Interruptions

 

Maaaaaaahm!! I can hear the child yelling and tugging at her Mom as she tries to make sense of the phone call that she has just answered. It always seems that children have an urgent need just at that moment when Mom has to give her attention to something else.

I think God often feels that way too! More often than I can count, when I sit down to read my Bible or pray (intending to earnestly and fervently do so!), there come a hundred thoughts bombarding me at that moment. Some have real urgency like, “Oh! I forgot to take the garbage out and I hear the truck coming” or “Will Dad live to see another day?”

Some distractions simply have to do with tasks we have to accomplish, or fears of a dreaded medical test or surgery. My rabbit holes often come from new creative ideas I have for some project I’m doing.

Now, I do believe some of these “distracting thoughts” can actually be the Holy Spirit bringing His will to our attention, and I, for one, have had His interruptions of my reading or praying with an idea or a prayer burden that I know He has placed in my head.

Largely though, the interruptions we experience come from our own sinful, self-obsessed natures. Thomas Manton in his Puritan Sermons 1659-1689, lists six causes for haunting distractions that carry us away from the prayer life God wants for us. These six are:

1. Satan is at our right hand ready to resist us in prayer.
   
   
2. We are restless creatures. It is difficult for all of us to concentrate on one object for any length of time.
   
   
3. We are distracted by practical atheism… Things we see have a greater force upon us that the true God who is Spirit and invisible power.
   
   
4. Lust rooted in us will also distract us when we go about any duty.
   
   
5. Fancy and curiosity offered us by the senses or memory, will be an occasion for diversion.
   
   
6. Sharp worries will hinder our faith and draw away our attention from prayer.

He goes on to say that

“We must be like the priests, who went on with their sacrifices as the Roman troops broke into Jerusalem.”

Next time you give yourself to prayer and Bible reading, remember the enemy of distraction which seeks to bring you away from what God wants to say to you and through you. Satan knows the power behind what you are doing. Pray for God’s grace to shut him out!

 

 

Arguments!

 

	Molly, my sister, and I fell out, And what do you think it was all about? She loved coffee and I loved tea, And that was the reason we couldn’t agree.
	—an old Mother Goose rhyme

I had a sister close in age with whom I had plenty of arguments as a child. And, the reasons for the arguments were usually as silly as the Nursery Rhyme above. Much of that arguing promotes a means for a healthy growing up, as siblings learn to negotiate and live with others.

Within the body of Christ, we have been admonished to treat each other as brothers and sisters and to live in unity. Many a church fight has occurred because Christian siblings disagree on very trivial matters. Disagreements over the type and color of the carpeting for the church parlor, or whether to hold a full-size brunch after church or a light reception.

However, not all arguments between brothers and sisters in Christ result from juvenile issues. Some come from disagreements over important doctrinal beliefs or from sinful power plays. These types of problems need genuine spiritual counsel, repentance, or even separation.

However, when matters really don’t require anything but humble submission to one another, confession of prideful selfishness, or a heart-to-heart talk, God expects us to work it out ourselves.

Even in St. Paul’s day, he knew two church women who had locked horns. He said in Philippians 4:2-3:

“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel.”

Imagine what such a schism between sisters does to the unity and peace of the church. Can either give effective service to Christ with such a rift between them? In so many places in Scripture, God shows us His high regard for unity in the body, even saying to Titus through Paul, as recorded in Titus 3:10:

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.”

Wow! Christ wants His church to demonstrate the same unity that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit show us. Through the display of a unity like this, so dissimilar from the world, people will be drawn into the Kingdom.

God help us to not allow the “little foxes to destroy the vines.” (Song of Solomon 2:15). Small things have big effect in the Kingdom of God.

 

 

The Steinway 1

 

	“…I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
	—Zechariah 13:9

My business career has been as an owner of an advertising agency. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work on many different and prestigious accounts. One of those accounts was Steinway Pianos, the make of the world’s finest pianos. Each piano has always been made from scratch; it takes over a year to make one Steinway.

The most impressive scene as I toured the manufacturing plant was the place where the soundboard is stretched to its maximum tolerance and allowed to sit for an extended period until it remains in the curved design. This was done in an off-to-the-corner part of the plant. If the wood were alive, it would be crying out for mercy.

After an extended time of stretching, the wood will never spring back to its original state. It is permanently changed. The piano is becoming a fine-tuned instrument. After this process takes place, the next step requires another point of stress. It takes 11 tons of pressure on a piano to tune it. Each step in the process moves the piano closer to a finished product that will ultimately be played by the world’s finest musicians. These musicians desire a particular sound that only a piano like this can make.

God looks at each of us as a fine-tuned instrument. However, we begin as rough wood that He desires to transform into gold. Tuning us requires certain experiences that will stretch our faith, our frame, and our very life.

Sainthood springs out of suffering. If we stand the strain of this intense process, we will come forth as gold—as a sweet-smelling offering to our Maker. When we are in the midst of these times, it feels like fire. It is painful to be stretched beyond our perceived limits, but the Lord knows this is necessary for us to become an instrument that can play a beautiful song that others will seek after.

