Other Food: daily devos

Wait!

2012-01-31T02:00:00.000-08:00

TO CHEW ON: "But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles;

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

If there's anything we moderns find hard to do, it's wait. Computers have made waiting — for some things at least — almost obsolete. Want to read a book? Buy it online and if you have an e-reader you can be reading it in minutes. Call or text your friends any time and from anywhere on your cell phone. Access your bank online 24/7.

The way we're accustomed to expect instant action on getting our desires satisfied may make Isaiah's advice to wait on the Lord harder than ever to follow. But it is something we need to do, no matter how jumpy and impatient technology has made us. For God has His own agenda, and is on His own timetable — something we ignore at our peril.

Isaiah has been talking about that agenda for Israel in Isaiah 40. He has predicted the coming of Messiah, and reminded the people of how big and all-powerful God is when compared with earth's nations. Here at the chapter's end, he calls the people back to trust in Him, concluding with verse 31 about how waiting on God renews strength and gives energy for the long haul.

Waiting in that way is something we need to do as we face life's evils, injustices and unresolved issues. The Bible tells us to wait on, or for, or in God because:

He is our salvation (Psalm 25:5).

He is our source of mercy (Psalm 123:2).

He is our defense (Psalm 59:9).

He is our revenge (Proverbs 20:22).

Waiting for Him and His timing is the way we achieve our destiny (Psalm 37:9, 34).

We are to wait for him alone (Psalm 62:5) and continually (Hosea 12:6).

A footnote in my Bible referring to Isaiah 40:27-31 says:

"A proper understanding of God's dealings in life comes only by knowing His perspective and ways. This calls for great patience (v. 31). Wait on the Lord means to go about the routines of life with a fervent, patient hope that He will consummate His rule in His time; He will deal with evil. Such an inner attitude gives one strength to mount up above the moment with vigor to go on. See Romans 8:18-30." - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 919.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to resist the urge to act impatiently and take matters into my own hands. Instead help me to wait on, for, and in You to bring resolution to issues I face. Amen.

MORE: The tragedy of impatience

King Saul is someone who refused to wait. Read the tragic results of his impatience in 1 Samuel 13:1-14.

(From the archives)

Our tough and tender shepherd

2012-01-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 40:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand ...

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arms,

And carry them in His bosom

And gently lead those who are with young." Isaiah 40:10,11

I love seeing news footage of tough Vancouver Canuck hockey players interacting with kids from the Vancouver Children's Hospital, or watch my strong, capable son-in-law take care of his baby daughter. There is something compelling about strength combined with tenderness. In Isaiah 40 we see that aspect of God.

Though He governs with a strong hand and a ruling arm, He rules His own with the utmost of gentleness:

He feeds His flock. [Feed - ra 'ah means to shepherd, tend, pasture, cause one's herd or flock to graze, care for one's animals, providing them with good pasture - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 919.]

He carries the lambs—the young and immature—in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

He takes special care of the mothers: "gently leads those who are with young."

This passage from Isaiah reminds us of other God-as-shepherd passages.

* Psalm 80:1-2 also combines God's tenderness with strength: "Give ear O Shepherd of Israel / You who lead Joseph like a flock .... Stir up Your strength, / And come and save us."

* So does Micah 5:4: "He shall stand and feed His flock / In the strength of the Lord .." Here "He" refers to Jesus. Two verses earlier in the same passage, Micah predicts His birth in Bethlehem.

* Psalm 23:1-6 shows God shepherding the individual by bringing him to the best pasture and to still water, comforting him in a brush with death, and exalting him before enemies.

* And of course we can't forget the words of Jesus Himself as He expands on His role as our shepherd in John 10. There He talks about how His sheep know His voice (John 10:4), how entry into the sheepfold through Him (the door - John 10:7) assures them safety and an abundant life (John 10:9,10), how He is so committed to the sheep He lays down His life for them (John 10:15), and how no one has power to take the sheep away from Him (John 10:28).

What comfort and security we know in the care of our shepherd who is both strong and tender. I have put myself in His care. Have you?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your power, which so often shows itself in gentleness. Help me to recognize Your voice and always follow You. Amen.

