Past Devotions

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!

by TerryLema

“Be afraid, be very afraid!” is a quotation usually attributed to the 1986 horror film The Fly, written by the Canadian David Cronenberg, and starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis.

Hollywood and many book authors like to make us afraid. It is all supposed to be in fun. But the enemy of our soul is not aiming for fun when he sends fear our way.

His fear is designed to make us unstable, unreliable, and uncertain about everything. It is designed to hold our thoughts captive. It is designed to make us forget God’s promises and replace them with doubt and worry and anxiety.  His fear seeks to immobilize us, and its goal is to steal and destroy our spiritual growth and kill our spiritual life.

Paul tells us that the fear the enemy sends our way is more than emotion.  It is a spirit.  “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” [2 Timothy 1:7 HCSB]

One of the primary ways to overcome the “spirit of fear” sent by the enemy is to replace it with the “Fear of the LORD.”

While that sounds strange—to replace fear with Fear—it is effective and true. The key to overcoming fear is total and complete trust in God. It is faith and trust that come from knowing Him and knowing that He is Good. The “Fear of the LORD” is a reverential awe of God and a respect for His power and glory, as well as His wrath and anger. It grows in us as we grow in knowing Him.

It is a total acknowledgement of all that God is and all that He does – and CAN do!  It is bowing down to Him in respect and reverence knowing that He is all-powerful and nothing man (or the devil) can do to us can overpower our God.

Psalm 56:11: “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me”

Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”

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More Than Enough

by TerryLema

I started reading in Romans 15 this morning. It begins with an exhortation about bearing other’s burdens. Paul than turns his attention to Jews and Gentiles glorifying God together in the faith. As I was reading along, I got stuck on Paul’s prayer in verse 13. (I was reading in my new favorite translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible.)

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

Where I got stuck was on that phrase, “overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The New King James translates that as “abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The Greek word for abound or overflow is perisseuó. It means to be over and above, to abound, to exceed the ordinary, to go beyond the expected measure.

Paul prayed that his readers in Rome would not just have enough hope to get by but would go over and above what might be expected.

My interpretation of that prayer is that when we place our faith in the wonderful God of Hope, He will fill us with a joy and peace by the power of His Indwelling Spirit. We get so filled that we begin to spill out hope over everyone we meet.

That prayer is so important in our time as we live in a day characterized by hopelessness. So much going on around us saps us of hope on a regular basis. We are bombarded with accounts of death and devastation, economic and medical challenges, dueling politicians and fallen heroes. It is difficult to not let the “bad news” overpower hope.

But for the person who placed their faith and trust in the God of Hope, we are to abound in it – to have so much of it we have plenty to share.  Who can you share your hope with today?

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A little light please!

by TerryLema

Part of me has always wished I could see just a little farther down the road. I do not need to know everything (although I tell myself often that I might!), but maybe just some warning about the difficulties ahead or the trials or the losses or the ….   Well, yes, I guess I do want to see a lot farther down the road and know everything.

I tell myself that is because I do not like surprises, especially the unpleasant ones. And I prefer to always be prepared and organized. I am a planner. I want things nice and tidy.

Nice and tidy, however, seldom describes life. Unruly and chaotic are often more apt descriptions. Maybe if I just knew a little more, I could keep the unruly and chaotic to a minimum.

God, however, seems to disagree with me. He does not show me what tomorrow holds. Maybe because of that passage in Matthew 6: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” [vs 34 HCSB]

My LORD, however, does light my path in other ways. He promises in that great Psalm 119 that “[His] word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” [vs105 HCSB]

As I set out each day, His Word lights the darkness in front of me. He provides assurances, promises, warnings and instruction in His Word. I know that no matter what is in front of me, He is my protection and security. And I know that whatever might try to sneak up behind me, He is there also!

Isaiah 58:8: “Your righteousness [Christ Jesus] will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.” [HCSB]

Amen & Amen! Thank you, LORD!

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Did God Get It Wrong?

by TerryLema

I like a little light reading in the late afternoon or before I go to bed. Something that is clean and fun to read but does not require a lot of brain power. I think better in the morning, so afternoons and evenings are usually not spent studying anything deep or difficult.

I have found a couple “Christian adventure/romance” authors and having been going through their series. They are light romance, boy always gets the girl, and all this is done amid dealing with the difficulties of life and remaining close to the LORD.

