a lesson soon which will give me the opportunity to prove that statement is true.

There is one thing that I guarantee will arouse my anger, an anger that I am not ashamed of in the least. It is when I see someone who claims the label “Christian” represent God as something other than He is.

God is Love. Let me say that again in all Caps! GOD IS LOVE! “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” [1John 4:8-10 NLT]

And God demonstrated His love to us BEFORE we cleaned up our act. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” [Romans 5:8 NLT]

And God’s Love brought us that salvation through His GRACE by faith, not by following a set of rules, or becoming affiliated with a group or denomination. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” [Ephesians 2:8 NLT]

And since I am on a roll … More tomorrow!