An Oasis in the Desert

 

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland … I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

—Isaiah 43:19-20

Have you ever struggled with a problem from which you seemingly had no way out? Has the “road” of this problem been dry and unyielding, going on much longer than you ever imagined it would? Do you feel that you have no strength for the fight, no tears left to shed, no prayers you haven’t spoken a thousand times? Then this devotional blog post is for you. Please let me illustrate my point with three examples:

First example: I remember one school year during which I was assigned to teach in a school with poor discipline and I was assigned an age group to which I had trouble relating. It was a very bad “fit” for me, but I was plugging a hole in the schedule and the administration had shuffled teachers around, so that I had space in my week for the classes at this school.

I remember how poorly the students treated me, even though I did my very best and spent hours and hours looking for materials I thought they would enjoy. Nevertheless, nothing worked. It was a very long, emotionally draining school year.

Yet, amidst all the pain and lack of success with those music classes, at the same time, I had a group of students in my chorus who sang beautifully. They joyfully worked hard on the pieces I gave them and earned us a standing ovation at our spring concert. This group was my “oasis in the desert” during that awful school year.

Second example: I know a woman who had been an influential leader in her church, but when a new pastor came to the church, she realized he was not going to use her gifts as she had so effectively used previously. She was heart sick that she was set aside, yet she felt committed to the church and its mission.

Not long after that new pastor came, she was led to a new para-church organization that needed her leadership skills. Also, she received an elevation at her secular job and was given new leadership opportunities there. Though she continued on at the church and was saddened by the direction things took there, God had given her other things that made her heart sing. This was her “oasis in the desert” in that difficult time.

Third example: A devoted Christian pastor that I know went through the devastating loss of his ministry and his reputation through no fault of his own. The situation nearly ruined him financially, as well. Yet, in those days, he spent a couple of days a week watching his new granddaughter, who sat beside him in the car—those were days before car seats!—and with her little feet sticking straight ahead off the seat, she happily jabbered and sang in his presence. This was his “oasis in the desert” during a very discouraging time in his life.

While God doesn’t always take away our distressing wilderness experiences as quickly as we would like, in the midst of such a “desert,” He can provide those times of refreshing that keep us going. When the people of Israel traveled the Sinai desert for 40 years, yearning for the rich foods they previously had available back in Egypt, and fighting off hunger and thirst, Scripture tells us in Psalm 78:19:

… they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?”

This passage of Scripture goes on to report in Psalm 78:23-27:

Yet he [God] gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; … He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore.

The unbelief of these Israelites greatly disappointed God because He expected His own people to know that He could indeed spread a table before them in the desert. And, in fact, that is exactly what God did for them. Likewise, God is able to feed us and to give us a cool refreshing drink in our distress. When we go through a long drought that we don’t understand, we should put our trust fully in God. He can, and He will, provide an “oasis in the desert” for us!

 

 

Moses' Rod and Sampson's Jawbone

 

Then the Lord said to him [Moses], “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

—Exodus 4:2, 17

All of us can probably recount some of the ways God used Moses’ staff (or rod) in the Book of Exodus. The plagues God sent on Egypt began with his raised staff in obedience to God’s commands. The parting of the Red Sea and the water from the rock came as a result of Moses’ use of his simple staff.

Then, we can recall the story of Sampson, the judge God used to help Israel defeat the warring Philistine army, through the use of a simple jawbone of a donkey, as recorded in Judges 15. He used this available instrument to wage war and kill a thousand Philistines.

The men of Gideon, as described in Judges 7, used torches and trumpets at God’s command. In Judges 6:14, we read:

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

In yet another example, the boy David used a slingshot to defeat Goliath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 17. This is a famous event that most all of us have heard about.

Scripture tells of many more heroes. In each case, God used these heroes to do His work through something simple. Maybe you think God can’t use you because of some real, or perceived, weakness, some handicap, some lacking of finances, or the lacking of some special talent. Maybe age has crept up on you, and you wonder if God has finished using you. Do not be discouraged.

Instead, just remember the Bible stories where, in spite of weakness and lack, God used those individuals to great purpose and great power. Remind yourself of what the Apostle Paul said about the Lord’s message to him, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Well said, Paul. Thank you for these words of encouragement!

 

 

Digging Ditches

 

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha …

—from 2 Kings 3:15 NIV

Are you ready for a blessing? King Joram of the Northern Kingdom and King Jehoshaphat of the Southern Kingdom had been marching with their armies for seven days. But, they had no water for themselves, or for their animals. They knew that they could never fight their enemy, Moab, in this condition.

They asked Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, what they should do in their helpless, desperate state. I like the fact that before Elisha gave an answer, he asked for a harpist to come and play music. During the music, God spoke to Elisha so he could share the words captured in the Scripture verses found in 2 Kings 3:15-18:

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For this is what the Lord says: ‘You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.’ This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

Even though they asked Elisha to petition God in their behalf, these kings were not prepared to receive the blessing for which they were asking God. As Charles Spurgeon suggests, ¹ they needed to make a …

… believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held.