As I read them, I hardly ever expect to find anything that makes me go “whoa!” but the other night that is exactly what happened. Something one of the book’s characters said stopped me in my tracks.

“God always gets it right. When we worry or question Him, it’s like we think He’s gotten it wrong.”

Wow! I mean WOW! Those last few words shook me … I wondered how many times I thought God got it wrong! And then the implication of that line of thought … if God could get this wrong, what else might He get wrong!

Of course, God gets absolutely NOTHING wrong. He is perfect in His thinking and character. He knows all things (omniscience), even what might happen because of choices (both good and bad) that we and others might make. He considers all things and always makes the right conclusions and sets the right path for each of us.

I must trust Him completely (He has proven over and over that He is worthy of that trust.)

And I must convey that I trust Him completely to others, otherwise my lack of trust, my worry, my doubts might communicate to others that I think God has gotten it wrong.

Forgive me, LORD, if I have ever given others that wrong impression.  Amen

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27 Percent

by TerryLema

I got a haircut last week, same place I always get a haircut. It is not one of those fancy salons. I do not have much hair left after the meds took over, so I cannot see myself paying a lot of money for a haircut that usually takes about five minutes.

The haircut for seniors was $11 about three months ago. Last week it was $14. I am not particularly good at math, but I think that is about 27 percent increase. 27 percent! It made me question what surprises the next three months will hold. So much uncertainty!

Inflation is on the rise; everything costs more than it did a year ago. Unfortunately, for many of us, salaries are not keeping pace. As I look ahead, I see rising medical costs, and our income going down as I leave the church at year’s end. It has been difficult not to worry about how we will meet our expenses. Yet, I know, not just from God’s Word but from past experience that worry does nothing good.

Matthew Chapter 6 ends with a series of thoughts on worry.  Beginning in verse 28, Jesus tells his listeners three times, “Do not worry.”

“Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.”  [v28 HCSB]

He tells them about the birds of the air that their heavenly Father feeds, and the lilies of the field that God has made glorious.  He reminds them that those who do not know God worry about all such things, but for those who do know God and seek His Kingdom, all those things will be added to them. [vss 26-33]

Then Jesus ends this passage with the admonition, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” [vs 34 HCSB]

God has always made a way for us … and I am trusting Him to make a way once more.

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It’s Factored In …

by TerryLema

I found a meme on Facebook the other day and reposted it. I could not resist!  It said, “When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity.”

The author who originally published it said that was the “most comforting thing I’ve ever heard.”

Of course, Paul put it a bit more eloquently: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” [1 Corinthians 1:26-27 HCSB]

The purpose is so that “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” [1:31 HCSB]

I am sure that some in reading that passage in 1Corinthians think that while there are “not many wise,” there at least may be a few wise … and just maybe they might be one of the few. But I know differently; I am fairly sure I am one of the “foolish things of the world.” I am quite sure I am one of the “weak things of the world.”

Still, in my foolishness and in my weakness, God works and I rejoice in that.

Our LORD is so wonderful. He takes us, the foolish and the weak, and He empowers us with His indwelling Holy Spirit. He teaches us through His word and our experiences how to cooperate with Him in serving Him and those He puts in our path. That is our calling.

And as the meme says, God has already factored in our “stupidity,” along with our desires and failures and successes and trials and inabilities and talents and everything that makes us who we are. And as He weaves all that together in His purpose for us, we bring Him glory.

What a God!

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Why is it …?

by TerryLema

Why is it that every time I buy something, in the next day or so, even next hour or so, it turns up cheaper somewhere else?

That happened this week.  I needed some things and had put off buying them because they can be a bit pricey. I finally gave in, checked around local sites, and headed to a store, picking up what I needed.

The very next day I decided to visit an online delivery site to reorder a couple vitamins and thought I would check if they carried what I just bought. They not only carried them, but they also sold them at half the cost.

That seems to be the story of my life. My timing is always off. Whenever we bought a house prices were high. Whenever we sold a house prices were low. I never can seem to get it right.

Maybe that is why God gives “freely.” He knows if He sold us what we needed, we would all be paying a different price, looking for a bargain, or most likely fall short of any asking price.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” [Romans 3:23-24 HCSB]

I received the greatest thing I will ever need, redemption, freely by God’s grace. I will never look around and say, “Why is it …?” and regret I did not look for a better offer somewhere else.

