Past Devotions

We are at war. At church this morning we’ll be talking about that war.  It’s a spiritual war. With spiritual foes.  The Bible is quite clear, we are not at war with people. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Eph 6:12-13]

 One of the church’s greatest demands is to discern between the spiritual struggle and other social, personal, and political difficulties.  You can’t fight spiritual battles with earthly weapons; spiritual battles demand spiritual weapons. Too often we become distracted and begin struggling with human adversaries instead of using spiritual weapons of prayer and intercession.

As Christians, we must always remember that our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. “For [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [Col 1:13-14]

 There are only two citizenship domains, the “dominion of darkness” and the “kingdom of the Son.” We are either with God or we are against God. There is no neutral ground.  

As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are citizen-soldiers.  We are at war. Spiritual War. With Spiritual Foes.  

My news feed Thursday morning had two stories I actually wanted to read.  The first involved the massive heatwave hitting the eastern half of the USA. About 185 million people are under a heat watch as of Friday morning and the heat has the potential to break records and turn deadly over this weekend. Cities in the region are rushing to mitigate the heat for many of their residents. (According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], June was the hottest June on record for the world.) 

 The second involved homelessness in Los Angeles. More and more people are being forced to live in their cars as home prices and availability soar beyond the average persons ability to keep up. There are now companies parking “rental vans” along the streets. Renters have keys to the back doors, but not the ignition. That has various city councils scrambling to update ordinances.  

 Both articles made me wonder about God’s warnings.  2 Peter 3 tells us about those who scoff and wonder about the end times, saying “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  

 Peter reminded his readers that God can move in the blink of an eye; everything can change in an instant. Remember the flood which brought God’s judgment on the earth in the days of Noah? He also reminded that God is not slow in keeping His promise of judgment, He’s restraining His Hand because He doesn’t want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.  [vs 4-19]

 While God is restraining His Hand now, He won’t forever. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”  [v 10]

Our master bathroom was remodeled this past week. Everything new except the vanity base. The major problem was that old fiberglass shower. It wasn’t in very good condition when we bought the house in 2007 and it had not improved over the last 12 years.  It was evident that the original owners used a harsh abrasive to clean it. That removed the shiny protective finish. Continual use had only made it worse.

 We looked at simply re-finishing the old shower, possible, but the results have not proven very good or long term. There are companies that will put a new unit on top of the old one, but the configuration of ours eliminated that possibility. It seemed the only good, long-term option was to do away with the old and replace it with a brand-new shower unit (this time with something more resilient than fiberglass).

 As I watched the workmen rip out that old damaged shower and haul it away, never to be seen again, I thought a lot about my soul. As a young person I treated it harshly. I was arrogant and abrasive, sarcastic and rebellious. All that left my soul damaged, my heart hopeless. I longed to be different but no matter what I tried, nothing truly worked. I could not refinish or cover up my lostness. Then I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus, and everything changed.

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  [2 Cor 5:17]

 When I opened that door and allowed Jesus into my heart, I became new!  Not re-finished, or cosmetically covered up, but brand new.  Hope found me. Peace found me. Love found me. Life found me. I still struggle to be the kind of person I should be, of course, but now I’m not alone in that struggle.  I now have the Indwelling Spirit of the Living Almighty God with me to guide and keep me. Thank you, LORD!

This week is Amazon Prime Day(s). The giant online retailer is reducing the cost of just about everything. I did splurge. I bought a lightweight ironing board (yes, I still iron), and a new lightweight iron (since mine has sprung a leak). I also got a new Kindle book that I’d been looking at for only $1.49. Oh, and I ordered more recordable CDs for the church. Other than that, I’ve avoided the website temptations.

 Amazon has reached mega-status as a retailer primarily by catering to the consumer’s appetites. It sells everything that is sold by everyone else, but at discount rates. It has driven many of the brick and mortar stores out of business and is now infringing on delivery companies. Our neighborhood is flooded with Amazon “Prime” vans daily.  Amazon has become a giant and other companies now try to compete by employing its business model.