MORE: He gathers with His arm of power

"He shall gather the lambs with his arm; the weaklings of the flock; the same with babes and sucklings, newly born souls, weak believers, mean and low in their own eyes, the smoking flax, and bruised reed, the day of small things, the poor of the flock; these he gathers with his arm of power, and by the ministry of the Gospel, both to himself, his person ... and to his church, to partake of the word and ordinances of it, and to nearer communion with him in them" Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Jesus: the One with authority to make things happen

2012-01-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 1:21-28

TO CHEW ON: "... for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes .... 'What is this? What new doctrine is this?For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him.'" Mark 1:22,27

We know that in order to get action on an issue—from better service in a store to a change in the laws of the land—we need to appeal to the people who have the authority to make or implement the changes we desire [authority = the right to command and to enforce obedience; the delegated right or power, authorization; the official or group having administrative control in a specific area"].

In our reading today, Mark uses the word authority twice in telling about how the people of Jesus' time described His ministry.

He taught with authority - Mark 1:2.

He commanded evil spirits with authority - Mark 1:27.

[The Greek word for authority used here is exousia. It means: 1) power of choice, liberty; 2) physical and mental power; 3) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); and 4) the power of rule or government—the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed.]

As we look at more of the stories of Jesus' time on earth, we see His authority in evidence all over the place.

He took authority over crowds - Mark 14:9.

He took authority over activities in the temple - Matthew 21:12.

He took authority over nature by stilling storms (Mark 4:37-39), multiplying food (Matthew 14:19-21), healing people from sickness (Mark 2:8-12), even raising them from the dead (Luke 7:11-15).

He was aware of and declared His authority (Matthew 28:18), as did God the Father (Mark 9:7).

The exciting part in all this is that we are implicated in Jesus' authority. On the basis of His authority, He sends us out to fulfill His great and final assignment (Matthew 28:18-20).

Two questions come to mind:

1. Do you and I recognize His authority over all the areas in which He demonstrated and declared that He had/has it? Do we really believe He has authority over nature, sickness, death? Do we claim His authority over sin and dark spiritual forces?

2. Do we let His authority operate in and through us? Do we speak, pray, and minister with authority?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You have all authority in heaven and earth. Help me to live every day under Your authority and as an agent of Your authority. Amen.

More: Gaither Vocal Band - On the Authority

(Written with help from the archives.)

The foundation of wisdom

2012-01-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 111:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." Psalm 111:10

When people ask, what would you like to be remembered for after you die, as in what would you like written on your tombstone, my mind always gravitates toward wisdom. I would love to be remembered as someone who was wise. In Psalm 111:10, the writer reveals the foundation of true wisdom. It is the fear of the Lord.

What is this fear? Tim Challies in The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment describes it:

"Wisdom is the application of the fear of God to life; it is living in such a way that we esteem God above all else. A man who is wise is first a man who fears God. This is not a terrified, horrified fear, as in the fear of a child for a monster or an abusive father, but a fear based on a realistic understanding of the infinite gap between God and man in holiness and knowledge" - page 55.

The phrase "the fear of the Lord" (or "the fear of God") occurs often in the Bible. As we track some occurrences, we see that this fear impacts many areas of life.

1. To fear God is a requirement for God's people - Deuteronomy 2:25; Joshua 4:24.

2. The fear of God involves doing away with anything that would vie with Him for first place in our hearts - Joshua 24:14.

3. God alone is to be feared in this way - Isaiah 8:13.

4. God is worthy of our fear because only He has power over life and death - Matthew 10:28.

5. God is worthy of our fear because only He can see through our actions and judge us righteously - 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 14:7.

6. The fear of God motivates us to do away with evil - Proverbs 3:7; 14:16.

7. Fear of God influences our respect for life. When Abraham came to Gerar, he was afraid that King Abimelech, who didn't fear God, would have no qualms about killing him in order to get attractive Sarah for the royal harem - Genesis 20:11.

8. The fear of God can operate on the national level. Moses and Joshua predicted that the Canaanites would be filled with the fear of God as they heard about and saw the miracles God did for Israel - Deuteronomy 2:25; Joshua 4:24.

9. Lack of the fear of God leads to backsliding - Jeremiah 2:19.

And so I ask, is my hope to be remembered as wise, realistic because it is foundationed on the fear of God? Wisdom built on any other thing will not last.

PRAYER: Dear God, please expand my vision of Your holiness and knowledge. May the awe and respect in which I hold You impact all I do. Amen.

MORE: Fear of the Lord--the foundation of wisdom

"The fear of the Lord - Reverence for God; respect for his law, his will, his government, himself; the fear of offending him, which will lead us to do right. This fear is not that of a slave; it is not mere dread; it is not terror. It is consistent with love, and springs from it. It is consistent with calmness of mind, and promotes it. It does not produce terror, but rather delivers from it, and preserves the mind from alarms.