Let the master Craftsman have His way in your life today. You will be pleased with the instrument He fashions.

______________________

1 from a piece by Os Hillman ©2002 as quoted by Francis J. Kong in “Business Matters,” a column that appeared in The Philippine Star.

 

 

Knowing What Belongs

 

After “Mama” and “Dada,” one of the first words many babies learn to say is “Mine!”

From the very beginnings of our lives we are interested in what belongs to us. As we grow older, many of the things that we thought were necessary to have in order to make us happy, just don’t matter anymore. Many times the important things are the intangibles: the people, the work, the places and the experiences we own.

Some of the most precious scriptures to Christians are those that tell us what we have because of Christ. We are told in at least four places in the Psalms that God is our portion. (Psalm 16:5, 73:26, 119:57 and 142:5).

Quoting Puritan writer, George Swinnock from his Works, IV:7-12, he says:

“When God says to the soul, ‘I am yours, and all that I have,’ who can tell how the heart leaps with joy…the pronoun ‘my’ is worth so much to the soul. All our consolation indeed consists in this pronoun. He is my God. All the joys of the believer are hung upon this one string. Break this and all is lost.”

Nothing comforts a Christian like the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” God yearns to make us His. He initiates that personal relationship that He intends to keep for eternity. When we acknowledge Him as ours, both He and we internally leap for joy. Martin Luther once said:

“The heart of religion lies in its personal pronouns.”

In 1876, hymn writer George W. Robinson penned these words:

Loved with everlasting love,
    led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above,
    Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace!
    O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
    I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease,
    I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue,
    Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue
    Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
    flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
    I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know,
    I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms
    cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms,
    pillowed on the loving breast.
O to lie forever here,
    doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear,
    I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear,
    I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His;
    Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
    Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee,
    firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be,
    I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be,
    I am His, and He is mine.

Can you say of God, “I am His and He is mine!”?

The answer to that question will reveal much about your life of faith and where you are on the road. The next time you hear a toddler yell, “Mine!”—or read Scripture and see the personal pronouns—remember all that God has to give you and rejoice!

 

 

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 NIV

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.

Psalmists particularly like the image of the tree in their poetry. 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 I quote at the beginning of this devotional, 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 of trees 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. Still praising Him to all, whether verbally, or in the strength of grace that keeps them still tall and valuable to the King.

I hope you notice more trees this week. Wonder at the age and glory of each one, the unique fruit, the leaves, the beauty of each one. May they remind you of Christian sisters and brothers of all ages and the importance they carry in Christ’s Kingdom.

 

 

Untapped Riches

 

	And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
	—Ephesians 2:6-7 NIV

Edna Farnsworth (not her real name) lived in a large house on an avenue of wealthy estates, many with servants’ quarters. Among these houses also sat the Governor’s mansion. This street of beautiful homes framed our church lot and Edna was a frequent guest with us.

Now she never attended a service, but came often to borrow books from our library. She also managed to find out when the church scheduled various receptions with dainty foods, and showed up to pile up her plate (and her purse).

Apparently Edna didn’t want to admit her wealth, or had become miserly in her old age.

How many of us have received the richness of God’s grace through forgiveness of sin and have a place forever in his family, but forget to appropriate that forgiveness and appreciate it? We feel more comfortable, like Edna, borrowing and begging rather than boldly living like children of the King.

Let us today remember our riches in Christ and rejoice in his goodness to us!

	Oh, the unsearchable riches of Christ, Wealth that can never be told! Riches exhaustless of mercy and grace, Precious, more precious than gold!
	—Fanny Crosby

 

 

Space to Grow

 

I laugh about it now, but when I was five, having to wear high top black PF Flyers for gym class embarrassed me to death.

Since I was the oldest child in the family, and my mother had no knowledge of what “gym shoes” should look like for little girls, she drove me to the country store and picked out a pair that would fit me for two or three years. I could “grow into them.” Remember too, that in the 1950s, little girls never wore slacks to school. So, my sporty look, while it might be very “in” today, mortified me then.

My mom expected me to grow. She never questioned whether my feet would eventually fit properly in those shoes. In fact, if I hadn’t matured appropriately by age seven or eight, my parents would have spent all the money they had to find me a doctor to help me develop like normal children.

God expects us to grow, too. In fact, Paul wrote:

“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.” (Philippians 1:6)

God will provide opportunities for our growth. And, He will help us along.

St. Peter instructed believers to:

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

Jesus, Himself, was said to have grown “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52).

Growth, then, is a normal expectation for believers. Yet, there seems to be many people who claim to be Christians, but lack the evidence that they have grown into their own “PF Flyers.” If we find ourselves in this group, we must understand that some of the onus falls on us for this lack of growth.

The author of the book of Hebrews scolded Christians in his day by saying:

“Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!…Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14)

What better evidence of a healthy child are growing feet? What better evidence of a healthy Christian is growth into mature faith?

If you feel in need of a “growth hormone,” start by setting a regular time for reading the Bible and for daily prayer. Make it a habit to be in church for both Christian Education class and for worship every week.

God provides the means for growth, but we are responsible to take advantage of what He provides!