Past Devotions

I Crown Thee …

by TerryLema

Rumors abound that Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain might step down this year. If that happens, Prince Charles, who has waited a long time will be crowned King. Prince William is waiting in the wings behind him for his shot at the crown, and his son after him. Then, of course, there was all the talk about Harry, who gave up his royalty and is now living in Hollywood with his wife and son (and if you read the tabloids, not too happy with the outcome of his choice).

I guess, that is life in the royal spotlight. I would not know much about it as I am not royalty – well, not British royalty anyway. The royalty I share with you is far different. There is no waiting in the wings to be crowned, we already have been.

“He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with goodness; your youth is renewed like the eagle.” [Psalm 103:4-5 HCSB]

My life began in the pit of sin and despair and it will end in the royal halls of heaven. When my Savior died on that cross, he opened the pit through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the Right Hand of the Father and made a way from that pit into the very presence of God Almighty.

We now abide in Him and have been crowned with faithful love and compassion. We are satisfied with His goodness and one day these mortal bodies which are so fragile here will become like His glorious body, never to diminish, fade, fail or die again.

I think, all things considered, I will take the royalty offered me by the King of Kings and LORD of Lords rather than anything this world might offer!  Ah, now that is a green pasture in which to rest today. We are sons and daughters of the King!  Amen.

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Do Not Forget …

by TerryLema

If you are looking for a quiet resting place today, take a walk in Psalm 103. It begins: “My soul, praise Yahweh, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits. He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases.” [Psalm 103:1-3 HCSB]

It is so easy to forget. Last night I forgot our nighttime medications. I was getting ready for bed when Bob asked, “Did we take our pills?”  Nope, I forgot. So, I asked him to remember to remind me to remember next time. Hopefully, one of us will remember.

The LORD’s benefits to us are very real. The psalmist lists two, forgiveness and healing. We could probably list many more, rest, renewal, the promise of a future and a hope, peace that passes understanding, an inheritance in the saints, new mercies every morning. That does not even scratch the surface of blessings found in the LORD.

Still, it is easy to forget. The things of this life are often louder or seemingly more intense. They distract and pull us toward them. Will I lose my job? Can I afford groceries or gas? Can I feed my family? Will I get this virus? Will my employer provide protection? Will I die? Those are just a few 2020 distractions, not to mention the regular ones, like cancer or loss of a loved one, aging, or rebellious children or …?

The psalmist provides the best way to not forget God’s benefits by reminding us to praise the LORD, to bless His Holy Name. To command our soul to praise our LORD is to put God’s blessings foremost before us. To do so drives the other things into the background.

There is nothing like praising God to find the renewal we need in those green pastures beside those still, quiet waters. Praise Him today, beloved, and see if the things of life that challenge us most are not rendered silent before Him.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=praise+music+youtube&cvid=43d7834433d84b4abf3cac5844dfb53a&pglt=803&PC=LCTS&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dpraise%2bmusic%2byoutube%26cvid%3d43d7834433d84b4abf3cac5844dfb53a%26pglt%3d803%26FORM%3dANSPA1%26PC%3dLCTS&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=B31EAAC8A6F497BFE0EFB31EAAC8A6F497BFE0EF&FORM=WRVORC

 

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Ready or Not, Here I Come …

by TerryLema

I remember what fun I used to have with the neighborhood children when I was a child. We would all gather outside after dinner and before bed. We would ride bikes, play games, jump in the autumn leaves. One of the favorite things to do was “hide & seek.” When it was our turn to be “it,” we would hide our faces and count to 50 or 100. Then open our eyes and yell “Ready or not, here I come!”

Then “it” would search for those who were hidden, sometimes finding everyone, other times there was that one kid that was never found. He always had the best hiding place. No one ever got him, look though we might. Finally, “it” would give up and declare that kid the winner. It was so much fun to be the one that was never found!

As I read Psalm 86 the other day, verse 5, reminded me of those times of “hide & seek.” “For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call on You.” [HCSB]

That verse reminded me that our God is never the one looking to remain hidden. When we yell, “ready or not, here I come,” our God yells back, “I am ready, here I AM!”

Then he opens His loving arms wide as we race to Him. So often the choices I make in life in my attitudes, words, and actions, drive me to seek my God for healing and forgiveness. And He is always ready and waiting in those green pastures to forgive.

What a wonderful promise to rest in today. That even in our failures, our God is ready to welcome us into His loving arms. Ready to provide the forgiveness and healing we need. Ready to love us and remind us we are His children.

“Ready or not, here I come …!”

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This is my desire …

by TerryLema

I love the ocean. It is a place of peace and rest to me. I love to just sit and listen and watch the waves as they break on shore. Mountains are great, and I always see the majesty of God in them, but the ocean, ah, that is the place I long for so often.

At the ocean I also think of those stories where someone finds a bottle washed on shore with a note. And, I remember those fables where someone finds a “magic lantern” and accidentally rubs the sides only to find a genie appear that grants three wishes. Ever wonder what your three wishes might be … win the lottery, find true love, start 2020 all over again?