I wonder, however, if the Amazon “business model” hasn’t also invaded the church. Instead of manifesting the truth and supernatural power of our God, we have become too much like the world.  We cater to the world’s appetites.  We crave the world’s approval. We measure by the world’s standards.  We give people what they want, rather than what they need, often discounting the price of truth in the process.

 We have failed to heed Paul’s warning to Timothy about the last days and the people who have a form of godliness but deny its power.  “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”  [2 Tim 3:1-5]

 Maybe it’s time to re-consider our “business model.”

Ever look at a keyboard. You’ll notice that all the letter and number keys are always in the same location – they never change.  We can trust that “r” and “t” will be next to each other, and 1 through 0 will always be in the same order.

 The auxiliary keys, however, are a different story.  That little delete key is typically on the upper right, but the surrounding keys can be different.  Perhaps the delete key on your keyboard is next to the airplane mode key, or something else – like the print screen key. That’s where my delete key is and it’s not a good place for it.  Whenever I make a mistake and need to delete something, I often hit the print screen key instead – which on my operating system automatically saves my screen (with all my mistakes) out there somewhere in the clouds. 

 Thankfully, that is true only for my typing mistakes and on my Windows operating system.  It is not true for my sins.  God promised Jeremiah, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.“ [31:34]

 The writer of Hebrews thought that was such an important promise relating to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus that he repeated it in Hebrews 8:12.

 God also promised Micah that “[He] will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” And Isaiah reminds us that “[God’s] salvation will last forever, [His] righteousness will never fail.” [Micah7:19; Isaiah 51:6]

All my typing mistakes may be recorded and saved in the clouds. But my sins, Praise God, are forgotten and cast into the depths of the sea – forever! 

As I have aged, I’ve discovered some things are getting harder to do and I need to find alternatives. For example, lids on jars are now opened with a tool rather than hand strength. Small print needs a magnifying glass. Ripping open packaging requires a scissor. Threading a needle requires a needle threader and a magnifying glass.

 I’ve also discovered that somethings aren’t even possible to do anymore. I’ve lost my ability to jump. Now at 72 jumping may not be something I do on a regular basis, but I would so love to jump during song service when we sing the “Days of Elijah” and get to the part that says, “There’s no god like JEHOVAH!”

 So, I’ve learned to compensate by finding alternatives for the “harder” things, and I’m waiting until I get that glorified body to “jump” when the heavenly choirs start singing “There’s no god like JEHOVAH!”

Fortunately, our God has no such limitations. Nothing is too difficult or impossible for Him.  “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” [Jeremiah 32:17]

 We can look at the mess our world is in and bemoan that evil seems all-powerful and nothing can be done to stem the tide. Or, we can look at our Sovereign LORD, the Almighty One, and begin to intercede in power for righteousness and truth. Nothing is too hard for our God. 

 Maybe the reason so many people underestimate our SAVIOR and LORD, is because the church hasn’t done much lately to display His Almighty power. It’s time for a change!

Paul ends his prayer in Ephesians 3 with praise for the God who loves us, strengthens us with power and provides us with inexhaustible riches in Christ Jesus.

 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”  [Ephesians 3:20-21]

 Isn’t that the most marvelous promise? God is able, able to do, able to do immeasurably more, immeasurably more than all we can ask or even imagine. 

 Have we forgotten that? As we look around at the evil that seems to so often be on display in our nation today, have we forgotten how able our God is?  How able He is to do immeasurably more? Just because the church might have lost her courage to stand up for truth, doesn’t mean God has lost even one iota of His. Just because we have become complacent or despairing as believers doesn’t mean God has forgotten His plan for His creation, or His promises to His children. 