Let us ponder this scenario. How often do we pray, asking for God’s blessing, while we remain unprepared to receive the answer?

In a story recorded in Acts 12, when the disciples gathered for prayer for Peter’s release from prison, they were astonished when he stood at their door. Like them, we often pray without really believing in God’s miraculous ability to answer our sincere prayers.

If God has led us to pray for a blessing of deliverance, or enlargement, or wisdom, or protection, or peace, or anything else we desperately need, we must also show our faith in Him by preparing to receive that blessing. Although God may not use our expected methodology in answering our prayers, if we make a believing preparation to receive that answer, we will clearly see His answer come to pass.

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1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Morning and Evening. McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company, Public Domain. p. 275. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Shimmering Aspens

 

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

—John 3:8

I would like to share with you yet another tree image worth comparing to the Christian life. The Aspen, widely distributed throughout North America, nevertheless, has the thickest concentration in Colorado. These beautiful trees, not extremely tall, can live for 150 years or more and often survive best and recover best from wildfires. Their root system can live and reproduce by cloning for thousands of years. ¹

When God places in us His powerful Holy Spirit, He puts within us the capacity to withstand the storms of life. He knows such storms will strengthen us and ultimately prepare us for our being used to His glory. Even when we think the fiery experiences of life might destroy us, we can come through those experiences by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The leaves of the aspen shimmer in the wind and “quake.” They show a lacey daintiness that belies their strength. They move in the slightest breeze. Here’s how Joni Eareckson Tada compared them to a Holy Spirit-led life:

I want to be that sensitive to the Spirit’s touch, don’t you? A soul that is sensitive to sin, that resonates at the slightest movement of the Spirit. A soul that quivers when the breath of God all but touches it. How do we become this sensitive? Simple: be ready, stretch out your branches, unfurl your heart to God, for you never know when his wind will rise your way. After, all, like the wind, the spirit is uncontrollable and unpredictable. ²

Each season of the year, God has something to teach us. As we view His world of creation and ponder the lessons it provides, let’s pray He will help us grow deep and strong. Ask God to make us able to withstand the storms, and yet free and sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit, as we live day to day in order to declare His glory.

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1 Information about “Aspens” from Wikipedia and from an article by R. Scott Rappold in “Out There Colorado,” September 19, 1918, published in the Gazette. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

2 Tada, Joni Eareckson. More Precious Than Silver. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. Entry for September 11th. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Take By Force

 

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

—Matthew 11:12

Scripture gives us plenty of vivid examples of how Christians should persevere (Hebrews 10:36), how we must hold on to truth (1 John 2:20-21), and how we have been equipped with the armor for warfare against evil. (Ephesians 6).

The theme verse of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post urges us to seriously fight, in order to advance in our life of faith. Often, when we talk about warfare in our churches, we sometimes have mental pictures of Christians duking it out with one another. Unfortunately, we each can probably cite examples of this! But the kind of “fight” or “forceful advance” that the theme verse is describing refers to spiritual warfare where we followers of Jesus are aligned to fight against the evil powers of Satan and his emissaries. Ephesians 6:11-12 tells us:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.

This battle we wage to forcefully advance the Kingdom remains far too powerful for us alone. Christ has told us that we have the Holy Spirit within us to fight these battles against the forces of evil, for the Kingdom of Light, and for those who belong to it.

Our battle begins with earnest prayer. And, how do we pray with this kind of power? According to Ephesians 6:17, we take the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Praying portions from God’s written Word helps us forcefully take down the Enemy. In this Ephesians passage, the word “wrestle” occurs. Wrestling signifies perseverance and struggle.

In Genesis 32, we read the story of Jacob when he met God face to face. Jacob wrestled with Him all night long. This prevailing prayer allowed Jacob to receive the blessing of God and go on his way in victory.

All of us need the power in this present evil world to wrestle against sin and darkness: in our own lives, in the lives of our loved ones, in our churches, and in the greater culture. God wants us to forcefully claim the Kingdom He has purchased for us through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in His own victorious battle against sin. Let us pray that we can take up the task and powerfully engage for Him.

 

 

Deeply Rooted

 

“He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

—Psalm 1:3

Trees fascinate me. I love the variety, the shapes, the different leaves, and how the trees and leaves look in different seasons. Trees have often seemed like major décor in God’s world: decorating and defining space, shading, and quietly fluttering in the breeze.

I am impressed that, quite often, the writers of Scripture use trees to teach us, to describe a characteristic, and to liken the trees to some quality in our lives. In the verse at the beginning of this blog post, we see the offspring of a healthy tree: leaves and fruit. Often these elements supply life-sustaining food for humankind and animals. They also give evidence to us of health, strength, usefulness, and beauty.

