Past Devotions

What a Wonderful Change

by TerryLema

The Sunday I was in Montana we attended service at the Harlowton Faith Chapel. The pastor spoke on joy in an unusual way. He did not use only Scriptures, but also songs, old ones as well as new ones. Since that Sunday morning one of those songs has taken up residence in my mind and it keeps replaying. It is one of the old ones, one I have not sung in church for probably decades until that Sunday in Harlowton.

The song’s title is “Since Jesus Came into My Heart,” and the part of the lyric that has been running on a loop in my mind is …

“What a wonderful change in my heart has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart!”

Oh, the truth found in those few words. My heart has been changed and that change is wonderful. I am no longer the angry, bitter, depressed, anxious person I once was. Gentleness has conquered. Kindness has invaded. Compassion has taken up residence. I am loved unconditionally by my Savior and that gives me freedom … glorious freedom … to chance loving others.

All this has taken place because Jesus, lovely Jesus, died on a cross for me nearly 2000 years ago. He took my shame, my blame, my guilt, my punishment. He took my death and gave me new life in Him. How could I not be changed when He came to me and in the power of His Spirit made me His own.  No longer an outcast, now a child of the Father.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” [Ezekiel 36:26 HCSB]

Yes, “What a wonderful change in my heart has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart!”

Collingsworth Family Since Jesus Came Into My Heart 2012 NQC - Bing video
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Old Friends, New Friends

by TerryLema

I guess I have done enough complaining about the air travel (although I may come back to it at some point!). Now I want to tell you about old friends and new ones.

The purpose of this trip was a difficult one, of course. I was going to visit old friends, not for a vacation, but for a Celebration of Life for a man who died far too young. I knew it would be a difficult journey but was honored to be asked to officiate.

It was good, even in the midst of sorrow, to see old friends and loved ones. It was wonderful to put my arms around people I have known and cared about for many decades now … to see their families, to meet their children. I spent time just asking questions about how they are doing and talking a bit about my favorite subject, our Savior and LORD, Christ Jesus.

I also got to meet “new friends,” people who shared the same love of God as I have. A lovely lady picked me up in Billings when I landed and drove the 100 or so miles to where we were staying. We had a wonderful conversation … of course, about our shared love of God.

On the day of the service, a loving couple took me and another friend who came from Arizona to their home for breakfast. This was the day of the service, and it started off in a very peaceful, gentle way because of their graciousness. During the day, this couple took us from church to lunch, back to church for the service, to the reception and back to our lodging … all the while providing a haven of peace for my spirit. I am so appreciative.

What I discovered, or perhaps simply remembered, is the amazing sense of family that exists between people who love the LORD Jesus.

1 John 1:7: “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” [HCSB]

This past weekend was an expression of the fellowship we have with one another because we walk with our Savior and LORD in the light!

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Not for the faint of heart …

by TerryLema

I do not imagine air travel is much fun for anyone. A gentleman in front of me on my Billings to Denver flight was a frequent flyer for business. He was commenting on the “delay” we were experiencing when Denver air traffic held our plane on the ground since they had a deluge of planes already trying to land at Denver. They were trying to clear some air space for us … that was a comforting thought!

He remarked that this was becoming all too common, and he just wanted to get off and go home!

I found that this trip was an especially humbling one.  Two other trips, combined with this one, show my decline. The first trip I was healthy and fit, and even spent time waiting between flights to stride around the terminals to get my “steps” in. The next time I used my cane, but still was able to manage in the terminals and getting on the planes without assistance. This last trip was different, I needed the wheelchair assistance.

It is sobering to see my reflection in those air trips. It was apparent that I was now classified as “old and feeble.” Please do not get me wrong, I am greatly appreciative of all the help I received, not only during the fights, but while visiting in Montana.

It is just moving from “healthy and fit even for my age” to “needing a lot of assistance” is a humbling experience. It is moving from “having the grace to give” to “having the grace to receive.”

Yet, at various times in our lives, we must “have the grace to receive.” Those times may be temporary, or they may become permanent for the rest of our lives.  Only God knows that.

I Peter 4:10: “Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God.”

 Sometimes we serve others as a good manager of the varied grace of God. Sometimes we are served by others. Either way, God’s grace is flowing as it should.