The word here rendered "fear" is a noun of the same origin as the word rendered "reverend" in Psalm 111:9 ("reverence" - Amplified). The suggestion to the mind of the psalmist that the "name of the Lord" was "reverend," or was to be venerated, introduced this thought that such reverence is the very foundation of wisdom" - Barnes Notes on the Bible.

Does God detest anything in your life?

2012-01-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

Time Magazine cover - June 19, 1972.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 18:9-22

TO CHEW ON: "For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out before you." Deuteronomy 18:12

What a strong word—abomination—Moses uses here to warn the Israelites against compromise and syncretism.

[The word abomination is translated from the Hebrew word towebah. It is also rendered detestable and loathsome.]

What are the things that God names an abomination (detestable, loathsome)? Deuteronomy 18:9-11 names:

sacrificing children to idols.
practicing witchcraft.
acting as a soothsayer or one to interprets omens—a sorcerer.
conjuring up spells.
acting as a medium or spiritist.
calling up the dead.

It's a list of not altogether unfamiliar activities because our society, despite how "advanced" and technological it is, yearns for spiritual connection. If we have rejected God, we will look somewhere else for it. The scary thing is that sometimes these practices make their way into the lives of Christians and so enter the life of the church. Tim Challies in his book The Disciplines of Spiritual Discernment says:

"It should come as no surprise that even though we are called to live within the culture, the culture itself hates God and seeks to destroy those who love him. And yet this culture has influenced the church, perhaps more than the church has influenced the culture. There are at least four cultural influences that have led to a decline in discernment among Christians."

He goes on to name (and elaborate on) 1] a secular worldview; 2] a low view of scripture; 3] a low view of theology; and 4] a low view of God, as reasons for the church's slump into compromise.

Let's ask God by His Spirit to point out any abominable practices and involvements in our lives. And then let's denounce and forsake them. For:

Can two walk together unless they are agreed?" - Amos 3:3

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” - John 8:12 NLT

Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them." - Ephesians 5:11 Amplified

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me a discerning heart to recognize the practices and involvements that are loathsome to You. Then help me to be quick to denounce and forsake them. Amen.

MORE: Non-Christian Spiritual Experience Inventory

Lest we think we're largely immune from the ancient practices Moses lists, let's look at a sampling from a modern list of practices and involvements that could conceivably fall into the category of things that are loathsome to God, always remembering that God loves people. It is not the people that are loathsome to Him but the philosophies and practices with which they identify and in which they engage. (These are taken from Neil T. Anderson's Resolving Spiritual Conflicts Workbook, page 28):

Occult: Astral projection, ouija board, table lifting, automatic writing, telepathy, ghosts, materialization, clairvoyance, fortunate telling (tarot cards, palm reading etc.), astrology, rod and pendulum (dowsing), healing magnetism, magic charming, mental suggestions, black and white magic, blood pacts, fetishism, incubi and succubae (sexual spirits).

Cult: Christian Science, Unity, Scientology, Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, Unitarianism, Masonry, New Age etc.

Other religions: Zen Buddhism, Hare Krishna, Bahai, Hindusim, Yoga, Eckankar, Theosophical Society, Islam.

Holy Spirit-Comforter

2012-01-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 9:19b-31

TO CHEW ON: "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." Acts 9:31

After a time of hounding and upheaval the church had a period of peace and grew as its members walked in the "... comfort of the Holy Spirit." I can imagine them in almost a daze of relief as the winds of persecution eased and they experienced a stretch of smooth sailing .

["Comfort - paraklesis - means a calling alongside to help, to comfort, to give consolation or encouragement. The paraklete is a strengthening presence, one who upholds those appealing for assistance" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1508.]

In His role as Comforter, Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as Helper. Jesus spoke to His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit and how He would help them in John 14, 15 and 16. He said:

Holy Spirit would be with them forever - John 14:16.

He would live with them and in them - John 14:17.

He would teach them the things of God and help them remember these things when they needed to recall them - John 14:26.

He would come with authority ("sent from the Father"), speak truth and testify of Jesus - John 15:26.

He would be the One to convict unbelievers of sin, righteousness, and judgment (and hadn't those early Christians just seen that play out in living color in the life of Saul!) - John 16:7,8.

He would reveal things to come - John 16:13.

Holy Spirit Comforter/Helper is still with us today. We don't ever need to feel that we're stuck doing God's work alone. We believe that He is with us and in us. He will help us understand the things of God and bring them to our memories. He is the One who convicts unbelieving family members, friends, neighbours, and associates of their sin and their need for salvation. He can prepare us for what's ahead.

