daily devotional

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Don’t just pretend — Do it real.

No astonishing, weighty, ground-breaking insights from me today. Just a humble confession that once again the Spirit has taken the Word and spoken into my day.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.
(Romans 12:9 NLT)

And what will I look like today if I really love others?

I will be patient and kind.

Jealousy and boasting and rudeness can have no place in my conversations or my thoughts. Stomp those impulses! Squash them before they have a chance to rise!

I will not have to have my own way. (ouch!)

Holding grudges and giving way to irritations can no longer be part of my life (banished, like cream sticks).

I’ll always be rooting for the good, the truth, the right.

And I’ll never give up or lose faith and hope!

I want to really  love. I want a new heart and a new mind.

Transform my loving, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

 

 

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“Who am I to consider building…?”

King Solomon was about to make his father’s dream come true.

In addition to the huge fortune Solomon amassed himself, his father, King David, had set aside a wealth of precious metals and building materials, looking ahead to the day when his son would build a permanent Temple where the God of Israel would live in the midst of his people. David had dreamed of building the Temple, but it would be Solomon who made it a reality.

Solomon built lavishly, with gold and cedar and other precious metals and woods. Besides the reserved gold, silver, bronze and other materials he and his father had put in reserve, he went to other countries for prized cedar and cypress, and hired the most skilled designers and craftsman. His work force numbered over 150,000. The Temple must be magnificent, he declared, “because our God is greater than all other gods.”

And yet he knew that no one could build the Lord of lords a worthy home. “Not even the highest heavens can contain him! So who am I to consider building a Temple for him…?” (2 Chronicles 2:6).

At the dedication ceremony of the magnificent structure, Solomon lifted his hands in prayer and again marveled that God would really come to live on earth among his people.

“Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea…Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you. May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name” (2 Chronicles 6:18-19 NLT).

Even though this Temple was the most luxurious, lavish outpouring of riches the people had ever seen, Solomon understood the inadequacy of what he was offering to the Lord.

Yet God did come! A thick cloud moved into the Temple, and fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifices offered. Part of God’s response to Solomon’s prayer was:

“For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart” (2 Chronicles 7:16 NLT).

Now, God still comes and dwells with His people. Jesus said it first: “My father and I will love them and will come and make our home with them.” Paul writes of our bodies being the temple of the Holy Ghost, God dwelling in us. He also calls us “living stones,” all of us together being built into a temple of the living God, where He lives and His name is honored.

How can we even consider ourselves worthy of being His temple? We know our failings and our frailties. We know how far we are from being a holy temple for the Lord of lords. We know the inadequacies and struggles of His church.

We are all too aware of the many reasons why we are not a pure, perfect, blameless, worthy temple for the Lord God.

Yet God says we are His temple.
He says we are holy because we are His.
He makes His home with His children because He loves us.
He gives us His name.

We are His temple, chosen as the place He dwells on this earth.

Lord, hear our cry and the prayer that we make to you. Who are we, to think we are your dwelling place? But you have put your name on us and said this is where you will live. Because we are dear to your heart, watch over your temple day and night, unworthy though we are.

Amen.

 

 

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Still learning to trust

The first text came just as I was getting dressed, not quite ready to appear in public:

Put your head out the door and look at the sky.

I peeked out the door, then threw on whatever clothes were within reach and grabbed my camera. Had to get outside.

Just then another text came from someone else: Sunrise alert!

sunrise alert

God was simply putting an exclamation point after what He had been saying to me that morning. He knows me well, and He knows the effect morning light has on me. And this morning light was spectacular.

The conversation with God had actually started the morning before when, in our small Sunday-morning group, one man — who is in a situation most of us can hardly imagine — expressed his deep faith in Jesus’ promise:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Jesus says the highest priority of His disciples is the kingdom of God, seeking to live out His kingdom right where we are in whatever circumstances we are. The kingdom of God is what is to have our prime time, the fullness of our energy, the urgency of our thoughts. The Father knows what we need in this life—not only spiritually, but also physically—and it is “His business” (said this believer on Sunday morning) to provide that for His children. He is the Great Shepherd.

Ah. Our business is the kingdom. God’s business is providing the necessities for the lives of His children.

That started me thinking about how I spend my days. What always gets first place on my to-do list. What gets my morning time (my prime time) and what is saved for oh-whenever-I-have-a-few-minutes. I tried to imagine a bar graph that would show in stark, colored detail the amount of time I spend tending to what I think are “necessary” things in life (or worrying and thinking about such things) compared to the time I’m giving to life in the kingdom.

I confess, I’m almost afraid to look too closely at the detail of that graph.

This man’s testimony was yet one more nudge from the Spirit. I’ve been grappling with one thing in my life, one thing that it seems I cannot let go of. The Spirit says I must let it go and trust Him fully. Prying my fingers loose is so hard. I’ve grown up in a culture that argues against fully trusting God for all things. Our culture says we must be our own providers, our own strength, our own … can I say it? … our own gods.

Then, on the spectacular-sunrise morning, I read this wonderful verse:

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The [enemies] you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:13).

That’s Moses, telling a frantic, desperate people that God would indeed protect and provide for them. Those people saw absolutely no way out of the predicament they were in. So God turned a sea into a desert road in order to rescue them.

Just after I read that story, along came an email directing me to a blog that ended with the same verses in Matthew 6 that I had been thinking about: “Seek ye first …”

And then came the sunrise. A gift from One who loves me and wants me to trust Him in all things.

So I would like to shout this from the rooftop:

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE STARTING THE DAY WITH A DIRECT PROMISE FROM GOD!
(Source: Elaine, from her rooftop, under sunrise skies)

Nothing, just nothing like it!

I cannot doubt today that God is in this place where I now stand and He intends to keep every promise He’s made to me.

