Past Devotions

Someone close to me once asked me what I would do if I ever found myself alone. Would I re-marry?  I said no; I am content when alone. They countered that I should not be so adamant about that. After a lot of back and forth conversation, I ended by saying, if God wants me to re-marry, He’ll have to write it on the wall!

 That reference, of course, comes from the Book of Daniel, chapter 5. King Belshazzar, a descendent of Nebuchadnezzar, threw a big party for a thousand of his nobles and their wives and concubines. As the party got going, they brought in the sacred vessels dedicated to the LORD that were stripped from Solomon’s Temple when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. While they drank from those vessels, they praised their idols. 

 Until God had enough … and suddenly a finger appeared and wrote on the wall.  Eventually, Daniel was brought in to interpret what the message (MENE, MENE, TEKEL PARSIN) meant. A portion of Daniel’s interpretation should warn and frighten us!

 This is the interpretation: “Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

 “You have been weighed on [God’s] scales and found wanting.” I do not even want to imagine hearing those words applied to me or anyone I love. To be found wanting by God Himself would be unthinkable. That said, it’s prudent to “weigh” ourselves against God’s Word and against the lives of the people of faith God lovingly approves of in His Word.  If we find ourselves “wanting,” then we need to repent and rededicate before the handwriting is on the wall. 

Happy Father’s Day to my dad (in heaven), my husband Bob, to Mike my son-in-law, and to Adam my son. All good dads. Not perfect, but dads who were (and are) good to their families. They love their children and seek their best. We honor you today for your sacrifice and commitment.

 And may I say a Happy Father’s Day to all the single parents out there trying to do both jobs. Single parenting is difficult, tiring, and often lonely. Men who must be both father and mother, and women who have to be both mother and father need to be celebrated and honored also.

 As Christians, we need to help our single parents. There is a part of Psalm 68 which always reminds me of that fact. The psalmist declares God to be “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Then he adds, “God sets the lonely in families.”  [Ps 68:5-6]

 If we are to mirror the character of our Father God on this earth – and that really is not an “if” but a “when” – we need to take care the fatherless, the widows, and the lonely. The church is meant to be a family. That means we are to pick up the slack where needed.

 We don’t always do a very good job of helping single parents or caring for people living apart from any natural family. It’s time that changed. How about taking the children of single parents out for a treat, a movie, time in the park, and allowing parents to rest, or do something they’ve been wanting to do. How about we check on those living alone, take them out to lunch or visit.  It doesn’t take much money, just a little time, to be God’s hand extended.

I’ve entered two drawings. One for the HGTV 2019 Smart Home which I think is in Dallas, and one for the St. Jude’s Dream Home, which is in a neighboring city.  The HGTV home is a free entry, the St. Jude’s home is a raffle to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital. It is the one raffle I enter every year.

 I stand little chance of winning either one, but it’s fun to dream a bit of what I’d do if I did win. I doubt I’d actually live in either. They are gorgeous, but they are big. Really big in comparison to our little house we have here in Caldwell Idaho. As I’ve aged, the idea of cleaning and maintaining a “big” house grows less attractive with every year. Still, one never knows.

 Truthfully, I’ve set my sights on an even greater home.  One I won’t have to clean or maintain. It’s located in a place where nothing deteriorates or grows dirty. I won’t need Merry Maids or a handyman. And the best part, someone else paid for it and has handed the title over to me.

 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.”   [John 14:1-4 NKJV]

 Our LORD has purchased a place for us where He is. He has deeded that “mansion” to us. It is all prepared specifically for each one of us.  As much as I might enjoy the Smart Home or Dream Home here, I think I’ll be a lot happier with my abode over there.  One of my dad’s favorite songs was “Mansion Over the Hilltop.”  He would sing it whenever my mother played it on the piano.  Here’s a link

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZ3qyYnzJ0 

Nothing like two old people who have been married for 52 years trying to paint a small bathroom, covering yellow with an off-white. He can’t bend well, so I’ve got the low parts, although he needs to help me up. He’s trying to finagle a ladder around the commode and shower and vanity, while I hold the roller pan as he paints the ceiling. He’s got cataracts so he can’t see what he’s missed, and my eyes are blurry from low blood pressure so I’m squinting while trying to get around doorframes and baseboards. After it dried, it was evident that off-white does not cover yellow very well, so we had to do it all over again. 

 Of course, all this has made us a bit testy with each other, especially as I point to the places he missed, and he lets me know about the places I dripped paint where it should not be.

I have read all those lovely articles about people who have been marred a long time who say they have never fought or argued. I bet they have never had to paint a small bathroom together either. I love my husband.  We’ve been together for 52 years, but I will never be able to look back and say we never fought or argued. We are strong, stubborn people with our own opinions and ways and often that creates conflict.

 But we made a vow that contained the words “until death do us part.” Solomon mentions in Ecclesiastes 5:5 that “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.”  He was referring to a vow made to God, but I don’t think I’m mishandling Scripture by applying that thought to vows made to others also.

 It hasn’t always been easy, in fact, it’s seldom been easy. There have been tears and regrets. But we’ve made it this far so I think we might make it to the finish line. That is, if we don’t have to paint another small bathroom together.

In 1 Peter, chapter 4, sandwiched between an opening section about “Living for God,” and the ending section regarding, “Suffering for Being a Christian,” Peter gave us a few things to consider.  Prayer. Love. Hospitality. And the last, using God’s gifts.  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  [1 Peter 4:10-11]

 Peter then sums up the “various forms” of God’s grace given two ways. “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

 The two ways we display the grace of God are speaking and serving. When speaking we speak the words of God. We don’t revise what God says or omit or add to God’s truths. We simply speak the very words of God with wisdom and grace. Some will like them; others will reject them. Our job, however, is to remain true to God’s truths.

