Past Devotions

I love walking on Mondays. I hate walking on Mondays. I try to do a 2-mile worship walk each day except Sunday. I get my 10K steps in most every day, but that 2-mile jaunt gets my steps up quickly. Then the remainder of the day’s total is usually garnered in 1K step increments. I used to be able to do 3 miles but with aging and balance issues I step more carefully and slowly. So 2 miles it is, six days a week, most every week.

After not doing that 2-mile worship walk on Sunday, I am eager to get going again on Monday. Can’t wait to fire up my MP3 player with my worship music and set out. That’s the part I love. The part I hate? Monday is garbage day in our area and the stench that emanates from almost every can is distracting (to say the least).

This past Monday I got past the cans and crossed over into a developing area where people are not yet living and not yet making garbage. A song came on my MP3, one I’ve heard hundreds of times. I began to sing with it, and as I did I began to cry and worship. Immediately, I was keenly aware of the depth of my own sinfulness. I remembered the words of David: “[The Lord] lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” [Ps 40:2-3 NIV]

I remembered the slimy pit, I remembered the mud and mire. I remembered what I was and would be again if He ever withdrew His grace from my life. I do not live in that pit any more, I live in the family of God by His grace. However, I realized as I walked and wept and sang and praised that it is a good thing on occasion to remember our pit since it makes us appreciate all the more the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the heights to which He has raised us.

I have been writing daily devotions off and on (mostly on) since 1993. That’s a lot of words about our Lord. I’ve tried to look around me and see God’s moving in the daily part of life, as well as in the Word. I think over all those years and with all those words I have surely repeated myself—a lot! If you’ve been reading these devotions for very long, you can probably testify to that. Some have said that I should incorporate them in a book. Not sure how to condense 25 years into a book.

For me, my daily devotion is just that a daily, current thought about Christ Jesus, my Lord. It’s like daily bread, fresh, new, each morning. I sit with my laptop, I read Scriptures, I look at the world around me, and I think about Jesus.

Yesterday, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to us … as seen in the seasons as they pass before us and in what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20. Today I read a couple verses further in Paul’s letter and was once again overcome with wonder.  “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  [2 Cor 1:21-22 NIV]

God has set His seal of ownership upon us. We are marked people, marked with the indelible seal of God

God is the One who make us stand firm in Christ His Son. God holds us firm, secure—the loving, strong grip of our Almighty Father.

God anointed us. We are no longer “not a people.” Now we are the people of God. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, His special people. Where we had no mercy, now the mercy of God has flooded our souls.

God gave us His Spirit as a deposit to guarantee what is to come. What is coming? Nothing less than living in the Presence of God for all eternity.

 I’ve probably said all that before. And I will probably say all that again. But today, right now, I am basking in all that as if it were the first time I’ve heard it.  It’s my daily devotion.

Summer has arrived. We had our first 100-degree day last week.  We have entered my least favorite season. I am not a summer person; I don’t like the heat.  It is only the beginning of those hot days of summer and I am already longing for autumn, my most favorite time of the year. Those of you who love the heat are reveling in it now – and hating the idea of its passing into autumn.

There is one thing that both heat lovers and heat haters can rely on, that is, God’s faithfulness. I know that summer will turn into autumn, and the heat lovers know that spring will turn into summer.  God has established the seasons in His faithfulness.

God’s faithfulness is established in other ways also. Listen to what Paul said to the church in Corinth: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.’ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God. [2 Cor 1:18-20 NIV]

All of God’s promises … ALL of God’s promises are “Yes” in Christ Jesus. We can say, “Amen (It is so!)” to them. Take a moment and think about that, really think about that.  What is the first promise that comes to your mind? We each will probably think of something different. I know what mine is, the first promise of God I ever read in Scripture after I was saved. It is the promise of God that I cling to in the times when I fail or struggle or face what seems like overwhelming difficulties.  Philippians 1:6:  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  [NIV]

God is going to finish what He started in me. That is “Yes” in Christ Jesus!  AMEN (It is so!).

Luke 12:35-37:  “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.”

The message in church this morning is about waiting.  As our text we are using the examples of two kings, King Saul and King David.

Saul wasn’t very good at waiting.  1 Samuel 13 tells the story of Saul’s battles against the Philistines. Samuel, prophet and priest, had told the king to wait for him. Saul did not. Instead, he usurped the duties of the priest and offered sacrifices. As soon as he did that, Samuel arrived, and Saul made excuses (aren’t we so good at rationalizations and excuses!). Samuel then delivered God’s message to King Saul … his kingdom would be taken from him and given to another … given to a man after God’s own heart.