Oh, Father, help my unbelief.

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Invitation to the weary

I hope that many of the thoughts offered here cause you to hear God’s voice in new ways. I hope that the Scriptures we read together speak directly to you when you read them — you know, when you read something perfectly suited to whatever is going on in your life at the time and you think: It’s as though this were written just for me!

Scripture was written just for you. And for me. It is the voice of the Almighty Lord of the universe speaking to His children. Sometimes my mind stretches to its utmost, trying to absorb that reality — and it is still too big for me.

Scripture opens up in a new way when I read it with this in mind. The following guest post from Mary Jane Smith looks at one verse that is so familiar, we tend to forget what a tender, amazing invitation we’ve been given. I hope your heart and soul hear these words of Jesus. He offers this invitation every day.

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An Invitation

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NASB).

Over the years I have received invitations to many and varied events. Those for a black-tie gala to fund a charity I support were beautifully engraved. Most often, invitations have been specific to an occasion . . . birthdays, baby showers, weddings, or retirement parties. Still others have been spontaneous, with a phone call or note saying “Meet me at our favorite place for coffee” or “I just tried a new recipe, come over and we will sample it together.”

Some invitations are much easier to decline than others, aren’t they? Like the multi-colored flyers saying that you could be one of the “winners” of five lovely prize choices – all you have to do is be there and “scratch-off” the winning number. Right!

I love to receive invitations (for the most part), and it hurts my heart if I must decline one from a dear friend because of a conflict in my schedule. If that happens, I contact that friend immediately and let them know I am not available for that particular date. If possible, I make arrangements to get with them and debrief with them about their special happening (hopefully with photos involved, as well).

An invitation is actually a request to share in the life of the one who issues it. Of all the invitations ever given to mankind, the most loving and grace-filled is the one Jesus gave us in Matthew 11:28 (NASB). It should be given our full attention. Over the last two millennia, His invitation has been read or spoken aloud countless times.

I wonder how often this particular invitation is casually “tossed in the trash container” with no response provided? Or maybe it is “declined” immediately with an excuse that it is not a convenient time. It might be set aside to be pondered later—after one has had a chance to review all the options. How often do we accept this invitation?

Yet, God’s grace is infinite! The invitation Jesus provided is “open-ended” – it will stand until God removes His Spirit from this world. Is it not remarkable that His love is so encompassing that the invitation is given again and again? It repeatedly provides us the opportunity to accept His immeasurable gift.

Holy Father, Thank you for sending us your precious Son to be our Saviour. Also, thank you for the invitation Jesus gave us to lay all our burdens on Him so we might have complete rest in Him.

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In This Place (wherever you are)

So I’ll just admit this right up front: My head is not organized today. There’s a lot swirling around in there that I just can’t seem to file in neat and orderly form, so I hope you’re up to spending a little more effort in reading my thoughts today. You may need to sort things out more than usual.

Or, hey, maybe we’ll both just depend on the Spirit’s teaching here. That might be the most reliable plan. I’ll type and you read and — Lord, open our eyes and ears to whatever You’re saying to us today.

Genesis is difficult reading, did you know that? There’s story after story of God’s interaction with the people He’s created, but there’s also so many things set in the culture of those times that I just do not understand. And as I read, all these questions pop into my head that currently have no answers. But then there are also those gems that grab me, shake me, and say, “Pay attention. This is you!”

There’s the story of Jacob. Sometimes he’s the good guy, sometimes the bad guy. In Chapter 28, he’s on the run because he’s cheated his brother and his brother is now scheming to kill him. (No, this is not yet the part that applies to me.)

He’s on his way back to his mother’s country where he hopes to stay until his brother cools off. One night he has a dream. He sees a stairway that reaches up to heaven, and angels are going up and down the stairs. The Lord stands at the top of the stairway and He speaks to Jacob, confirming the same promise He had given to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham.

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” (Genesis 28:16-17)

Now that is the verse I cannot forget. The Lord is in this place — and I was not even aware of it! How many days do we slog through, failing to see God right there with us?

Jacob thought he stood at the gateway to heaven. We stand IN heaven now, through Christ ushering us into God’s very presence. We are living in that kingdom. In my 24 hours, or 1440 minutes, or 86400 seconds today, how many of those are soaked with an awareness of the Lord being present in this place in my life? How often we miss the awesomeness of His presence!

The second thing that I must write about today (because if I don’t write these things now, I cannot concentrate on anything else) is Mr. Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son. Sold into slavery by his jealous older brothers. All alone in a foreign land. He has no contact with his family. Even when things do seem to be turning around for him and he lands a great job with a boss who likes and trusts him, he ends up in jail as a result of doing the right thing. He sits in jail for over two years. Again, because he did the right thing. One man could have saved him, but he forgot Joseph. I wonder what young Joseph is thinking during those years in jail.

Fast forward a number of years, after Joseph is finally released and has become second in command to Pharaoh himself. He has a wife and children. And he named one son Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief” (Genesis 41:52).

Fruitful in a land of grief. Ah, Lord, may I have the grace to say that. May I have the open eyes to see that. To see Your presence at every step of my journey, in every land through which I travel, in lands of grief, lands of pain, and lands of laughter and joy. May I see Your gifts bestowed every day because You are here in whatever place I am in right now — I am living right here in Your kingdom.

And that is tied to the third thing I must share with you, a recent blog from an Everyday Servant. He begins with a plea that I’ll bet you’ve prayed yourself: “Please God, save me from today!” It will take you less than a minute to read, but I hope all these jumbled thoughts come together today and remind us all that the Lord is in whatever place we are today.

http://everydayservant.com/please-god-save-me-from-today/

Blessings on your day in His awesome presence.

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