I do not think I will ever find a magic lantern or be granted three wishes. I have, however, found the desires of my heart. I found them not by the ocean or in the mountains, I found them in the green pastures by the still waters. It was not a genie that gave me my desires, it was my gracious Good Shepherd.

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” [Psalm 34:4 HCSB]

Our LORD gives us our heart’s desires. It took me awhile to understand what that means. It does not mean He grants me the selfish wishes I might ask a genie, it means He comes and places within my heart His desires for my life and as I grow to love Him, His desires become my heart’s desires.

I find that now instead of wealth or worldly security or fancy things, I simply want to love Him and be loved by my LORD and Savior Christ Jesus. I want to do the things that please Him, hear Him call me His friend. I want to bring others to Him and remind them of the wonderful power and grace they find in His Spirit. I want to see my world touched by His love, mercy, and grace.

Those were never my desires before knowing Him. They are my desires now. Christ Jesus, my Master, gave them to me and I cherish them above all else. Amen & Amen.

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Do We Really Want Good News …

by TerryLema

I receive two news updates in my email inbox each day, one from a local source and another national. I would be lying if I talked about all the “good news” they send. Each day lately, it seems the news gets worse. Recent news talked about how a warming world affects people across different continents with hunger, how the virus endangers at-risk children, the challenges of rural policing, and the adjusted upward estimate for destructive hurricanes this year. None of which I would call good news.

Still, there is good news. It comes from a different source. “The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.” [Isaiah 61:1 HCSB]

Our Savior and LORD, Christ Jesus, brought to us the Spirit of the Living God. He came anointed with good news for the poor (and before God we are ALL poor). He brought healing to those who are brokenhearted, liberty to those held captive by sin, shame and guilt, and freedom to those in bondage to bitterness, addictions, hatred, and distress.

If there was ever a green pasture to refresh us during all this bad news, it is the Good News of our rescue. We have been set free. The Good News, the anointing of the Spirit of the LORD God has come and is available to us – if we want it. If we remain in bondage to anything, it is our own choice to do so.

I realize that is a difficult, even a hard statement – that remaining in bondage is by our choice. As difficult as it is, it is also true. Freedom is offered to us, but it is not forced upon us. We can choose to be free, or we can choose to remain as we are. Of course, I also know that it is not always easy to choose freedom, liberty, good news; we must work with the Spirit of the Living God for that freedom. But those things that are the most difficult are usually the most valuable.

Do we want to be free? Do we want to lie down in those green pastures of Good News? Or would we prefer to remain in the barren wasteland of brokenness?  The choice really is ours.

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To Walk and Not Faint …

by TerryLema

We live in an area where eagles come during the year to make nests and have their babies. We even have a town, Eagle, Idaho, alongside the Boise River named to reflect the large number of bald eagles that make it their home. When you see these eagles flying along the river you cannot help but think of the Scripture in Isaiah that we so frequently say, sing, or claim.

“Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” [Isaiah 40:31 HCSB]

We want to soar with eagles. We so often fail to do so. Most of the time we are walking, or even stumbling through life. We get weary, worn down by trials and difficulties. This year, 2020, has certainly been a year when that has proved true for so many. So, I take heart in the words of Oswald Chambers.

“The life of faith is not so much one of mounting up with wings of eagles, as it is a life of walking and not fainting … faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”  

 I am thinking about walking besides those still waters today, following the One who is leading me. I am claiming that promise of God that despite the struggles, I can walk and not faint because my LORD God will renew my strength.

No matter what this day, this week, this month, or this year holds for us, whether personally or as a nation, our God is leading us, remains with us, is in us, to strengthen us. No wonder we love Him so!

(Take a moment and read about Chamber’s life and that of his amazing wife with the link below.)

https://www.gotquestions.org/Oswald-Chambers.html

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Never Forsaken …

by TerryLema

I have two friends who ended up at the same medical specialty clinic. We each have a different medical issue, although they are similar. One of us has rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one osteoarthritis (OA) and I have polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). We were each sent by a different primary care provider to this arthritis clinic. And each one of us was abandoned in a different way.

My RA friend was abandoned by the specialist who decided he did not want to work as hard, so she was given over to a physician assistant. My OA friend was simply dismissed with the message there was nothing they could do for her.  I was rejected because my symptoms were not backed up by lab results (in other words, they thought the pain and fatigue were all in my head). We were abandoned.

Many of us have faced abandonment, by parents, siblings, spouses, or friends. Some of us were abandoned by employers. Some by schools. Some even by churches. Abandonment is a common occurrence in life, and it often leaves lasting wounds and scars that run deep. We develop trust issues. We wonder if something is not inherently wrong in us that drives people away.