Yet, we don’t often see the most important part of the tree because that part lies deep underground. In a healthy specimen, more than half of a tree can remain beneath the surface of the ground. There, it reaches out for nourishment from the soil and for deep springs of life-giving water.

Trees that have stunted roots, those that grow quickly and sprout early, often do not have the stabilizing power of those that have grown over many years. Jesus uses this principle in His well-known “Parable of the Sower” found in Matthew 13:5, when He teaches about the farmer’s seed:

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Our growth in grace follows a similar timeline. God plants His Spirit in us. But, God wants to grow us deeply into the “soil” of His written Word. If we immerse ourselves in Scripture, we will grow in our knowledge of, and relationship with, God and with His church.

We must not expect that our Christian lives, or our churches, or our ministries to “spring up overnight.” Rather, we must allow time, difficulties, and the seasons of life to develop God’s process of deeply-rooted spiritual growth.

Seeds of vegetation scattered on a soil with rocky places will spring up quickly and die off quickly because they haven’t grown deep roots into the nourishing soil. Likewise, our personal Christian spiritual formation that develops too rapidly—with unnatural enthusiasm and without putting deep “roots” into God’s written Word, without cultivating faithfulness to a local church, and without spending time with mature fellow Christians—will ultimately run the risk of burning out and of failing to produce useful spiritual fruit.

Instead, let’s find a beautiful large tree. And, let’s think of the seasons of its life and how deeply its roots must have reached. Then, let’s allow God to mature us spiritually in the same way. We must remain patient and look forward to the sweet fruit and beautiful leaves which will surely appear, if we remain patient in our pursuit of holiness.

 

 

The Child Proclaims The Parent

 

“Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:16

When people observe a male child, we often hear them remark: “He looks so much like his father.” Within a family, we can even more closely see the presence of family resemblances. “Aunt Roberta’s hands remind me of Grandma’s.” Or: “I see that Joey is losing his hair at just about the same age as his father did.”

During my years as an elementary and middle school teacher, I heard the following comment after colleagues met parents at conference time: “Well, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!” Our children do not only carry the physical characteristics of their parents. They also often carry the personality traits and life style traits, as well.

The sentence from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” that is stated at the beginning of this blog post, speaks to us in a similar vein. When people see our good deeds, they shouldn’t praise us, but rather they should praise our Heavenly Father.

Do we often think of the loving Creator-Sustainer God when we see His good works in the people that we know? Does our own behavior cause people to consider what we have done, as though Christ Himself is living His life in us and through us? Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it this way: ¹

The child tells us a great deal about his parents, does he not? The child not merely tells us things about himself, he tells us much more about his parents. As you watch the behavior of a child you are really learning a great deal about the discipline, or lack of it, at home. The child proclaims the parent.

Referring to Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus speaks about loving our enemies, blessing those that curse us, and doing good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us. Why should we do all these things? We should do these things, so that we may be known as children of our Father, who is in heaven. Again, Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes: ²

That is why we have to do it, that we may be like our Father, that we may proclaim the family to which we belong … So the next time you are in doubt about some course of action, whether you should do a certain thing or not, do not spend your time arguing with someone as to whether it is right or wrong, simply ask, “Is that sort of thing worthy of my Father’s son [or daughter]? Is it consistent with the family to which I belong, the Father who has put His own name on me and whom I represent among men?”

Parents hope for their children to represent the family well, to make them proud, to have others observe what the years of training, disciplining, and loving have produced. In the same way, our Heavenly Father looks at us and desires that we represent well the spiritual family into which He has placed us. Out of sheer gratitude, we should apply ourselves, more and more, to look like Him!

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1 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. God’s Way of Reconciliation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972. p. 334. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

2 Ibid.

 

 

Not An Easy Game of Telephone

 

“Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.”

—Joel 1:3

Nearly everyone has played the “Game of Telephone.” A simple phrase gets secretly passed in a whisper from one person to another. This continues around a circle until the last person receives the phrase and then proclaims it aloud. To the enjoyment of everyone, the phrase has often drastically changed from the original whisperer, as each person hears what the previous person told him or her, and then passes the phrase onward. The game seems more fun, the more outrageous the change that takes place in the course of transmitting the original phrase.

When the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ passes from one generation to another, we should aim at total accuracy above all else. We all know people who come from a long line of faithful Christians, but over the course of their upbringing they may have heard a particular twist to the gospel story that changes them into doubters or cynics of the faith—sadly, or even deserters from the faith. Other voices intervene in the transmission of God’s truth. In fact, one who sows lies joins the circle and, before long, the last hearer receives a message that completely distorts what the first person heard and understood.

How do we keep the children of this generation from being negatively affected by those who would try to influence them away from the true Gospel, the Truth of the written Word of God? Parents can’t always prevent their children from hearing wrong voices. However, if the parents have carefully orchestrated whom their children hear most often, and find ways to introduce them to winsome Christian family members and Christian friends, this latest generation will hear and carry on the faithful truths of the great heritage we have in Christ Jesus.