Let's walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit today.

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, thank You for Your comforting presence in my life. Please help me to experience You as teacher, prompter of what to say, the one who convicts of sin, prophet, and revealer of truth in Jesus and the Father. Amen.

MORE: "The Comforter Has Come" - Jars of Clay

What do YOU want me to do?

2012-01-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

"The Conversion on the
Way to Damascus" - Caravaggio

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 9:1-19a

TO CHEW ON: "So he trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'" Acts 9:6

I imagine Saul as a sincere persecutor. He was absolutely convinced that he was doing God's will and helping God's cause when he rounded up believers in Jesus and oversaw their imprisonment or death. So it's no wonder he reacted with trembling astonishment when Jesus, as a voice issuing from a blinding light, stopped him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

His answer— "Lord, what do You want me to do?"—tells us that his desire to please God was bigger than his own agenda. Jesus' reply, "Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do," was only the first order of many that Saul obeyed. From that day on Saul / Paul was no longer the boss of his life. He was a man under orders and those orders led him to live a life of amazing impact on the church and history.

His unquestioning turnaround should cause us to examine our own lives in the same regard. Though Jesus may never come to us in blinding flashes of light to tell us to change direction, He does come in a myriad of scriptures. We know what pleases Him: a life of humility, service, love, mercy, worship—all to be done for His glory.

When he alerts us to areas in our lives that don't fit with these things, are we as quick to forsake them as Saul was to leave his mission?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible say it well:

"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? - This indicates a subdued soul, a humbled spirit. Just before, he had sought only to do his own will; now he inquired what was the will of the Saviour. Just before he was acting under a commission from the Sanhedrin; now he renounced their authority, and asked what the Lord Jesus would have him to do. Just before he had been engaged in a career of opposition to the Lord Jesus; now he sought at once to do his will. This indicates the usual change in the mind of the sinner when he is converted. The great controversy between him and God is, whose will shall be followed. The sinner follows his own; the first act of the Christian is to surrender his own will to that of God, and to resolve to do what he requires" - Barnes Notes on the Bible - Acts 9 (emphasis added).

Then can we tolerate the silence and the waiting—suspending our need to be busy as we wait for Him to tell us what's next?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Saul's prayer—What do You want me to do?—is one I need to pray every day. Help me to have no agenda but Yours. Amen.

MORE: Conversion of St. Paul

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The liturgy for this day begins with this collect:

"O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

Weep at the Word

2012-01-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 8:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, 'This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.' For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law." Nehemiah 8:9

If you are familiar with Moses' law—that part of the Bible we find in sections of Exodus and Leviticus—you may well be surprised to see people weeping when it is read. Why would they weep on hearing a bunch of rules?

On thinking about it, I can come up with several reasons;

It may have been the emotion they felt as they again connected with their religious and cultural roots. It seems that these people were unschooled in the law. We can assume that because of the way they needed a lot of explanation when it was read (Nehemiah 8:7). Even so, they probably had glimmerings of it, passed down through generations. But on this momentous day, as they respectfully stood for its reading, they were hearing the real thing for the first time in their lives. No wonder they got choked up.

They were saddened by how far they had strayed from the law's requirements. But their teachers urged them—don't look at yourselves; focus on God. Make this day holy or separate to God. Let the joy of who God is and what He is doing now, energize you (Nehemiah 8:9-10).

They were under conviction and their tears were evidence that God was at work in their lives. I love how this incident is the climax of their wall-repair project—an experience that had been both exhilarating and stressful. But they had completed it

Fresh from the victory of re-establishing the integrity of their city, they were primed for the victory of returning to God in spirit. Their sensitivity to God's will and eagerness to obey is on display as they jumped to obey the instructions to keep the Feast of Booths—something that had apparently not been done since the time of Joshua (Nehemiah 8:13-18).

What is our reaction to God's word? We have not only the Law, but the stories, the prophets, the New Testament, much of it plain and easy to understand.

Do we respect it (to the extent of willingly standing for its reading when our pastors instruct us to, of course) as these people did?
Do we hear it with the sense that it applies to us personally?
Do we focus on how badly we've messed up, or on God and His goodness to us, His plan of salvation, and the hopeful outlook that trust in Him brings?
Are we quick to change our ways when we see where we have been disobedient?

May our lives be evidence of us going from one obedience to the next (like these people did), as we let the hammer / fire / lamp / sword of God's word do its work.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your word which tells me about You and educates me in Your ways. May I take it as personally as these people who, on hearing, wept, repented, and obeyed. Amen.

