Past Devotions

Repent! Gk: Metanoeo:  It means “to perceive afterwards, implying to change.” Think of it as making a “Spiritual U-Turn.”

If you read Jesus’ messages to the seven churches in Revelation Chapters 2 & 3, you will see the word “repent” used eight times. The only churches not called upon to repent are Smyrna and Philadelphia.  Poor Ephesus and Thyatira are each told twice to “repent!”

One of the first things I’m learning about Pursuing His Presence in Revival for our church today is that the call to repent is still very much alive.  There is a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin. As seekers for God’s presence to awaken the church, there is a consuming recognition of sin both in the church and in our nation.  While that sin may not be mine personally, it is mine by association. I am a Christian and I am a citizen.  Just as Nehemiah, Samuel, Daniel, Moses and other intercessors identified with their nation in their day – and interceded in repentance – so must we if we want to see a spiritual awakening.

Repentance, as I said, requires a convicting awareness of sin. We don’t talk much about sin anymore. We talk about personal choices and discuss gray areas of behavior and attitudes. Sin, obedience, are words that are disappearing from our vocabulary – even in the church!  It’s time to resurrect them, beloved. If we don’t have an awareness of what it means to obey God, or a conviction about the consequences of disobeying God (sin), we will not have a spiritual awakening.  Honestly, I’m tired of slumbering through life.

Awaken! Repent!

I opened Facebook on Sunday morning and saw pictures of our youngest grandson. He had a birthday last week and we missed being there.  He also had a speech contest at school and scored a “red excellent ribbon.” We missed that also.

We have always lived far away from two grandsons; we are in Idaho and they are in California.  To drive there requires a full day going and another returning. It isn’t a trip we can make very often, thus, we miss a lot of their day-to-day lives.  Sometimes, like last week, we miss the special occasions also.

I hate being separated. I become envious when I look around and see other grandparents having everyday relationships with their grandchildren.  Yet I know that many of us are separated from our families; we are a very mobile society. People move and travel with job changes and economy fluctuations. Some of us have also suffered the loss of family members and the depth of that separation is so much greater.

As I ruminated over all this Sunday morning, I was reminded that the ugliest of all separations is the one we can experience because we have rejected God’s call to salvation. Hebrews 6 reminds us of some of the fundamental, basic elements of Christianity: repentance, faith, baptisms, the laying on of hands, resurrection, and one other – eternal judgment.  [vs 1-2]

Unfortunately, the modern church seldom reminds people that there is a significance to rejecting God’s salvation. Salvation is two-sided, to accept is resurrection from the dead into the very presence of God; to reject or ignore is eternal judgment. We need not constantly preach “hell fire & brimstone,” but we must acknowledge that there is a consequence to every choice—especially the decision regarding Jesus the Christ.

I was reading Paul’s letter to Philemon the other day – I know, who reads Philemon? I guess I do. I was reading in the new Christian Standard Bible. “I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.”

The NKJV reads: “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” [vs 6 NKJV]

We are to know [acknowledge] “every good thing that is in us” to the glory of Christ Jesus. By knowing these things our faith becomes effective. That led me to two questions. Just what are those good things in us?  And, if we don’t know or acknowledge those good things, does that mean that our faith is ineffective?

I can list a host of good things that comes from the Father. Salvation, redemption, righteousness, mercy, restoration are perfect gifts from the Father through Jesus the Christ; but, I look at those things more as done for us rather than a good thing which is in us. [James 1:17]

When I think of what is in us, I think of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart; I think of the fruit that is produced and abides.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  [Gal 5:22-23 NIV]

When we know those good things and acknowledge their existence in us (through cooperation with God’s Spirit), then our participation in and sharing of our faith truly become effective and bring glory to Christ Jesus. In other words, when people see that we walk how we talk, they’ll listen.

Last week was emotional for me.  I wanted to be in California for our youngest grandson’s birthday, but we couldn’t quite pull it off. Add to that other issues and by week’s end, sadness was my prevailing mood.

The Scriptures do not use words like sad or its opposite—happy. No matter which translation I searched, there were only a couple dozen references to “happy.” The Scriptures focus much more on “joy,” with hundreds of references in each translation.

My sadness last week was based on circumstances that were out of my control. Many times, circumstances produce either sadness or happiness.  The thing we must remember, however, is that our relationship with the Lord in any and all circumstances produces “joy.”

In his first letter, after Peter addressed the fiery trials his readers were experiencing because of their faith in Christ Jesus, he reminded them, “Though you have not seen [Christ Jesus], you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  [1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV]

That inexpressible and glorious joy [joy unspeakable and full of glory] resides deep within us even while our circumstances produce sadness or happiness.  That joy is produced by love and faith and salvation and our relationship with our Lord and King.

Father, I thank you for the deepest joy that resides always. Amen and Amen.