David on the other hand was usually good at waiting on God.  I love the incident in 1 Chronicles 14:13-17. David already had victories over the Philistines, but here they were attacking again. Rather than just assume he knew what God wanted, David asked for God’s plan and the Lord gave it to him. He was to wait until he heard movement in the tops of the mulberry (or balsam) trees, and only then was he to move out in battle.  David followed God’s plan and waited. And God gave him the victory and made all the nations fear him.

Waiting is hard.  The very definition of the word “wait” implies a passage of time, and heaven knows we humans are not patient waiters. We are prone to take matters into our own hands, as King Saul did.  When tempted to do that, we should remember that Saul lost everything by not waiting.

The Scriptures are full of exhortations to “wait on the Lord.” The Scriptures are also full of promises that come to those who wait on the Lord. Read Psalm 130:5-6 this morning!

A long time ago, decades really, when our children were young, Bob and I hosted seven men who had come to Sacramento for Bible training. They were from Canada, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Indonesia, and two from the USA. One spoke very little English. One did not bathe regularly, as that was “unmanly” in his culture. A couple had no idea what was being served to them at mealtime since they had nothing like that in their own country. But all loved the Lord and were enthusiastic about serving God. They danced and sang with our children in the evenings. It was a great experience for them and for us.

I was reminded of the young man from Nigeria today, John Okoriko, when I read the article in the Christian Post.  It opened: “Church leaders in Nigeria have said that Christians are experiencing “pure genocide” as 6,000 people…have been murdered by Fulani radicals since January.”

The article went on to declare that 200 Christians have been martyred in just the last weeks. I wondered about John. I wondered about all our young men.  Are they still alive, are they still serving the Lord? What happened to them when they returned to their native lands.

At times we only have a short while to make an impact on people for the Lord.  We scatter our seed, we water the seeds already scattered. We may or may not see the harvest. That does not negate the command to scatter our seed to everyone in courageous humility.  We invested a few weeks into seven young men. They took our love and God’s love back to their home lands. I pray they were able to reap a harvest there.

Mark 4:3-20: “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”  Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  [vs 8-9 NIV]

https://www.christianpost.com/news/pure-genocide-over-6000-nigerian-christians-slaughtered-mostly-women-children-225655/

House prices are skyrocketing in our area, so are rentals, apartments, condos, etc. There are subdivisions going in everywhere (but most of the homes are large, fancy and priced out of range for many). Many families cannot find affordable homes. We know a family that is right now being forced to leave their affordable rental by the end of the month so the owner can fix it up and sell it. They cannot find any place available that they can afford.

Bob and I on fixed incomes are also finding it difficult to keep up.  As the value of our home rises more each year, so do the taxes and insurance. Last year’s 2 percent “increase” for social security netted $2 less for me, $1 more for Bob as our Medicare premiums rose and gobbled up all the increase.

We have talked about selling the house while prices are high, but where would we live afterwards? Apartments are just as expensive and even more scarce.  While it is bad in our area, it is even worse in others.  The America dream is rapidly becoming the America nightmare for a lot of people.

The values in our country have certainly changed.  It seems we have become a culture of greed and covetousness.  While we are wanting more and demanding more, we have lost sight of what used to be this country’s greatest asset … its people. Wealth is not what is important, people are.

Jesus told us to be careful about what we treasure. He was clear in Luke 12: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  [v 33-34 NIV]

As Christians, our treasure and our rewards are not of this world. It is what we do unto the Lord for others that matters. “Where is your treasure?”

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  [Eph 6:10-11 NIV]

Take a minute and read Ephesians 6:10-18. Notice a word that is repeated over and over … that five-letter word “stand.”

One of the hardest things to do sometimes is simply to stand. Much easier to walk or run. Standing in the face of fear, or opposition, or difficulties is hard. Standing when the winds of circumstances are blowing against you is downright tough. (Ever watch those weather reporters trying to stand and report during a hurricane? That’s what I mean about standing.)

Yet, standing is what we must do at times–standing firm in the face of false accusations, in the time of trials and personal attacks. I was listening to Rick Rigsby’s famous commencement speech the other day, “Lessons from a third-grade dropout.” I was reminded of the fortitude it takes to simply stand when he recounts toward the end of this video the last words of advice his father gave him. As they stood at the casket of Rigsby’s beloved wife, his dad said to him, “Son, just stand.”  Meaning “don’t ever give up.”