MORE: "Hear with the greatest devotion"

"The second duty of piety wherein we must provoke ourselves, is, in HEARING of the Word. We may bring our bodies to the preaching of the Word with ease—but not our hearts, without offering violence to ourselves. When we come to the Word preached, we come to a business of the highest importance, therefore should stir up ourselves and hear with the greatest devotion. Luke 19:48. "All the people were very attentive to hear him." In the Greek it is "they hung upon his lip."—When the Word is dispensed, we are to lift up the everlasting doors of our hearts, that the King of glory may enter in!"-Thomas Watson (a quote from The Old Guys) emphasis added.

An ancient 'Occupy' complaint

2012-01-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 5:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "I also with my brethren and my servants am lending them money and grain. Please let us stop this usury!" Nehemiah 5:10

The complaints of the people to Nehemiah in today's reading remind me of the modern Occupy Movement that began in the fall of 2011. It is a protest against unfairnesses in society. Rooted in the financial collapse of 2008, people are protesting many things including the use of tax money to bail out big businesses and banks. While executives of the companies (who many perceive to be the cause of the problem) get huge bonuses and severance packages, the little guy loses his job and then his house because he can no longer pay his debt.

It appears that an economic crisis had also hit Jerusalem and its surroundings just prior to Nehemiah's arrival. A footnote in my Bible explains, "A famine along with the need to pay taxes had forced many families into insolvency. Nehemiah's presence emboldened the dispossessed to cry out for justice" - Study notes, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 618.

The confidence of the poor people in Nehemiah was well placed. Outraged by conditions, he took up their cause. He assembled the nobles and rulers and:

Rebuked them (Nehemiah 5:7).
Reasoned with them, showing how it didn't make sense that they had freed Jewish citizens held captives by other nations but were holding their own people to ransom with debt (Nehemiah 5:8).
Told them to stop charging interest (Nehemiah 5:10). Actually what they were doing to their brothers was against Moses' law (Leviticus 25:35-38).
Commanded them to restore absconded property along with some of the interest that had been paid to them (Nehemiah 5:11).

He himself was a good example, in that he lent the poor people money and grain (Nehemiah 5:10) and refused to live the customary high lifestyle of a governor himself (Nehemiah 5:15).

There is a place for us to be champions of justice in our society too. Though I don't personally endorse the occupy movement and don't suggest aligning oneself with their cause, there are things we can do. For starters, we can treat others fairly, lend or give money when we see a need, and live modestly and within our means, like Nehemiah did.

PRAYER: Dear God, please grow in me an attitude of justice for the poor and the generosity and willingness to help when I can with what I have. Amen.

MORE: Your gift to the poor: a gift to God?

Michael Hyatt in a recent blog post "5 Ways You Can Become an Everyday Hero" writes:

"I have an author friend who has a policy about giving to homeless people. He told me, 'Every time I used to encounter a homeless person, I would go through all kinds of mental gyrations. If I give money to this person, will they just use it to buy alcohol or drugs? Why don’t they just get a job? Maybe it would be better if I offered them some work rather than just give them money?'

Then he read the words of Matthew 5:42, 'Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.' He then decided to make a deal with God.

Now, whenever he encounters a homeless person or a beggar, he gives them all the cash in his pocket. Sometimes that’s two dollars. Sometimes it’s a hundred. Regardless, he decided to stop over-thinking it and start living the Gospel. The money he gives is his gift to God."

Read all of "5 Ways You can Become an Everyday Hero"

Wait for God

2012-01-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 62:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him.

God is a refuge for us. Selah" Psalm 62:8.

It would be interesting to know the story behind this psalm. One senses betrayal. David, in a kind of aside says (perhaps in reference to backstabbers?), "How long will you attack a man? ... They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, But they curse inwardly" - Psalm 62:3,4.

And so in this psalm he again plants his flag. (When you say the words it becomes all the more real and set for you.) MY TRUST IS IN GOD!

Not:
- People - for whether they are poor or wealthy, powerless or influential, in the end they are as short-lived and inconsequential as vapour.
- Oppression - forcing his will on others.
- Robbery - getting his way illegally.
- Riches - buying his way.

For God is "salvation, "defense," "rock," "my glory," "a refuge." He alone has power (Psalm 62:11). He alone dispenses perfect mercy and justice (Psalm 62:12).

As I look at the list of things David doesn't trust in, I say, Oops! Don't I tend to trust in that same lot to get my way, to advance my career, to further the fortunes of my family? Don't I tend to put my confidence in people—it's who you know, isn't it? Have I not been tempted to use even force, money or underhanded means (deceit, sneakiness)?