Please let me offer an example:

When I taught elementary music in a public school, folk songs became the major element of my curriculum. Not only did these folk songs supply the musical elements I taught, they also provided students with the “mother tongue” of their heritage as Americans. Scripture is the “mother tongue” of our Christian heritage. Our children need to hear faithful preaching and faithful teaching of God’s written Word. Our children need to come to know faithful Christians in the church, and our children need to observe these Christians’ lives of service and devotion to Christ and His Kingdom.

Yes, children need to see and hear people who have made the Christian life a firm foundation for their lives, and children need to see and hear people whose lives they can emulate. The children also need to learn the songs and hymns of their Christian heritage.

At the end of Moses’ life, as recorded in Deuteronomy 31, he wrote a song and instructed the Israelites to teach it and to sing it, as a testimony of God’s work. In similar fashion, Psalm 78:1-6 speaks of writing parables, in order to teach the next generation. Excerpts of those verses state:

I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old … We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord … he commanded our forefathers to teach their children so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

Not only has God given us the means to teach the next generation, He can give us the courage, wisdom, grace, and all else that we need in order to do so. Let us pray for this current generation of children. And, let us pray for those who not only begin their lives surrounded by the message of Christ, but who will carry it on throughout their lifetimes.

 

 

Appropriate Luggage

 

But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

—2 Corinthians 10:12 RSV

Christian speaker and artist, Joni Eareckson Tada, in her devotional book, Pearls of Great Price, ¹ recounts a thought she had while traveling:

I have been at countless airport carousels, watching as bags innumerable drop from the chute. Some of those pieces are very nice. Smart leather trim. Clean. New. In my daydreams I wonder what would happen if I swapped my old, scuffed-up luggage for one of those fancy pieces? I wouldn’t of course, But if I did, what might I find inside? Elegant clothes that don’t fit. Shoes I don’t like. Makeup that doesn’t match my skin tone. Jewelry that’s clunky and overdone. And what might I lose in this hypothetical deal? I’d lose my speaking notes, my favorite dress jeans, and treasured personal jewelry. I would lose the devotional book I love to read in the morning. In fact, while the bag I took might look better on the outside, it’s a no-brainer that the stuff on the inside wouldn’t be a good fit at all.

It’s easy to look at others and wish we could be like them: to have their talent, or their trim figure, or their jewelry collection, or whatever. And sometimes, all this comparison leads us to commit the sin of covetousness.

God has given each of us our own perfect milieu in which to live our lives. If He has made us to be a stay-at-home mom, He may not have given us the ability to speak in public. If He has made us to speak in public, He may not have given us children. God planned the whole package when He created us.

We must learn to see ourselves as God sees us: a perfect blend of everything He needs us to be. Even those things we consider weaknesses, He can use for His glory. Instead of looking longingly on what He has given others, we need to say with the Psalmist David, as found in Psalm 139:14, 16 NIV:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well … All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Let’s look in the mirror today, and thank God for all He has given us. And, let’s pledge to Him that we will willingly use all our gifts in service to Him! What a joy!

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1 Tada, Joni Eareckson. Pearls of Great Price. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2006. Devotional for September 6th. Please note that in each case, citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Overflowing Blessing

 

“Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.”

—Proverbs 11:11

Does God’s blessing overflow to others like a cup overflows into the saucer? Apparently it does. Please note these examples:

Joseph, son of Jacob, who served in Potiphar’s household, was blessed by God with favor and success in everything he did, but God also blessed Potiphar, as recorded in Genesis 39:5:

The Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

In the life of Daniel, the commander of the king’s guard intended to execute the wise men of Babylon because they could not interpret the king’s dreams. Because God’s blessing rested on Daniel, and because God gave him the answer to the king’s questions, Daniel pled with the commander to not execute the wise men. Instead, as recorded in Daniel 2:24-49, the king put Daniel in charge of all the wise men of Babylon.

The Apostle Paul, on a ship bound for Rome, found himself in a deadly shipwreck. The crew had given up all hope of being saved. In Acts 27:24, Paul announced to them what God had told him:

“Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”

As we drive our vehicles throughout the day, we should think about times when God has graciously spared us from an automobile accident. Did He not also spare others whom we didn’t even know? Have we been the recipient of blessing because God had His good hand on an employer of ours, or a public school teacher, or someone else whom God placed in a position of authority over us?

Eugene Peterson, in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, makes this statement: ¹

Blessing has inherent in it the power to increase. It functions by sharing and delight in life.

When Christians live under God’s blessing, those around them enjoy the positive effects of that blessing. As we process the impact of this reality on our lives, let us ask God today for His blessing, and watch to see how He blesses others around us, too!

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1 Peterson, Eugene. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Please note that, in each case, citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Return to Your Rest

 

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”

—Psalm 116:7 NKJV

What does the Bible say about the Christian’s customary position? Hebrews 4:9 says:

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.