Every now and again I see a verse that simply reminds me of what we have in Christ Jesus – all those benefits for which Psalm 103 tells us to “Bless the Lord, O My Soul and do not forget!”  One such verse appeared as my daily reading in my email last week.

“He Himself [Jesus] bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; you have been healed by His wounds. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” [1 Peter 2:24-25 Christian Standard Bible]

Jesus bore the punishment for our sins.  We have been healed by His wounds.  The Great Shepherd has found us and brought us into His flock.  He now guards our souls.

Just those four benefits alone should be enough to bless the Lord down through the ages.  I especially love the one that “guards my soul.” Heaven knows I tend to expose it so often to things that would damage without that protection.

Too often, beloved, we approach God constantly demanding to be blessed. There is no doubt that we are blessed by God abundantly, but instead of grateful thanksgiving and blessing God for all He’s done, we act like little children in a toy store focused on getting more and more. Maybe it’s time we bless (praise and worship) our Shepherd and Guardian of our souls more abundantly.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits.”  [Ps 103:1-2 NKJV]

Fifty-one years married, as of today at 2 PM PST. The church we were married in was in the shape of a cross, with a raised altar in the very center. It was very large, so the crowd looked sparse with just a couple hundred attendees.

I remember it was raining and I had to run from the car to the church in my wedding dress and veil. I remember the rain drops spotted the satin dresses the attendants wore. I remember that the communion cup contained “real” wine, not grape juice! And I remember how difficult it was to kneel during the service in a wedding dress.

But the thing I remember most was the look on the bridegroom’s face when he turned around and saw me coming down the aisle. It was one of love and amazement and tenderness – so much so that it is hard to describe and impossible to forget.

I wonder, church, what it will be like when our bridegroom, Christ Jesus, turns and sees His bride. I have a feeling it will be a look we will never forget, one that is hard to describe, but impossible to forget.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” [Rev 19:6-8 NIV]

I love reading signs and email titles, headlines, etc. Often, people in their haste to say something that will attract with very few words, end up saying something hilarious. I drove past a sign anchored on the lawn of a memory care center last week, it said, “Walk-in’s welcome.” Huh?

One of my all-time favorites was a local restaurant’s sign, “Chicken Fried Stake.” When I pointed out the mistake in “S T A K E,” the person riding with me said that they probably didn’t have enough of the right letters to spell “S T E A K” correctly. Double huh?

One email subject that hit my inbox recently was, “Christ the King’s website finished!” I didn’t know that Christ the King needed a website?

Perhaps the worst though was on a pair of sneakers worn by LeBron James. One had “I’M” and the other had “KING” emblazoned on them.  Ah no, sorry, LeBron, Jesus Christ is King … you just throw a ball through a hoop.  It’s not even close.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.   His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns…. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” [Rev 19:11-12, 16 NIV]

Even so, come quickly KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! Amen.

I read a phrase in a book Saturday morning … “peace with disappointment.” That is what happens when people say, “Don’t get my hopes up!”

How many times has the church felt the promise of revival. How many times have we sought the presence of God in our services, but after a few small drops, we walk back into the desert again. “Don’t get my hopes up,” we say, “revival is for somewhere else, someone else, some other time.”

We make peace with our disappointments. Our expectation shrivels, and we go back to enduring “normal” again. You know “normal.” It’s when nothing ever happens in a service except what we planned to happen. We sing, pray a little, listen to a sermon, then get home in time for lunch.

Too often that has been my experience in church, sometimes even when I was behind the pulpit! There is something about giving up control [even to God] that is downright scary. But it’s time, beloved. We need more of the Presence of the LORD if we are to thrive in these turbulent times. We need to let go and let the Spirit of God have His way.

“The glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” [Ex 24:17-18 NIV]

Father, send Your Fire! We welcome Your Presence among us! Amen

Decades ago I attended a Women’s Ministry retreat and learned a little ditty from the speaker … “A bird can sing, on a wire that swings, because she knows how to fly!”

I don’t remember the name of the speaker, I don’t even remember the subject matter. I just remember that little jingle.  And, I am reminded of it all the time.

In our backyard we have cedar trees. We also have a large bird feeder, consequently, we have many birds that call our trees home. Doves, red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, and other cute little sparrow-sized birds eat at our table. The doves and blackbirds come and go, but the little ones spend the day. They latch on to the upper-most branches of our cedars and travel back and forth to the feeder whenever they get hungry.

Last Sunday I took a walk in the afternoon while the wind was 35 miles an hour. It nearly knocked me off my feet several times. When I got home I looked out back and the little birds were safely anchored on those swinging branches and riding out the wind. They didn’t seem at all affected by the gusts. Of course, they weren’t, they know how to fly!

How often the winds of life blast us. They seem to come out of nowhere and suddenly we are off balance, in danger of falling. But for those who know Christ Jesus, we are anchored no matter how strongly the winds blow.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” [Heb 6:19-20 NIV]