David's challenge to trust in God at all times and to the exclusion of all else applies as much to us as it did to him and the people of his time.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to experience an attitude change so that I trust in, rely on, and hope for You — not other people or my own manipulations. Amen.

MORE: "Pour out your heart before Him" (Psalm 62:8).

This is an invitation to lay our concerns, worries, fears, and disappointments before God just as David did so often in the psalms. You might try that today, praying them out loud or, better yet, writing out your version of Psalm 62:3-4.

(From the archives)

Necessary temptation

2012-01-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

"The Temptation" by Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 1:12-20

TO CHEW ON: "Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him." Mark 1:12,13

How interesting that Mark says the Spirit "drove" Jesus into the wilderness for the express purpose of experiencing full-on temptation. One gets the sense that this was a necessary and inevitable part of Jesus' ministry. Let's do a brief study of passages that link Jesus with temptation to see if they have something to teach us about the role of temptation in our own lives.

1. Temptation can be a positive thing
Matthew 4:1 (Matthew 4:1-11 is a more detailed account of Jesus' wilderness temptation) reiterates that Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. My Bible's footnote on this verse makes an interesting distinction between temptation from God's point of view and Satan's:

"To be tempted from the divine standpoint means a positive test; from the devil's standpoint it implies enticement to sin; from Jesus' standpoint it is a challenge from Satan to test God's sovereignty and plan" - J. Lyle Story, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1294

Perhaps we too should view temptations that come to us as positive tests—opportunities to resist Satan and prove to him and ourselves where we stand.

2. Temptation can come from unlikely places
In Matthew 16:23 Jesus rebukes Peter when he says, "This shall not happen to You" (referring to the suffering and death that Jesus has just predicted for Himself - Matthew 16:21). Jesus actually calls His friend "Satan"!

Similarly, we need to be aware that those close to us—family members, friends, colleagues—may inadvertently be the mouthpiece of temptation.

3. Resisting temptation can make us teflon
I think of teflon—that non-tick coating put on cooking pots and pans—when I read Jesus' words about Himself in John 14:30: "I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me." In other words, Jesus' consistent resisting of temptation made it so the devil had no condemnation he could throw at Jesus that would stick. There was no territory in Jesus' life to which he could lay claim. He could find no purchase (handhold or foothold) or chink by which to gain entrance

In the same way our resistance to temptation, or quick repentance and confession when we do sin, means that Satan will find no basis of accusation in us, no way to shut us up because he has something to throw back in our faces (as in 'You hypocrite—what makes you think you can speak against this sin when you do it yourself?').

4. Finally, Jesus' temptation reassures us that He understands
His temptation along all the lines we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15) means that He, through His Spirit, can come to our aid (Hebrews 2;18) even suggesting the way out of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus' use of Scripture during His temptation in the wilderness is one tactic that readily comes to mind.

How wonderful that God had temptation in the plan for Jesus' life. Let's regard it as a necessary and strengthening aspect of our life on earth as God prepares us for our destiny with Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to understand that temptation is not sin. Help me to avail myself of Your Spirit's help when I am tempted, so Satan will have nothing in me. Amen.

MORE: Temptation support

"Temptation is not something we may escape, it is essential to the full-orbed life of a man. Beware lest you think you are tempted as no one else is tempted; what you go through is the common inheritance of the race, not something no one ever went through before. God does not save us from temptations; He succours us in the midst of them (Hebrews 2:18)" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, September 17th reading (emphasis added).

The pouting prophet

2012-01-20T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 4:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "But it (God's relenting from the disaster He said He would bring on Nineveh - Jonah 3:11) displeased Jonah exceedingly and he became angry." Jonah 4:1

At a recent church conference, I heard Rich Wilkerson sum up each of the church offices in a catchy way.

Apostles: Entrepreneurs who start new things for God.
Evangelists: Salesmen—"You need Jesus."
Pastors: Encouragers—"Everything is going to be okay."
Teachers: Always looking for the teachable moment.
Prophets: Concerned with keeping things in the right category—"That's just not right!"

Isn't' that last so Jonah! After preaching, he camped outside the city—his front-row seat for the fireworks—but they never came. And so he said to God (my paraphrase): I told you so! I knew Your merciful nature. That's exactly why I ran away to Tarshish—because I knew in the end You'd change Your mind.