I believe that Scripture teaches that Christians should normally live in a “resting” position. This place of rest shows reliance on God, joy, divine peace, and trust in God’s care.

I like the New King James Version of Psalm 116:7 because it uses the word “return.” God’s peace and rest remain our normal position.

In Psalm 116, the Psalmist had been overcome by trouble and sorrow. (His words.) He apparently had come close to death and God had spared him. In response, he speaks to himself and says: “Return to your rest.”

What kinds of things can you recall that have taken you out of your resting position? Maybe it was a deadly disease, a close call, a period of great stress, or the multitude of times when you just don’t know how a problem will turn out. Sometimes these “tempests in a teapot” can cause great strife in our lives.

When we turn to God in these times, more often than not, He hears our prayers, answers us, and “tends and spares us”—as the hymn “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven” teaches us: ¹

Father-like, he tends and spares us;
   well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
   rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Widely as his mercy goes.

So, as we experience the turmoil and terrors of daily life, and after asking God in prayer to see Him do some wonderful things, let us remember to praise Him. Let us also meditate on the many times He has answered our prayers. And, let us record in our journals those times in our lives, so we can return and remind ourselves of them in the future.

Then, let us rejoice in His goodness. He will allow our souls to return to their natural position of rest in Him.

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1 Lyte, Henry F. “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” Public Domain. This Hymn is included in various Hymnals that are copyrighted by the publisher of the particular Hymnal. Please take note that, in all cases, citation of copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Act of God

 

The Lord said in his heart, … “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

—Genesis 8:21-22

With great sadness, we mourn the loss of life whenever a so-called natural disaster strikes anywhere in the world. In our helplessness, we are quick to explain such events as an “Act of God.” Yet, when we look up a legal definition of what some people call an “Act of God,” we find this authoritative definition:

An event that directly and exclusively results from the occurrence of natural causes that could not have been prevented by the exercise of foresight or caution, an inevitable accident. ¹

It’s quite amazing to find that humans think what they call “Acts of God” are actually proclaimed to be inevitable accidents! Yet, when we speak of the four seasons of the earth’s climate that have never ceased since the creation, nor the periods of productive time we call “day and night,” we credit so-called “Mother Nature” for the natural order of things and the way those things should happen.

Is it not more wonderful for humans to observe the absolute regularity of natural things and give appropriate credit to the creative commands of the creator Triune God? I love the entire Psalm 104 that expresses so beautifully the way God has designed the order of things. Here’s a taste from Psalm 104:5-8, 12-14, and 24:

He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them …

The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sings among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: …

How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Now, those events described by the Psalmist are truly “Acts of God!” So too are the terrible tsunamis and earthquakes. None of the events that happen in nature can truly be called “an accident.” We have a God who not only created the earth and ordered every aspect of it, including its weather, but we also have a God who sends the storms and knows the boundaries for them. Even as we wipe away our tears of sorrow at the loss of life certain events may cause, relying on the truth God has revealed to us in His written Word, we can exclaim, as the Psalmist does in Psalm 71:16:

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord;

In His great mercy, grace, and love, may God comfort the families of those who suffer injury and death whenever the disasters of our sin-cursed world occur. And, even as we mourn, may we remember that God’s divine will remains perfect, and that His immutable power reminds us that the Prophet Isaiah declares in Isaiah 55:8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

______________________

1 West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd edition. Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group, Inc., 2008.

 

 

Never "Lost in Translation"

 

“But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

—John 16:13

At a public meeting, or on television, have you ever watched one of those interpreters for the deaf and wondered if they were delivering the exact message correctly? If the interpreter had an agenda other than to clearly express what the speaker was saying, it would be quite dangerous, right? Well, we have an enemy, Satan, or the devil, about whom 1 Peter 5:8 says:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Satan makes it his mission to misconstrue, mistranslate, misrepresent, and otherwise distort the truth, replacing the truth with what often merely looks like truth. The Apostle John, both in his gospel and again in his letters, speaks often about the importance of understanding the truth, and the way in which our enemy likes to derail that truth. In fact, in John 8:44b, the Apostle writes:

He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Throughout Christian history, churches and groups of Christians have been led astray from the truth by Satan’s wiles and distortions. They may have been well intentioned, even believing that they were devoted to the Kingdom of God. But, somehow they managed to get taken in by false doctrines that ultimately ruined their faith.

We’ve all heard of cults, whose members have been derailed from the truth by strong and manipulative leaders. Those leaders, much like their father, Satan, have schemed and lied in such clever ways as to persuade a whole group of people to follow in an ungodly direction.

Do we consider how dangerous a distorted interpretation of God’s written Word can be? Do we seek to avoid such distortions as the Apostle John warned? And, how do we keep from getting tricked into believing wrong doctrine and a misinterpretation of the truth?