That’s what Paul is saying to us … son, daughter, just stand – don’t ever give up. Put on the full armor that God supplies and stand against the devil’s schemes aimed at you.  Just stand.

Beloved, just stand. Be the person God has called you to be no matter what comes against you!

Link     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg_Q7KYWG1g

I’m not a fan of the modern 4^th of July and I don’t care for fireworks. If you ask the man standing behind you in Walmart today with a slab of ribs under one arm and a case of beer under the other what this holiday is all about, he might not know. I remember a segment with Jay Leno on the Tonight Show where he asked people on the street what 4^th of July was all about. Most didn’t know.  When he told them it is Independence Day and asked “from whom did we gain our independence?”, he got some strange answers. One young woman said “China.”  China?

I am a back-east girl, native of Pennsylvania (one of the 13 original colonies), raised in a small town on the banks of the Monongahela River not far from Pittsburgh. As such, my history lessons did not center around the discovery of gold or settlement of the west, they centered around the founding of our nation, the signing of our Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and drafting of our constitution.

One of the greatest moment of my life was when I stood in that darkened chamber in the National Archives and read the words: “In Congress, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It’s not about BBQs and beer and burned bits of exploding cardboard. It’s about men, their sons and their fathers, who picked up their muskets and fought long and hard for the right to declare that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. And it’s about the women, their daughters and mothers who sewed flags and wrapped bandages, who cared for the wounded and sometimes saw their men brought home in a box.

If you have never read their declaration, you can do it today, this July 4th. Link:  https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

I was reminded again recently what a tough world this is. Please don’t misunderstand, I know that there is joy, love and goodness also. I see it in my God, in my family, my church family and even in the acts of strangers.  But weaving through those things I also find difficulties, injustices, unfairness and evil. When these things approach me, I can usually deal with them. When they approach my children, my grandsons, my beloved friends, I get angry.  Recently, I got very angry with the enemy of our soul.

I remember people telling me as a new Christian that if the enemy of our soul wasn’t actively working against me it was because I wasn’t actively working against him!  In other words, if I was an ineffective Christian, content to just coast along, there would be no reason to attack.  But if I was making inroads into the realm of darkness, I should be prepared for the enemy to notice and do everything to stop me.  Well, we must be making some inroads into that realm!

Prayer. I think the enemy cares little if we go to church and listen to music and messages. Certainly, he’ll throw a few stumbling blocks in our paths, but nothing too aggressive. But when we pray, oh my, that’s a different story. When we approach the throne of God with the confidence that God will hear and will respond, and that we will hear what God tells us (and be obedient to His command), then the attacks get a little more intense. Prayer really shakes up the devil and his minions.

We must remember when this happens that we aren’t fighting people, which can be a channel through which attacks come.  We are fighting powers we can’t see, spiritual powers in heavenly realms!  “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 NIV]

Beloved, keep up the good fight!  If attacks are coming your way, and they are not of your own making (smile!), then you must be making inroads into the realm of darkness for the Kingdom of our Lord and King.

Three little letters. They appeared on “MyChart” for the first time. I had lab work done for an upcoming surgery.  Last Thursday I received an email that “MyChart” (the patient electronic record for my health care system) had the results of my tests. I wasn’t too surprised by anything, most everything closely resembled my last lab work in April.  Except for those three little letters that appeared on my medical record. I expected the Diabetes II, alongside some other things.  I didn’t expect those three little letters – CKD.

CKD stands for Chronic Kidney Disease. Not only that, it was followed by the qualifier Stage 2. (What happened to Stage 1?) I immediately hit the internet and logged on to Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic websites to find the details of CKD. Apparently, there are five stages, and most people don’t show any effects until Stage 4. Still.

Three little letters. I do have one of the biggest causes of CKD with my Diabetes II. I also learned that the medicines given for Diabetes II can contribute to CKD. If that isn’t a Catch 22 I don’t know what is, both the disease (Diabetes) and the medicine given to treat it can cause CKD.  So, I’m on an extra special push to talk to my physician and to get my A1C even lower (if possible) with only diet and exercise.

Three little letters recorded in “MyChart” changed things for the remainder of my life. Immediately, I thought about the three little letters written in another book.  “Another book was opened, which is the book of life…. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” [Rev 20:12, 15 NIV]

Beside my name in “MyChart” you will read CKD.  Beside my name in the “Book of Life” you will read HIS, with the qualifier – FOREVER.

Beloved, three little letters will change things for you forever … make sure HIS is written next to your name!