 We are also to serve, not in our own weaknesses but with the strength that God supplies. Servanthood is the vocation of everyone who call Christ Jesus Lord and Savior. We are to serve from a willing heart, wherever God plants us. We are to minister to Him in worship and praise, we are to minister to others in love, kindness, compassion, and generosity.

 If we use the gifts God has given us to serve, God will be praised. He receives the glory – not us. “To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 4 has a small list of actions and attitudes which are to aid us in how he begins the chapter, “Living for God,” and how he ends the chapter, “Suffering for Being a Christian.”  The first two are prayer and love, then he turns his attention to ungrudging hospitality.  “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”  [1 Peter 4:9

Hospitality is hospitality in either the Greek or the English. It’s opening our homes, our hearts, to others without grumbling or complaining about it

In Peter’s day there weren’t any Motel 6s or Holiday Inns where travelers could find rest on their journeys. Peter encourages his readers to make their homes a bed and breakfast for fellow Christians

Remember how he began this section?  “The end of all things is near, therefore

Peter anticipates that the times are going to get tougher as we approach the return of the LORD. Not only do we need to engage in watchful prayer and covering love for each other, we may need to actually open our homes and hearts when the time comes, as we may find ourselves without church buildings, without homes, facing persecution – even martyrdom

As the family of God, the body of Christ, we need to look out for each other.

1 Peter 4 contains two sections, the first labeled in one of my translations as “Living for God,” and the second labeled, “Suffering for Being a Christian.”  Between those two sections, Peter outlines a small series of attitudes and actions that are necessary to do both. The first is about prayer, the second is about love.  “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”  [1 Peter 4:8]

 We are to love each other “deeply” or as the NKJV translates it, we are to “have fervent love for one another.”

 That means a love that never ceases. It never grows cold. It never diminishes.  That kind of love covers sins. That kind of love is agape love … the love God has for us. Just as we are in a covenant relationship with God to forgive (He forgave us; we forgive others), we share a covenant relationship with Him to love (He loves us; we love others).

 It is God’s love that covers our sins. God doesn’t display our sins to others, He doesn’t blab them on the evening news or write them across the skies. He could, but He doesn’t. When we repent, in His love He forgives us, then buries our sins in the deepest part of the seas, as far as the east is from the west. He grants us righteousness and dignity in Him to go on “Living for God.”

 He expects us to do the same. We are to love each other, forgive each other, protect each other in agape love. Once that sin has been repented of and forgiven, it needs to be forgotten in love.

I was reading in 1 Peter this morning, chapter 4. My Bible subtitles the beginning of chapter 4 as “Living for God,” and the ending as “Suffering for Being a Christian.”

In the middle there is a paragraph that lists a few attitudes and actions that we should note. When reading I thought these attitudes and actions were vital for both “Living for God” and “Suffering for Being a Christian.

The first is verse 7: “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” 

 The NKJV translates it, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

 The end of all things is much nearer now than it was in Peter’s day. If it was important to be clear minded / serious and self-controlled / watchful then, how much more so now.

Prayer is vital. Peter recommends prayer that isn’t frivolous. Somehow the idea of prosperity prayer seems at odds with “Living for God” or “Suffering for Being a Christian.” But good solid, serious prayer that flows from a heart that is controlled by the Spirit of God, watchful prayer that sees the dangers and traps around us – that kind of prayer is essential.

Holy Spirit, help us to have a serious prayer life, one that is dependent upon You and recognizes that “the end of all things is near.” Amen.

When we enter a covenant relationship with the LORD Jesus through our salvation, we also enter a covenant of forgiveness.  Jesus told us when we pray, we are to say … “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive the debts of others.”  [Luke 11:4]

The Apostle Paul reiterated the covenant in both his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians: “forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you,” and “forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” [Eph 4:32, Col 3:13-14].

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. There are numerous examples of covenants in the OT. Most have similar attributes. Both parties are responsible for keeping the covenant, they were often sealed by blood sacrifice, and there were consequences for not keeping them as they were a sacred commitment.

The covenant of forgiveness is simple. God forgave us; we forgive others.  Simple. But certainly not easy.

When someone hurts us and repents and asks forgiveness, it is a lot easier to forgive than when people don’t know or care that they hurt us.  The thing about the covenant of forgiveness, our part isn’t founded on what’s in the heart of the offender – only what is in the heart of the one granting forgiveness.

It doesn’t matter if the offender repents or not. It doesn’t flow from our feelings. It is an act of the will.  We choose to forgive others because we remember (and are eternally grateful for) the magnitude of forgiveness we received in Christ Jesus. 

I was reading Psalm 27 this morning. It’s begins with a very familiar verse – “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”  Whom, indeed.

One of my translations describes this song as “An Exuberant Declaration of Faith.” David expresses his confident faith in the LORD God Almighty even in the face of being surrounded by evil men. He trusts the LORD to rescue Him. Then David says, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD….”  [vs 4]

One thing. David wanted to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life for one purpose, simply to behold, to gaze upon his beautiful Savior. As I meditated on that verse this morning I realized that David sought that one thing – to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD – because he knew that is the only way his faith would remain strong “when evil men advance[d] against [him] to devour [his] flesh.”  [vs 2]

David knew that he would be safe in the day of trouble if he remained in the presence of the LORD, if he kept his gaze on God and not on the evil, the danger around him.  The writer of Hebrews tells us the same thing when he urges us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  [Heb 12:2]

The world is a dangerous place, it always has been, and will continue to be so for those who profess faith in Christ Jesus as LORD. Persecution and martyrdom have always accompanied faith. The only safe place is in the presence of the LORD, fixing our eyes upon Him, gazing upon His beauty.