When Jesus left earth in order to return to heaven, He told His disciples about the Holy Spirit, the “Counselor.” He is the one whom the Father promised to send to us.

Jesus taught, as recorded in John 10:1-21, about the true “sheep” who would know the voice of their true Shepherd. He urged them to listen clearly.

We too, gullible and weak—perhaps even more than the first disciples—need to listen carefully to the Holy Spirit when reading God’s written Word, and when listening to those who claim to preach and teach God’s truth. We need to weigh what we’re being told against the whole counsel of God’s written Word. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth.

Oh, Lord God,

Please keep all those of us who truly desire to follow hard after You to know the truth You share in Your written Word. Protect us from error, and help all who teach Your written Word to do so with integrity and clarity.

In the midst of the lies and confusion of our present world, may Your timeless truth come to us in these days with the power and the authority of the Holy Spirit.

We pray in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

 

When God says "No!"

 

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

—Luke 22:41-43

God does miracles in response to prayer! He is able! If you agree, can I get an “Amen”?

Most of us, if we’ve lived long enough, can say that God has performed miracles in behalf of us, or in behalf of people we know. He has spared us against impossible odds. He has come to our rescue with resources we didn’t have, or couldn’t see. He has healed those we love, even after doctors did all they could do and after the results they hoped for didn’t come. As a result of faithful prayers, those miracles came with a resounding “Yes!” answer from the God who loves us.

It is important to note that Jesus believed, as we do, that God always heard His prayers. In John 11:41-42, Jesus ended His earnest prayer with these words:

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me …”

But, while we always look forward to a “Yes!” when we ask God for something in prayer, in contrast, we must clearly understand that if God answered “No!” to what Jesus prayed in the garden at Gethsemane, certainly, we can also expect that sometimes He will most properly—and for our own good—say “No!” to us, as well.

As we watched my sister die of multiple myeloma, we prayed, in faith, fully believing that God had the power to heal her. She prayed that prayer, too. Yet, when we realized that God had said “No!” to our prayers for healing, we watched her—patiently resigned, submissive, and full of grace—bow to His perfect will for her and take her home to be with Him.

Did God still perform a miracle? He did, indeed! The magnificent way in which she endured her suffering and death had a profound effect on countless numbers of people who watched her yield to the perfect will of the God who loved her. Instead of saying “Yes!” to my sister, and to all of us who prayed for the miracle of healing for her, God sent incredible grace, beauty beyond compare, and a witness to all who knew her of the Resurrection power God had given her, and will give to anyone, who trusts in His provision for our sin.

Instead of saying “Yes!” to Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane, God sent angels to minister to Jesus. God gave Jesus power to face death. And, God gave His precious Son, Jesus, the power to shout victory over sin, death, and Satan on Resurrection morning. Through God’s perfect plan, God used the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus to bring with that victory the way for all of us to know God and to ultimately triumph over our earthly death.

As recorded in Luke 1:38, the young virgin, Mary—frightened, alarmed, and perhaps even shamed upon hearing about her one-of-its-kind pregnancy—instead of praying to have this burden removed, responded to the angel of God by saying:

“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

We can have the assurance that when God says “No!” to our prayers, in another more perfect sense, He always says “Yes!” to His power to work His perfect will in ways we could never imagine. From Jude 24 we read these words:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen.

 

 

In the Hands of the Master Carpenter

 

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

—2 Timothy 2:20-21

I have several articles made of wood that were finely crafted. They are among my prized possessions because of their beauty, even though they each have a useful purpose, as well. I can imagine the carpenter beginning with a rough piece of wood in which he spied some beauty even before he started. As he sawed and chiseled, rubbed, and finished the piece, it took hours of delicate and expert work.

Imagine a fine violin, a carved piano leg, an exquisite jewelry box, and Indian canoe, each built for a “noble purpose.” But, think of what the piece of wood has been through to get to the place of beauty and purpose. Can you see the floor under the carpenter’s bench, full of sawdust and wood shavings? The wood has gone through a complete transformation under the artistic hands of the master carpenter. He has cut out imperfections, chiseled away knots, and rubbed down and smoothed every inch to get rid of splinters. He has covered the piece with a carefully chosen finish.

We Christians resemble a piece of wood, carved and sanded by our Master. Theologians call this process “sanctification.” God sanctifies—or “makes holy”—those of us whom He has already called and justified. He has chosen us, not because of something He sees in us, but because He wants to fashion an instrument for His use out of our rough origins.

The process of sanctification, like the work of a carpenter, appears to us as torment and distress. Sometimes we think God has left more “shavings” on the floor than He has left the remainder of us to use. But, He understands the process much better than we, and can see the finished product: an instrument for noble purposes—His purposes.

Trusting Him in this lifelong process of sanctification, and co-operating with His means to get us there, will yield for Him the person He wants us to be. He will use us in noble and in ordinary ways to glorify Him, our Master Carpenter.