I have fallen far, far short of God’s glory. Yet freely He has given me a place in His family all because of Christ’s sacrifice. Oh, the marvelous grace of God!

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God’s Gonna Do What God’s Gonna Do!

by TerryLema

I am chuckling to myself this morning. A few Sunday’s ago, a gentleman came to church who had not been there for about four or five years (he had moved out of town). As soon as the service was over, he came up to the front to meet me, carrying a bunch of papers he had been writing on throughout the service.

He said he really liked one comment I made during the message but then proceeded to tell me that I needed “to preach out of Revelation because,” as he waved his arm around the building, “they are ignorant and need to know.”

He probably made that comment three or four times as he stood there with me. I politely listened, all the while I wanted to say something like “you haven’t been here for four years, how do you know what I’ve been preaching on?”  But I did not say that. I held my peace and thanked him.

I have given a lot of thought to what he said since that morning. Mostly about prophecy and how to approach it. I understand we are to be aware and be ready, but I will admit my view of prophecy is probably a bit off.

In Matthew 24, that great chapter of the Signs of the End Times prophesied through Jesus, multiple times Jesus tells them, “when you see ….” After telling them the signs that they will “see,” he commands them to be ready.  “This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [24:15, 33, 44 HCSB]

The introduction to the Book of Revelation also tells us. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” [Revelation 1:3 ESV]

So, here is my warped view. I think we are to read our Bibles through and through, at least once a year. I think we are to become increasingly familiar with it from the beginning, through the middle, all the way through the Book of Revelation. I think we are to become SO FAMILIAR that we will recognize and “see” things unfold – even if we do not understand them!  I think we will then be “ready” all the time for God to do what God is going to do!

I am not searching the headlines every day to see if something fulfills something written in the Scriptures. What I am doing is working to stay close to my Savior and LORD … that way when God does what God is going to do, I will never need to worry that I will miss it!

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It’s a good day to …

by TerryLema

I opened up my email inbox this morning and at the very top was an email with the subject “It is a good day to show someone you care.”

Of course, the emailing company wanted me to do that by buying and sending someone one of their products. But as I started to delete the email, I thought, you know, it is a good day to show someone you care.  In fact, God’s Word reminds us that we are to clothe ourselves with caring virtues.

“Therefore, God’s ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience ….” [Colossians 3:12 HCSB]

As I looked at that verse and those words (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience), I was struck by how often we think of these words as “feelings” or emotions. But are they only that, a feeling or emotion? If so, we can sit comfortably in our living rooms and “feel” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience without ever once showing someone we care.

I decided they must be more than emotions. There must be some action involved with each one. Then I found that “action” when I looked up the first couple words.

Compassion is the Greek word, oiktirmos. It means a deep feeling about someone’s difficulty or misfortune. And even more it is used of the deep feelings God has for all of us and powerfully shows and shares in those following Him.

If that was not enough, I went on to look up kindness, chrestotes. It is kindness that is also serviceable. It refers to meeting real needs, in God’s way and in His timing. It is the Spirit-produced goodness which meets the need and avoids human harshness.

I did not go any further. These two words are enough to command us to show, and how to show, others how much we care.

It is a good day to show someone we care … just as God has shown us how much He cares for us!

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If you can …

by TerryLema

One of the most poignant events in the life of Christ Jesus is found in Mark 9. The first thirteen verses of the chapter are devoted to His experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took His inner circle, Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. There He was transfigured before them. There Moses and Elijah met with Him. It amazed the Inner Circle.

The part of the chapter that always touches my soul comes next—when they come down off the mountain and are met by a desperate father with a son who was troubled by a demon. While Jesus and the Inner Circle were high on the mountain, this desperate father was seeking relief and healing for his son with the other disciples down below … and was coming up empty.

The father approached Jesus, and when questioned about how long the boy had been beset, responded. “’From childhood,’ he said. ‘And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’” [vss 21-22 HCSB]

 Then Jesus repeats the father’s words back to Him, “If You can’?” and adds His own, “Everything is possible to the one who believes.” [vs 23 HCSB]

 Immediately the father of the boy cries out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” [vs24 HCSB]

How often I have cried out as the father of this boy cried out—I do believe, I really do, but if there is any part of me that harbors even the smallest element of unbelief, then help me LORD!

And just as Jesus helped the father that day, Jesus helps me.

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