Past Devotions

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”   [1 Cor 2:10 NIV]

I have been aware of God all my life having grown up in the Catholic Church, my father a cradle-Catholic, my mother a convert out of an atheistic household. My life took a turn when I became aware of God in a different way in 1973 after discovering I could have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. Another turn happened in 1978 when I moved into a Pentecostal denomination. Bible College followed, graduating in 1985. Then I was ordained to minister.

While in Bible College, however, one of the professors pointed me to a book by A. W. Tozer, “The Pursuit of God.” With that book, another turn happened, I realized my awareness of God should become a life-long pursuit to know Him more, to experience Him deeper.

When Christ ascended back to His Father, He promised that He would send another Counselor to guide us, teach us, lead us. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.”  [John 14:16 NIV]

The word “another” as used in this verse means another of the “same kind.” Just as Jesus led and taught His disciples, so the Holy Spirit leads us into the deep things of God. He searches and reveals them to us. Best of all, He gives us the power to live them!

So many decades later I am still hungry. I am still pursuing. There is so much more I want the Holy Spirit to teach me. So much more I want to experience of the Father and the Son.

I love to read.  I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading at least two books at a time, sometimes more than two. One of the most delightful experiences is going to my library and discovering an old book that I had forgotten I had. That happened to me a while ago.

I found a devotional and from the feel of the book, I’m not sure it was ever opened. It has been sitting on my shelf. All that time, I had been totally unaware that it was mine to have.

That is the way it is with many of our spiritual treasures. They are sitting on our “spiritual shelf” just waiting for us to discover their value. How often do we fuss when peace is available to us?  How often do we struggle alone in our own weaknesses when God’s strength is waiting for us on our “spiritual shelf?”  God has so much for us, yet we often get by with so little.

We have a life-long partnership with the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who releases God’s treasures into our lives.  “…those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires…. the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”  [Rom 8:5-7 NIV]

In Romans Chapter 8 (NIV), Paul mentions the Spirit 19 times – 19 times! It is one of the most amazing chapters on our partnership with the Spirit of God.

Father, I don’t want to live in my own strength, or my own thinking. Spirit, make my thoughts Your thoughts, enable me to walk daily in partnership with You.  Amen.

Years ago I served as a Hospice Chaplain in California prior to moving to Idaho. I was on call for the hospital chaplain and received a page asking me to report to the Emergency Department.  When I arrived, several nurses told me that a young woman had been brought in by her boyfriend. She was dead on arrival.  They had called the girl’s mother who was on her way, and I was asked to be with her when the news was broken. Upon hearing the news, the mother began to sob.  She kept repeating one word, “Why?”

“Why?” is not so much a question as it is a cry of pain. We often make matters much worse when we try to answer as if it were a question.  I simply held her for a while.  Eventually her pastor arrived and seeing him she again began to sob out “Why?”

His response was to tell her harshly that Christians are not to ask why, that it is a lack of faith. As they turned to go, I slipped my card in her hand. A few days after the funeral she called, explaining that she could not stop asking “Why?” but felt she could not talk to her pastor.  I told her to pray every day and ask God either to grant her the answer to “Why?” or take away her need to ask.

It was more than a year before I heard from her again. She called to tell me that she had been praying every day and that over the past weeks she realized that God had taken away her need to ask.  She had found a measure of peace.

God doesn’t always give explanations, but he always gives a promise. When Paul asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God did not. He did, however, give Paul a promise that His grace would be sufficient. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’”  [2 Cor 12:8-9]

God took away Paul’s need to ask. We do not live on explanations or answers to our “why?” questions, we live on God’s promises and His grace.

In the summer Bob and I often watch golf tournaments. Right now, the PGA is amid three tournaments that make up the FedEx Championship. Scottie Sheffler is the No. 1 golfer in the world and has had that title No. 1 for 149 weeks. We have been rooting for this young man since we watched him win his first tournament.

One of the words commentators often use to describe him is consistent. He seldom gets flustered. If he has a bad outcome on one hole, it seldom carries over to the next. He goes through his routine before every game – the same basic routine he’s used since he started golfing. While he doesn’t win every tournament, he is consistently among the leaders.

As I watched Sheffler play this past weekend, I was reminded about our consistency as God’s children. While I could not find that exact word (consistent), I did find Paul’s reminder in 1Corinthians 15:58. That chapter is the glorious chapter about the resurrection of Christ – and about our victorious resurrection in Him.

The chapter ends on this verse: “Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” [HCSB]

Our labor is certainly “not in vain.” Sheffler’s consistency recently earned him $18M without ever playing a hole, simply by being No. 1 this year. Can you imagine what our consistency will bring? What we are promised is a glorious inheritance and eternal weight of glory!