 He is forever and ever God! He reigns and one day (perhaps not too far away) every knee, every knee, will bow to Him. It’s time beloved to once again embrace that truth – He is able. He is able to do immeasurably more. Let’s start praying and acting like we believe that!

Today is the birthday of my former pastor and mentor, Jim Gardiner. This birthday he would have caught up with me at age 72, but instead of celebrating with us, he’s celebrating with the LORD. Many miss him.  He had a heart for God and a heart for people. He taught me, and a host of others, about grace and the love of God.

 “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” [Ephesians 3:17-19]

 God loves us. That simple statement is one of the deepest truths ever recorded in the Scriptures. God, the Creator of the Universe, its Eternal, Infallible Sustainer, loves His creation.  God loves us. Paul’s prayer is that we might somehow be able to grasp with our finite minds the width, length, height and depth of this infinite love. The more we can grasp that, the more we are filled with “all the fullness of God.”

 When my children were small, we hosted some missionaries from around the world for several weeks. There were seven of them. Three were from African nations and they taught my three children a simple song.  So simple, I still remember it.  “Jesus love is very wonderful, Jesus love is very wonderful, Jesus love is very wonderful, so wonderful now. So high that you can’t get over it. So low that you can’t get under it. So wide that you can’t get around it. So wonderful now.”

 I still can see them leaping and dancing with the children in our living room as they sang. I still remember the song. And I still am absolutely amazed by how true that song really is.  

Don’t you love listening to some people pray. I remember hearing one woman remark after someone prayed for her, “when she prays for you, you know you have been prayed for.”  It seems some people know just how to formulate their prayers in the highest way, while many of us struggle searching for the right thoughts or words. One thing I am sure of though, God hears all prayers, both the elegant and the less-than-elegant. I think they are all filtered through the Holy Spirit anyway so that when they reach the throne of grace, they are just right.

 I do love reading the prayers of Paul in his letters.  He seems to know just what to ask for when he prays.  There is an elegant prayer found in Ephesians 3. Since I’m focusing on that book to begin a study in September, I thought we’d look at Paul’s prayer over the next few days. 

 He begins: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  [Ephesians 3:16-17]

 One of the things we find in those glorious “inexhaustible” riches of Christ Jesus is strength and power “through His Spirit” in our inner being. Life drains us. The common stresses and frustrations of each day often leave us weakened, not just in body, but in our minds, wills and emotions. Our faith is assaulted constantly by our enemies—the world, our flesh and the devil. We would be totally defeated if not for the renewing, invigorating strength and power that is ours in the glorious riches of Christ Jesus.

 As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, we must pray for each other. It’s not enough to simply ask that troubles be removed, we need to remember to pray for each other for the power and strength to live victorious lives in Christ Jesus. 

July 12

“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” [Ephesians 3:8]

 This was the verse-of-the-day that was dropped into my email inbox one day this week. It is from Paul the Apostle’s letter to the church at Ephesus. It is one of his later letters, which we find are far weightier than some of the earlier ones.  We are going to study this letter at The Way Assembly in Middleton, along with Colossians, Philippians and Philemon this coming fall. Thus, the verse caught my attention, especially that small phrase, “unsearchable riches of Christ.”

 Have you ever searched for anything? The other day I lost the magnetic sunglasses that came with my regular glasses. Searched everywhere and found them buried in my purse (don’t ask). When I think about searching for something, I also remember the time we went clamming on the beach in California. We had to stomp on the sand and watch for a small waterspout to shoot up and then rush over and start digging with shovels as the clam burrowed deeper and deeper out of our reach.

 That’s not the idea Paul is presenting with the phrase “unsearchable riches of Christ.” God has not spirited away and buried those riches so we can’t find them. Neither is He moving them out of our reach constantly. These riches are unsearchable in the sense they are inexhaustible. We keep uncovering more and more as we search. The supply of riches in Christ Jesus never runs out, will never run out. I think we will be discovering wonderful riches in Christ throughout eternity. Hallelujah!