Past Devotions

Isaiah 41:10: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” [NLT]

I’ve heard that there are 364 references to “Do not fear” in the Bible, one for each day of the year. “Don’t be afraid” is one of God’s primary messages.

In the Christmas story alone, there are four very noticeable “Do not be afraid” announcements. In Luke 1 and 2, the angels that appeared to Zechariah, Mary and then the shepherds told them, “Do not be afraid.” And in Matthew 1, God told Joseph in a dream, “Do not be afraid.”

Jesus warned many times that we are not to be afraid. He told us not to fear those who can kill the body but then have no more they can do to us. He told us not to be afraid because it was our Father’s desire to give us the kingdom. And He told us He was giving us His peace, so we were not to be afraid.

And still, we are afraid. Afraid when our circumstances change, afraid when we lose our jobs or our homes or our health. We sometimes fear what evil others might force upon us, or sometimes even the evil in our own hearts.

God has promised that He is our God. He has promised he will strengthen us and help us. He has promised to uphold us with His victorious right hand. If you notice in His promises, He doesn’t limit them to just some situations and abandon us in others. He will always do what is right, He will always be our Eternal Father. He will always strengthen, help, uphold those who love and honor Him.

Praise Him today for His promises to you – no matter your situation or circumstances.

Joy to the World, the Lord has come! That’s the Reason for the Season. I love how the Christmas carol “Joy to the World” ends … “And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.”

My outdoor nativity scene is up. My indoor nativities are out. I am sitting here late at night thinking about that first Christmas and the “wonders of His love.”

It wasn’t the heavenly choir or the brilliant light or the worshipping shepherds, nor was it the star or the caravan of Magi from the east that brought the “wonders of His love.” It was a carpenter, his teenage bride, a dirty place for animals and the birthing of a helpless baby in its midst. The Prince of Peace, the Glorious Son of God, born to the poorest of the poor.

That is how Christianity began. There were no grand cathedrals, no rich robes, no golden bells, or incense. There was dirty, fetid straw, and swaddling cloths that Mary would have brought with her. There was the bleating of animals and the stench of urine and feces.

Jesus came to the poor and the powerless. He still comes to the poor and the powerless. “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he said to the crowd. [Matthew 5:3]

There could not have been two more poor in spirit than His adopted father and birth mother, Joseph and Mary. There could not be anyone more poor in spirit than He, Himself, who gave up everything to take on our infirmities and limitations.

Let the “wonders of His love” capture your heart this Christmas season.

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” [Mark 16:15 NLT]

 “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” [Matthew 28:19-20 NLT]

 “Go! And remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” [Luke 10:3 NLT]

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ call to obedience is often preceded by the word “Go!”  And isn’t it interesting that our response to Jesus’ “Go” is often, “Who, me?”

Me? How am I supposed to go into all the world? I have responsibilities, and besides not everyone wants to hear the Good News. I don’t deal well with rejection.

Me? To go and make disciples means I must first be a disciple. That requires discipline and I’m sure some training, and maybe I’ll have to pick up my cross daily ….

Me? LORD, have you seen what happens to lambs who hang around with wolves!

Me? And how often His response is, “Yes, you.”

When we think about the birth of Christ Jesus our LORD, we don’t usually think about Joseph. In a way, he’s just there, rounding out the “Holy Family.”  We set his statue out in our nativity sets, but he’s not the center of attention. Even the shepherds that came that night and the wise men who showed up later get more attention than poor Joseph.

Joseph is just the background. Yet, God chose this man to be the protector, the guardian for His Son’s early years on earth. He chose him to teach Him a trade, to raise Him in the admonition of the LORD, to teach Him the Word of God.

The Scriptures describe Joseph as a righteous man. We know he was kind and compassionate. Before God informed him by an angel in a dream that Mary was pregnant not because of infidelity but because of the miraculous working of God’s Holy Spirit, he was going to put her away “quietly” rather than expose her to ridicule or scorn. [Matthew 1:18-22]

We know Joseph was obedient. He did what the LORD commanded him to do. When it became necessary to leave Jerusalem after the visit from the wise men and Herod’s avowed attempt to kill the newborn king, Joseph gathered his wife and child and fled in the middle of the night to Egypt and stayed there until God told him it was safe to return. [Matthew 2]

Read the account of Joseph in Matthew. Matthew must have thought him important for he concentrates on this man in the background more than any other aspect of the birth of our Savior. There were so many ways in which this all could have turned out differently, if Joseph had not been a man of compassion, obedience, and quiet strength.

When I think about examples of obedience in Scripture, I immediately go the obedience of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was so amazing for someone so young. Historians believe Mary was a young teen when she gave birth to Jesus.

When the angel Gabriel visited her to tell her about God’s plan for the birth of His Son, she was initially disturbed and confused. Unsure of how this would be accomplished, Gabriel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” [Luke 1:35 NLT]

Her immediate response was obedience. “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”  [vs 38]

Mary said yes to a call from God with a purpose beyond what she ever could have imagined. She could not anticipate what the future would hold for her or for her son. She simply said yes to what God’s asked of her.

“I am the LORD’s servant” should be the cry of every heart redeemed through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Mary’s “Son.”