Then God gave this pouting prophet an object lesson from his own reaction to circumstances. When a fast-growing vine sprung up providing shelter from the sun, he was happy. But when a worm nibbled at it till it died he had pity on the plant, simply because his own comfort was compromised. In this way God showed him his shallowness and how very different Jonah was from God, whose compassion went way beyond a plant to embrace all people (as well as animals - Jonah 4:11).

How readily we too get hung up on our own ideas of how God should work and like Jonah get swept into self-righteous anger when things don't happen according to our little prophetic 'that's not right' categories. A sidebar article in my Bible leaves us with some advice on how to neutralize such an attitude:

"Do not allow anger or pride to remain in your heart. They led to Jonah's disobedience. Turn away from these attitudes, and seek to have God's character of mercy, grace, patience, forgiveness and lovingkindness" - Leslyn Musch, "Truth-In-Action Through Jonah," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1199.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have Your heart of compassion and pity on the people around me in the spirit of being a fellow traveler. Help me to be a conduit of your mercy, grace, patience, forgiveness, and love to every around me. Amen.

MORE: God's patience with His Jonahs

"...God not only treats Nineveh with pity and mercy, but also treats his stiff-necked prophet that way too. He is slow to anger and ready to relent in his wrath toward Nineveh, and toward Jonah" - By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org. (Read all of "Should I not Pity That Great City Minneapolis.")

God wants YOU

2012-01-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 2:1-3:10

TO CHEW ON: "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message I tell you.'" Jonah 3:1,2

God went to great lengths to get just the person He wanted—Jonah—for the job of preaching to Nineveh. When this reluctant prophet ran the other way, God followed him. When the sailors tossed him into the sea, God protected him. From the belly of the fish, God heard him. When that fishy time-out was over, God talked to his host and the fish tossed him onto dry land. Then God gave him a second chance.

I have found something similar about God's assignments. They come with a quiet but weighty persistence. My excuses don't sway Him. He just listens to them and then when I pray, Lord, give me something to do, whispers, I've already given you a job. Just go and do it.

But what if we feel we've really blown it and disqualified ourselves from ever being used by God again? Leslyn Musch reminds us we can:

"Ask God for a second chance. You may have disobeyed the Lord to the point you believe He can no longer use you. Look at Jonah! There is hope for you too. Ask God's forgiveness for your sin, submit to His will for you. Draw near to Him through worship; praise Him for His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Tell Him you will follow Him full, and do it" - "Truth-In-Action Through Jonah," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1199.

Are you dithering over following through on a job God has given you, hoping, perhaps, that He'll change His mind and give it to someone else? You'd better not count on that. God has amazing tenacity (as Jonah would testify). If He's picked you as the person for a job, He wants you for the job. Better to obey than to hang back and find yourself in a Jonah spot.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for second chances. But it's probably better not to need them. Help me to listen and obey when You first give me a task to do. Amen.

MORE: The secret battle

"The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go through the hell of a renunciation before God. Nothing has any power over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, December 27th reading

Would people say we've been with Jesus?

2012-01-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Peter and John before the Sanhedrin"
- Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 4:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

Peter and John have just got into their first scrap with the Jewish religious leaders. The lame man healed at the temple gate has opened the door to Peter's presentation of Jesus—who He was and is—and the receptivity of the audience galls the temple officials. They arrest Peter and John and, after a night in jail, these two appear before the high priest who asks, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"

Peter, with his post-Pentecost boldness declares, "...by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth .... Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved" - Acts 4:10,12.

It is then these rulers make their telling observation: "... they realized they had been with Jesus." I like how Barnes Notes on the Bible enlarges on this moment:

"It is not said in what way they obtained this evidence, but the connection leads us to suppose it was by the miracle which they had performed, by their firm and bold declaration of the doctrines of Jesus, and perhaps by the irresistible conviction that none would be thus bold who had not been personally with him, and who had not the firmest conviction that he was the Messiah.

They had not been trained in their schools, and their boldness could not be attributed to the arts of rhetoric, but was the native, ingenuous, and manly exhibition of a deep conviction of the truth of what they spoke, and that conviction could have been obtained only by their having been with him..." Barnes Notes on the Bible.

This passage always pricks me, and leaves me with the question: Would people interacting with me, talking to me, reading me, detect that I have been with Jesus? What about you? Do we have that boldness of rock-solid faith in Him who said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)? Is there about our lives the perfume of His presence (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)?.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I want people to say of me, She has been with Jesus. Perhaps, in order for that to happen, I need to rearrange my priorities so that I actually spend more time with You. Amen.

MORE: The confession of Peter

Today the church celebrates Peter's bold confession of faith in the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter. The day's liturgy begins with this collect:

"Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

Extending mercy to your Nineveh

2012-01-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Ammitai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.'