 

 

Trees

 

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

—Psalm 92:12-15

I love trees. I always have. I remember as a child lying in the grass under the huge maple in our front lawn and watching the leaves dance under the blue sky. As a teacher, I admired a line of trees that I observed every day on my way to school. I enjoy looking at the various shapes of trees, and marveling at the “perfect” contour of some of them.

As noted in the passage of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post, Psalmists particularly like the image of the tree in their poetry. In addition, the Book of Genesis speaks of two very important trees (Genesis 2:9). And, the Book of Revelation describes the River of Life in the Heavenly Kingdom with the Tree of Life on either side of the river yielding fruit. (Revelation 22:1-2).

In some places we are referred to as “oaks of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:3). But, in the passage of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post, the righteous in Christ are likened to a palm tree. These trees are graceful and erect, standing like sentinels.

We are also compared to cedars of Lebanon. These trees exhibit strength and majesty, and of course, fragrance. Both the palm tree and the cedar tree are planted—established—in the house of the Lord. What an honored place of protection.

I love the part that says they will still bear fruit in old age, fresh and green. No craggy, dried up, fruitless boughs here! They still declare that the Lord is upright, a Rock, with no wickedness in Him. They still praise Him to all, whether verbally, or in the strength of grace that keeps them still tall and valuable to the King.

This week, let us notice the trees. Wonder at the age and glory of each one, the unique fruit, the leaves, the beauty they possess. May they remind us of our Christian sisters and brothers of all ages, and the importance they carry in Christ’s Kingdom.

 

 

God: the Mosaic Artist

 

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.”

—1 Peter 1:6 AKJV (emphasis added)

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

—1 Peter 4:10 AKJV (emphasis added)

“O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”

—Psalm 104:24 AKJV (emphasis added)

Someone once told me that in the Bible the word “manifold” means “many-colored.” Having never studied Hebrew or Koine Greek, I can only assume that this defnition is correct. But, it has often made me consider the beautiful way in which God artfully uses His grace to meet the various—or manifold—needs and trials of His people.

God perfomes very much as a mosaic artist, who chooses exquisite tiny tiles that He can see as He works. God can also envision the full masterpiece and how all those tiles fit together. He chooses the crystalline white stones that glint and shine with the light. He chooses the colorful clays that catch the eye and make us happy. He chooses bright turquoise, the brilliant reds, the sparkling purples, and the rich greens. He also chooses the inky black tiles that set off the other colored tiles, in order to lend variety and luxuriant contrast to the whole mosaic picture.

He sees the objects created by these various tiles in the picture that we never see—even though we may get just a hint of them in our lifetimes. But certainly, God envisions the total picture for which we have no eyesight, and He plans a masterpiece made from the pieces of our lives: manifold graces for the manifold trials. As 1 Corinthians 13:12 states:

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We can be thankful that God will sometimes allow us to see the intricate work of His loving hands, as He makes something beautiful out of our confusing and seemingly helter-skelter experiences of this life. Once we graduate to heaven at the end of our lives here on earth, I can’t wait to see the many mosaics of the lives of the many believers gathered there. Then, each of us will see the artwork God is creating now, and we will surely adore the Artist, as we view His workmanship in the most magnificent gallery ever!

 

 

Harrowing Predicaments

 

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

—2 Chronicles 20:12

On November 12, 2014, two window washers became trapped 68 floors up at One World Trade Center in New York City, when their scaffolding came loose. We hear of such events because they rarely happen: a person’s parachute doesn’t open; a trapeze artist dies from a fall because he had no net beneath him; a bridge collapses, plunging cars to the river below; or other such terrible events.

We humans try to cover all eventualities, to make sure we are never caught without the help we need in any situation. We live in a country with regulations for every “worst-case scenario.” We use seat belts in our vehicles, have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in our homes, receive weather alerts, equip our boats with life preservers, fly on planes with all the safety technology available: all to keep people safe in an emergency.

Regardless of the lengths to which we go in order to avoid trouble, we can’t avoid it entirely. We must deal with scary diseases, horrible accidents, injuries from war, and a host of other maladies outside of our control. We need reminding of how many times in Scripture we read the words: “Do not fear” or “Be not afraid.” Nearly every Book in our Bibles has something to say about fear in the face of overwhelming odds.

We can’t get ourselves out of serious trouble any more than those window washers could save themselves. We must learn to trust in a God who has promised to care for us, and who will show us goodness and mercy every day of our lives. This bare-knuckled kind of faith comes to us hard, and only through severe adversity. It tests our dependence on God, as well as His ability to help us.

In a book of Puritan devotional readings, I came upon this paragraph by Thomas Lye: ¹

Faith is the antidote and healer of all diseases. It allows a believer to live in the midst of death. God has extraordinary means to bear us up when ordinary ones fail. He can turn poisons into antidotes, hindrances into furtherances, and destructions into deliverances. The ravens give Elijah food. A whale becomes Jonah’s ship, and pilot too. An Almighty God can work without means. God often brings his people into such a condition that they do not know what to do. He does this that they might know what he can do. God is with his people at all times, but he is most sweetly with them in the worst of times.