I went to bed Saturday night anticipating that I would sleep fitfully (as usual) in the neck brace. Fitfully would have been an improvement in the way it ended up. When I woke up, I was achy all over, especially in my shoulders and back.

My attitude wasn’t too great either! I decided that I would just stay home from church and nurse my aches and pains, whine a bit, and feel sorry for myself.

While I was planning all that I heard the Spirit of God whisper … “give in to this today and next Saturday night will be the same or worse.”

So, I went to church. I got hugs from people I love. I worshipped with my church family. I listened to a great message. And while I left with all the aches and pains that I came with – I left with a far different attitude. And my renewed attitude carried me through the rest of the day.

It is amazing how much our attitude affects our everyday life. That is why it is so important to do as Paul reminded … to “Make [our] own attitude that of Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 2:5 HCSB]

Today marks the halfway point between my surgery and my six-week post-op – when I will hopefully be given the news that I can remove the neck brace and drive again! I will still have some physical therapy and still need to be cautious for another few months … but to sleep without a brace! Oh that will be glory!

There is nothing like hope to make the going a little easier now. While that is true for my physical wellbeing at this moment in time, it is even more true for my spiritual wellbeing.

Remember what Peter wrote about in the beginning of his first letter. “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” [vs 3-5 HCSB]

We have a “living hope” now. It comes to us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” It is an “inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted and unfading, kept in heaven” for us.

That inheritance is waiting for us. Nothing can touch it, steal it, destroy it. No matter how difficult or annoying the things of this life, knowing what awaits us just a little way down the road gives us a hope that we can live in now.

2Corinthians Chapter 4 is a glorious chapter. It follows the chapter about our New Covenant ministry – a glorious ministry of the Spirit rather than the fading glory of the law. It begins and ends with the admonition to never give up!

“Therefore, since we have this [New Covenant] ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up.” [v1 HCSB]

“Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.”  [vs 16-17 HCSB]

The goal of the enemy of our soul is to make us quit. He knows he can’t overcome us, so his tactic is to pile on the problems and discouragements so that we simply give up!

How often we hear the verses that in Christ we have the victory, that greater is the One in us than the one in the world, and that in Christ we are more than conquerors. Those verses often create images of great warfare and amazing victories over evil.

Sometimes the greatest victory is simply to stay the course. “Therefore, we do not give up!” Amen

It is 5:47 AM, Thursday morning. I have posted my daily devotions for today, checked my bank statement, and reviewed my email. I slept fitfully in this neck brace, but thankful that at least I slept! There is another blessed day ahead of me.

I opened one of my news feeds and my eyes caught on an article. “Pain and Suffering Calculator.” Well, that certainly aroused my curiosity. Turns out it links to a website for an injury lawyer.

One thing my neurosurgeon said about this spinal decompression and fusion surgery was that it had a six-month recovery period. Then he said, “Most people at six months look back and say it was all worth it.”

I remind myself of that when I am uncomfortable or experience pain now. I remind myself of that when this neck brace becomes really annoying (mostly in the middle of the night.)

I also remind myself of what Paul wrote in Romans 8:18. The Holman Christian Standard Bible titles this passage “From Groans to Glory” and it begins, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” [vs 18]

Our Christian Walk is not always easy. Submitting our will to our LORD and Master, Christ Jesus is not always the way we want to go. But there is coming a time when we will “look back and declare that it was all worth it!” Gloriously worth it!

I caught a story on the news about a new trend for seniors, Virtual Reality Companions. These are Artificial Intelligence (AI) companions for seniors designed to combat loneliness and improve emotional well-being. They offer daily companionship, health monitoring, and cognitive stimulation.

The news story featured an elderly woman who was homebound. She demonstrated having a conversation with an AI generated companion. She said it alleviated her loneliness. I wanted to cry.

Loneliness is a real problem. And often the devices created to increase the ease of communication have only served to increase our isolation.

An AI device might be able to offer a verbal companion, but it cannot give a hug, or hold a hand, or wipe away tears. Only other humans can offer that. And let us not forget that God has commanded Christians to reach out to others.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” [Romans 12:15 HCSB]

Do you know someone you need to rejoice or weep with today?  No better time to do so.

Everything leading up to this spinal decompression and fusion surgery seems to have been designed to create fear. I was sent to a Peri-Op clinic with the purpose of coordinating all my meds, docs, conditions, etc. They ordered tests and those tests prompted other tests – including a nuclear stress test.

It was finally determined that I was “OK” to go ahead with the surgery. (I did have the option to forego it if I wanted.)

A few days prior to the surgery I started to chuckle. I thought well, “I’m going ahead with the fusion. I will either wake up in pain or wake up in glory!”

As it turned out, neither happened, I simply woke up! The pain didn’t set in until the next day and only lasted a few days.

Timothy Keller said, “All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.”  

Or as 2 Corinthians 5:8 says: “to be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord.”