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As unto the LORD

by TerryLema

Travel by air today is difficult, more so when you cannot walk long distances. I had six wheelchair assistants. One young man was from Ethiopia, only in the country for about a year. He studied concert piano for years, but COVID hit shortly after his arrival and now he was pushing people around the Denver airport in a wheelchair.  He was fast though and needed to be for the long distance we needed to do in about 20 minutes (including a train from one concourse to another).

Another was a pastor’s daughter and while we waited for luggage we talked about the LORD.  She liked my “Amazing Grace” mask and told me she met a lot of Christians in her job and was so pleased to know there were so many of “us” out there.

Two others were also immigrants to this country, a young man in Boise, and a middle-aged woman in Portland, both of them delightful. They were happy with their work. I know, I asked.

Then there were two airline employees filling in at an airport without wheelchair assistants. They were both pleasant and helpful, but both complained just a little bit about the airport dismissing the wheelchair attendants about a year ago and how this now was part of their job description. They did it, but you could tell, they did not enjoy it.

I was reminded by each one of these attendants about how much our attitude and thankfulness affect our everyday lives.

Colossians 3:17 commands us that, “whatever [we] do, in word or in deed,” we are to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

I do not know what motivated the young man from Ethiopia to be happy pushing wheelchairs after studying concert piano most of his life. I think I know what motivated the young Christian woman, you could see the love of the Savior all over her face when she talked (she was wearing a face shield, not a mask), her smile was frequent and lovely.

I do know that our attitude about what life has handed us will affect not only our own wellbeing, but also those for whom we work, and those whom we see each day—whatever we do!

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I’ll fly away … Oh Glory!

by TerryLema

Well, I am home after going to Montana to officiate the Celebration of Life for a wonderful young man, whose marriage to my friend’s daughter I also officiated nearly 23 years ago. It was one of those bittersweet occasions. There was the sadness following the death, and the sweetness seeing old friends and making new ones in the LORD.

Everyone in the small towns where I stayed and visited were so kind and loving. I have many thoughts about the service and about the wonderful people I met.

But this morning I am thinking about the air travel. Boy, am I thinking about the air travel! Four flights. Five times embarking or disembarking the planes from the tarmac via steps or small ramps. Three times using a jetway. One 45-minute delay. One race through Denver Airport. One flight with nothing, not even water, three with drinks only.

Thankfully, I ordered wheelchair assistance.  My connection in Portland was from one end of the C-Concourse to the other. My connection in Denver, after the 45-minute delay was from the far end of Concourse B to the far end of Concourse A, via a train! I would never have made that one without an amazingly fast wheelchair attendant!

It was sometime during that last connection and flight that I started singing to myself that old song, “I’ll Fly Away!”

Then I started to laugh. I told God I hoped my flight on “Rapture Air” was better than our current airlines!

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV]

“I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away. When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away”

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Montana!

by TerryLema

Tomorrow I am flying out to Montana. I have to be at the airport early in the morning. I am not going on a vacation; I am going to officiate a Celebration of Life for a young man. (44 yrs old)

I have been preparing for the trip for about a week now.  I am not as young as I used to be, so air travel is a bit harder than it used to be. I have to account for not just what to wear, but for meds, for all my diabetic supplies, getting a cane through TSA security.

I have to think about what to check and what to carry on.  I need my laptop to pull together everything for the service, and I do not want to check it. I have to figure out how to carry it so that it is available to be screened the way TSA wants. It is not light; I will probably have to put it in a backpack.

Then, of course, there is the difficulty of lay-overs and the amount of time I have between flights … can I make it with just a cane between gates, will I have time to use the restroom, should I ask for a wheelchair or transport of some kind?

Lots of things to think about that have absolutely nothing to do with the reason I am going. That is … I need to honor the young man being celebrated and I need to bring words of comfort to his family and friends.

As I made my preparations for my flights, as I made my preparation for the Celebration of Life, I reflected on two especially important things about life.

One, we need to make sure we are prepared for that “final flight” when we exit this life for our eternal one. Have we surrendered our life to Christ Jesus? Do we know where we are going?

Two, we need to make sure our family and friends know we are prepared for our eternal life. We should never leave them wondering if we have given our life to Christ.

I will be offline from March 18 through March 23.  See you on the 24th.  God bless!

 

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All Things

by TerryLema

Most Christians are familiar with this verse found in Romans 8: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28 HCSB]

Many of us have it memorized. And many of us have repeated it to others, or even at times to ourselves.