God can speak peace to us in the midst of terrible circumstances. He can bring help from strange places. Quite often, those things we often fear never happen, or come in a different form than we expect, so that we are able to bear them. Hear God say, “Trust me in this. I love you!” and experience His peace that passes all understanding.

______________________

1 Lye, Thomas. In Richard Rushing (Ed.) Puritan Sermons in Voices from the Past. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 185.

 

 

In Spite Of ...

 

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

—Habakkuk 3:17-18 (emphasis added)

Faith is belief in spite of—the contradiction of sight and reason. In the Gallery of the Faithful, recorded in Hebrews 11, we read of many courageous, Spirit-filled saints, who lived out faith in spite of. A hymn reflects this sentiment: ¹

Faith of our fathers, living still,
in spite of dungeon, fire and sword.

Faith like this does not come to those who “dabble” in Christian belief. That is, those who call themselves “Christian,” or “Christ’s-ones,” but rarely work it out in powerful prayer, or by courageous action. Instead, God calls to trust Him those who will devote themselves to faithful discipleship and who will acknowledge His all-powerful hand, which He can use in response to His people’s faith. Puritan writer, Thomas Manton, states: ²

We give up the visible for invisible rewards. We do not look at the things that are seen, but unseen … Faith provides invisible supplies to endure visible dangers … Sense judges only the outside of God’s dispensations, but faith looks within the veil.

Even if everything for which we pray does not come to pass in exactly the way we hope, the truly faithful look for God’s hand and trust His ultimate wisdom in every situation. Psalm 23:4 reminds us:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

God still works miracles. We may see His power in miraculous reversals of circumstances and health. But, when we trust Him in those in spite of times, He gives miraculous grace to sustain us, to give us peace, to give us courage, to give us joy, and to give us a grateful spirit. His grace allows us to see His hand above all the circumstances. Hymn writer William Cowper wrote the following: ³

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
and rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
but trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.

God reserves His awesome power and grace for those who place their faith in Him, who pray, and then, who leave the working out of all things to Him. As we walk our walks of faith, let us determine to rely on God’s power, in spite of.

______________________

1 Faber, Frederick. “Faith of Our Fathers!” Public Domain. This Hymn is included in various Hymnals that are copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of anyone claiming Copyright protection of this material, citation of any Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

2 Manton, Thomas. In Richard Rushing (Ed.) Puritan Sermons in Voices from the Past. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 59.

3 Cowper, William. “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Public Domain. This Hymn is included in various Hymnals that are copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of anyone claiming Copyright protection of this material, citation of any Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

Please note: In all cases, any citation of any Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder, if any.

 

 

Flying Debris

 

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

—Mark 4:41

Many of us watched the movie Twister that came out in 1996. Remember the flying cow? The story made for good entertainment. But, it also showed the deadly nature of the damage that flying debris from such a storm can cause. People in this movie became fascinated with tornadoes and that fascination continues in real life today. I even found a website devoted to facts about such storms. Did you know that every tornado has its own color, sound, and shape?

In 1931, a tornado in Mississippi lifted an 83 ton train and tossed it 80 feet from the track. And, speaking of flying debris, a tornado destroyed a motel in Oklahoma and people later found the motel’s sign in Arkansas!

Sometimes life can feel like a tornado. We can feel that we are caught in the path of “flying objects” that threaten to kill or maim us, and threaten to change forever the way of life we’ve known. Often, in such a “storm,” we don’t know where to run or hide. Nothing makes sense. And, even the familiar landmarks we had always used to guide our way seem to have disappeared.

The story of Jesus calming the storm, found in Matthew 8:23-27, tells us that the storm came “without warning.” Meteorologists struggle to predict tornadoes and other such deadly storms. These storms appear suddenly with little time to warn people in their path.

So, what does Scripture tell us about surviving storms, whether we get hit with flying debris or not? Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith. He wants us to trust Him and remain at peace—hardly an easy task when we see the terrifying objects swirling around us.

In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus told His disciples:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Notice Jesus insists that in order to stay standing when “the winds blow and beat against the house,” we need to build a strong foundation of hearing God’s written Word and obeying it.

I like the story of Elijah who had fled to Horeb. He was fleeing a “storm” in his own life. But, the Lord had an even bigger lesson for this prophet. In 1 Kings 19:11-12 we read:

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. [that is: a still, small voice].

Sometimes it seems that storms come one on top of the other. And, we cannot get our bearings, even enough to hear what God says to us. But, we can be assured that He will stay with us in the boat. He does cover us in the wind and in the earthquake and in the fire. Eventually, we will hear His voice speaking peace to us: “Everything is under my control. Don’t fear the flying debris. My love surrounds you!”