That is why one of the most precious green pastures promises of God is found in Psalm 9.  “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh.” [v9-10 HCSB]

God has not, will not, abandon those who come to Him. The LORD, Yahweh, remains a refuge, a place of security and trust to those oppressed by others, to those in times of trouble.  Everyone else in life may walk away from us, but our LORD Almighty, our Father God, our Savior and King never will. He remains eternally faithful.

Let that promise refresh your heart today as you listen to “Great is Thy Faithfulness” with the link below.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNZS5H9aNlY

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I Gave Up …

by TerryLema

I take prednisone, not because I want to, but because it is one of the only meds that will control the symptoms of the two auto-immune diseases that want to dominate my body. Prednisone has its own symptoms, however, loss of bone density (which I have avoided so far), thinning hair (got that), moon face (on its way), and the delightful prednisone insomnia.

I usually fall asleep right away but wake throughout the night. Sometimes I just take a sip of water, roll over, and can go back to sleep. That is not always the case, and on those nights when sleep eludes, I will pray, read, move to the couch, surf the web, or outline a devotion or message. That was a recent night.  I thought about those beautiful green pastures and still waters promised by our Good Shepherd.

I have often heard about all the things people think we must give up when we come to Christ. In the middle of the night God reminded me of that one big sacrifice we must make … the one I wrote about yesterday.  When we enter the sheepfold through the Good Shepherd, we give up death.

The Good Shepherd makes us leave death at the door and He gives life upon entry into the sheepfold. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 6:23 HCSB]

We give up death and everything associated with it. Condemnation is sacrificed. Judgment is turned over. Shame and guilt are laid down. We give up darkness, fear, anxiety, insecurity, loneliness, alienation from God. Yes, we certainly do give up a lot.

And because He now fills us with His Spirit of Life, we have that lush promise that “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead …  will also bring [our] mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in [us].” [Romans 8:11 HCSB]

I am rolling around in the opulent green pastures of life today. My body may go one day to the ground, but I have life, life, LIFE in Christ Jesus. I left death on the other side of the door to the sheepfold.  Amen!

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Our Good Shepherd …

by TerryLema

I am seeking the care of my Shepherd today, looking for those green pastures and quiet waters He promises the weary and worn. What better place to find Him than in John 10, the chapter about our “Good Shepherd?”

Jesus says three things in that chapter that make my heart rejoice, but first he reminds us that He alone is the doorway to the sheepfold. There is no confusion, no uncertainty, no debate. We enter through Him, He is “the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him.” [John 10:7, 14:6]

But then Jesus goes on and tells his disciples what we will have when we enter His sheepfold. First, we have life, but not just any life – abundant life. When we enter that sheepfold, we give up death. It must relinquish its hold upon us because Jesus has made us alive in Him. [v10]

Not only do we have life, abundant life, but we have the assurance and the security that our “Good Shepherd” lays down His life for His sheep. No foe can harm us. We may face opposition in this life, we may even be taken from this life by the wickedness and evil around us, but we go straight to the loving arms of our Father God because God’s Son, Christ Jesus our LORD, gave His life on that cross for us. [v11]

The third thing Jesus reminds His disciples is that He knows His own sheep (and they know His voice). He knows us! He does not just know about us, or lump us all together in a group, or see us all the same. He knows us individually, our deepest needs, regrets, desires and wants. He knows our voice when we call out to Him and responds to us so that we grow to recognize His voice. [v14]

Ah, beloved, what a wonderful green pasture by a quiet stream to rest in today. Think about the Shepherd who opened the door, laid His life down for us, protects us, and speaks words of love, grace, and mercy to us.

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Gentle Shepherd …

by TerryLema

After reading 1 Samuel 16 yesterday and the choosing of David as Israel’s king, I started thinking about shepherds. The LORD often referred to Himself as shepherding His people Israel. David in his beautiful Psalm 23 gives us a glimpse of that.

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.”  [v 1-3 HCSB]

Right about now, in the second half of 2020, entering the sixth month of the world-wide virus-and-fear pandemic, I am longing for some green pastures and quiet waters. I need personal renewal. I need to know that I am on the “right path for His name’s sake” as a Christian and as a pastor.

The overabundance of problems and threats to our personal lives, personal freedoms, religious freedoms, alongside the social restrictions, and financial burdens wear down. We are assaulted on every side, told what we can or cannot do, whether we can meet, sing, work, or play. What resources we may have built up have probably long since dissipated. We are left weary, confused, and divided.

But the LORD is our Shepherd and our Shepherd knows when the sheep are weary, and He takes them to green pastures beside quiet streams to rest and renew. For us, beloved, as Christians that means we turn once again to the Scriptures to seek the promises of God. We allow God’s Spirit to lead us in prayer and meditation. We make room in our lives for some quiet time to just listen to the Voice of the LORD. We praise and worship with music, singing our thanksgiving to Him.

I need that. So, of course, I am going to take you along with me over the next couple weeks. Together, in God’s Word, in praise and worship with music, I invite you to those green pastures and quiet streams our Shepherd provides.

 

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