It showed up as my verse of the day last Saturday and gave me much thought. My conclusion?

It is much easier to memorize and repeat this verse than it is to live it out in the midst of “all things.”

When my “all things” are comfortable and joyful, I find it far easier to see how God is working them for my good. When my “all things” are difficult, or harsh, or things that I do not want in my life, I find it a constant challenge to see how God can bring anything good in their midst.

Still, I am one of those identified as “called according to His purpose,” and that promise that He will work in my “all things” for my good is for me … it is a promise of God, so it is “yes” and “Amen” even when I am struggling with the current day’s “all things.”

I realized this morning as I looked back on my life, that at 74 I have all manner of “all things” in my rearview mirror … and that it is much easier to see all the good that God created in the midst of them now than it was to see it while I was struggling through them.

God has proven Himself true over and over again in my life, and He will continue to do so.

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Sing!

by TerryLema

I was reading a list of philanthropists and their giving. The list included Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Bill and Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the giving was in the billions of dollars.

Of course, these people are extremely rich in worldly possessions and are generous with what they have. What most of us are able to give monetarily pales in comparison.  That brings up the question, “Is generosity a matter of money only?”

We tend to associate the word generosity with financial giving, since that is what we see so often, but a generous spirit is so much more than just about money. It is about what is in our hearts.

David reminds us in Psalm 13 that our God is a generous God.  “I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously.” [v6 HCSB]

His generosity is shown to us in so many ways. We receive salvation as a free gift based on His grace. We receive mercy, and compassion, and kindness. He gives us His Spirit to indwell us to lead us in all His ways. He lavishes wisdom upon us when we simply ask Him for it. He provides comfort when we sorrow, and joy in the midst of our tears. He lifts us up when we fall and forgives us when we come to Him in repentance.

He does all that because He loves us, and His love is a generous love.

So, what manner of person should we be if we are made in His image?

We should reflect His generous nature to our world in our patience, understanding, respect, and willingness to give the benefit of the doubt. That is but the beginning of being generous … after we learn that, there is so much more!

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Enthusiasm

by TerryLema

I am retiring in December. Some people think that means I am done working. Not the case. I “retired” from St. Luke’s Health System in 2014 and I still worked. I worked temp jobs for the State of Idaho a couple years in a row after Luke’s and “retired” from those, and I am still working. I am old, so of course, I do not quit jobs, I “retire” in the eyes of others.

To be sure, I may be “retiring” from full time pastoral ministry, but I am not “retiring” from service to the LORD. Paul put that in perspective quite well in Colossians.

“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” [Colossians 3:23-24 HCSB]

As Christians, “whatever [we] do,” we do it as “done for the LORD.”  We do it not to receive an earthly reward, such as a paycheck, but looking forward to that eternal reward in our inheritance in heaven.

And according to the Holman Christian Standard translation, we are to do it “enthusiastically.”

The Greek word means literally “do it from the soul,” and comes from a word meaning “the vital breath of life.”

“Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.” [Genesis 2:7 HCSB]

Whatever we do in service to the LORD, is to be done as if it is that vital breath of life given us by God!  Enthusiastically, it is!

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Tomorrow, tomorrow …

by TerryLema

I am revising the song from “Annie” a bit as I sing today: “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, your [only] a day away!”

Tomorrow is 14 days following my second COVID-19 vaccine. You may be a non-vaccine person, and that is your choice, but Bob and I got the vaccine as soon as it was available to us. It was recommended for us by our family physician because of our age and health conditions.

What it means is that tomorrow I can safely visit my grandchildren and get hugs & kisses now according to the CDC guidelines. (I got to hug my oldest grandson this past Thursday as he came for a visit from Portland. I did it without fear, figuring I was close enough to “tomorrow!”)

And in about a month, we are going to California and I am going to hug my California grandsons without fear!  I have not seen them since December 2019. It has been a long, long time between hugs & kisses.

Proverbs 17:6 expresses what I (and probably most grandmothers and grandfathers) feel … “Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly.”

 I am so thankful to God for my three grandsons. I love them dearly. I hate that they live far away. I hate that this virus kept us from seeing them for so long.

I am also thankful for the vaccine that is giving us the freedom to get the hugs & kisses that we so long for!

Thank you, LORD, for this blessing!  Amen.

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