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” [Philippians 2:12-13 NLT]

I am still thinking about obedience, something we seldom talk about anymore. One of the results of our salvation, obtained through the absolute obedience of God’s Precious Only Son Jesus is that we too learn obedience. [Philippians 1:6-11]

The promise of Philippians 2:12-13 above is that God is working in us! He works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit given on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit produces a desire in us to do what pleases God – and then He produces the power to carry out that desire.

Isn’t that an amazing thought! We are given the ability to please God through our obedience. I admit that my soul can get so ugly at times I cannot even “please” myself – let alone please God. But God doesn’t give up on me. He doesn’t write me off.

Instead, He provides all I need. He provides a desire to obey Him with deep reverence (not shallow!) and fear. And then gives the power to obey and to please.

Thank you LORD Jesus for your obedience which provided all I need so that I too can be obedient. Amen

I turned 79 years old today and to celebrate I’m off to have my every monthly infusion for the two stubborn auto-immune diseases that refuse to leave.

When I look back on this past year it seems I spent a great amount of time dealing with doctors, tests, surgery and hospitalization. I joke that I’m really suffering from “Early On-set Rigor Mortis!” The problem with that joke is that it hits too close to home!

In another year I will enter the next decade, my 80’s. I’m hoping to have that privilege. Psalm 90:10 declares, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty” but then it adds that, “even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.” [NLT]

When I look back there are good years and difficult years in the rear view. Life can be hard, full of pain and trouble. But life can also be wonderful, full of joy and purpose.

I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus when I was 26, 53 years ago. It was the best decision, the best way to live life. I was given purpose. I was given joy. I was given a promise that one of these days I really will “fly away.” More than anything I was given grace and mercy and the Presence of the LORD to accompany my days.

Thank you LORD for these 79 years. I’m hoping for 80 (or maybe even a few more!) But however many days there will be, I am so thankful to be Your child. Amen & Amen

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” [Philippians 2:12-13 NLT]

I woke up in the middle of the night singing the old song, “Trust and Obey.”  The song begins, “When we walk with the Lord In the light of His Word What a glory He sheds on our way. While we do His good will He abides with us still And with all who will trust and obey.”  And the Chorus declares, “Trust and obey, For there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.”

I have been thinking about obedience a lot lately. The word obedience seems to have disappeared from our everyday conversation (unless we are talking about canine training). I hear a lot of messages about trust and faith in God. I hear fewer about obedience. Yet you cannot have one without the other.

Nik Ripkin in his book, “The Insanity of Obedience,” recounts a story told to him by a man who was awakened by the Holy Spirit and told to gather a load of food and take it by horse and sled to a pastor’s family who had been left to die in a one-room hut in the frozen tundra. The man argued with the Holy Spirit that there was no way he would survive the trip and get back home.

The Spirit replied, “You do not have to come back; you simply have to go.” 

Obedience.

I received the all-clear on my neck surgery post-op last Wednesday (2 more to go between now and July). The pain in my neck is gone! Unfortunately, as I have told a couple people recently, my neck is the ONLY place without pain. Simply put, I hurt everywhere, every day.

I found an article recently that listed ten reasons why God allows the elderly to suffer. They were good reasons, things like spiritual growth, divine purpose, encouragement for others, preparation for heaven, preparation for the next stage.

As I read through the article that morning (which I should have saved but did not), I agreed with every one of them. In the middle of the night as I struggled to sleep, I agreed a lot less!

Pain was sporadic when I was younger. Just before I turned 72 I was walking three miles in about an hour, getting 10-14K steps each day. Then it all came to a screeching halt. Two auto-immune diseases became my daily companions and pain became a lifestyle.

I believe God heals; I’ve seen Him do it! But as often as I have prayed for Him to change this, He so far has not. Still, I have found “value” in this stage of my life. I am dependent upon my LORD to do even the basic things. I have slowed down, and I sense His Presence with me more. And I have come to truly appreciate the promise in Revelation 21:4.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” [NLT]

“Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have.” [Hebrews 13:5 NLT]

Thanksgiving is behind us; Christmas is in front of us – followed by the beginning of a New Year. I will also turn 79 years old I a few days.

I am a bit sad (and maybe a bit surprised) that it took me almost 80 years to get smart. For too long I have lived this culture’s idea that more is better. I am realizing how shallow the life that arises from that idea is. Instead, I am truly discovering that “less” is often better and that simplicity is much more rewarding. (Maybe aging has shifted my perspective!)

Thanksgiving was spent with family. Our son, daughter-in-love and grandson had traveled from California to be here for the holiday. We had dinner at her parent’s home in Star. The home was beautiful, the food abundant and delicious. I sat at a table with Bob and our two grandsons, our daughter and her husband and the hosts. We talked and laughed. In the other room I could hear our two sons and their wives and a few others having a great time doing the same thing!

The following Sunday we repeated the experience with my Idaho son, daughter-in-love, her parents and our precious grandchildren and great grandson.

Celebrating is about people. Honestly, it didn’t matter what we ate, or whether we ate on china or paper plates. What mattered were the loved ones and the time spent with them. How precious every moment.