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." Jonah 1:1-3a

Yesterday we pondered God's attributes of righteousness and justice. Today we see His mercy. It's a quality Jonah had a hard time accepting.

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria—Israel's longstanding enemy. Various times in the Old Testament we see the Assyrians raiding Israel, ravaging the countryside, and taking its citizens captive. There was no love lost between Israel and Assyria.

Jonah, nationalist that he was, was obviously aghast at God's assignment. Perhaps his reluctance was tinged with fear for his own well-being. The Assyrians were not noted for their humane treatment of enemies.

But one gets the sense that he was mostly outraged that God wanted to share any part of Himself with his nation's rank enemy. That he, Jonah, would be an instrument in bringing such an intention to pass was, to him, unthinkable. And so he ran the other way.

It's worth stopping here and asking, but wouldn't God's righteousness and justice demand that the Assyrians be punished for their harsh treatment of Israel—the apple of God's eye? However, God, thankfully for us all, is not only just and righteous but also merciful. He wanted to give the Assyrians of Jonah's time an opportunity to repent.

It's easy to shrug off the story of Jonah as one of another era and so irrelevant to us. But wait. Is it really?

I'm reminded of Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch women who, years after her imprisonment in a German concentration camp, came face to face with one of her former captors—her Nineveh, so to speak. That day God asked her to extend mercy and forgiveness to him. She did, and came to a place of new freedom and understanding of God, who is not only just and righteous but also merciful.

I ask myself, what is my Nineveh? What is yours? Will we answer the call of God's heart to extend His mercy to it?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your mercy to me. May my heart echo the merciful thrum of yours as I interact with those who have treated me badly. Amen.

MORE: "Mercy is Falling" by David Ruis

A life of integrity

2012-01-16T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Amos 5:16-27

TO CHEW ON: "I hate, I despise your feast days,

And I do not savour your sacred assemblies ....

But let justice run down like water

And righteousness like a mighty stream." Amos 5:21-24

Here and in many other places, God stresses the importance (to Him) of justice and righteousness. How do these qualities look in real life? Here are a few examples from the Bible:

In Israel it was fairness to women in a society that considered them ineligible to inherit land (Numbers 24:1-8).

It was also expressed in defending the poor, orphans, afflicted, and needy (Psalm 82:3).

The Queen of Sheba saw King Solomon and his just, righteous rule as God's loving provision for Israel (2 Chronicles 9:8).

The psalmist, having lived by standards of righteousness and justice, was bold to ask for God's help (Psalm 119:121)

The writer of Proverbs considered living a life of righteousness and justice more acceptable to God than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3).

In the New Testament, it included paying ruling authorities their due—whether that was taxes, customs, respect, or honour (Romans 13:7).

Paul interpreted it as paying fair wages to one's workers (Colossians 4:1)

God still wants us to live lives of integrity, that is, lives characterized by justice and righteousness and from which these qualities overflow: "Let justice run down like water / And righteousness like a mighty stream." As a comment in my Bible expresses it:

"Outward religious forms have no value unless faith is lived out daily. Love and honor God in every way so that the life flow of the holy Spirit will pour out to those around you." - Leslyn Musch, "Truth-In-Action Through Amos," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 185 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live a life of integrity, characterized by the justice and righteousness that are part of Your very essence. Amen.

MORE: Keeping your word

Living with integrity (with justice and righteousness) may not always come cheap. Michael Hyatt discovered that when a client confronted him with an expensive promise made by a former colleague on behalf of the company for which he worked:

"Several months ago, a former executive at our company made a commitment to a third-party via email. It is obvious that he didn’t research the cost of his promise, nor did he get anyone else’s approval. I was not aware of the obligation until the other party brought it to our attention. When I learned that the commitment was north of six figures, I gasped ..."

What would you have done in this situation? Find out what Michael Hyatt did, and why, in "Keeping Your Word."

Thoughts on seeking God

2012-01-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

"They take a bribe and they turn aside
the poor in the gate" Amos 5:12 - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Amos 5:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Seek Me and live;

But do not seek Bethel

Nor enter Gilgal

Nor pass over to Beersheba;

For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,

And Bethel shall come to nothing

Seek the Lord and live ... "(Amos 5:4-6)

Amos, speaking to a backslidden Israel, warns her people to stop their frantic religious activity and start actually looking for God. The three cities of pilgrimage he names—Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba— all had significance in Israel's faith story.

Bethel:
Jacob first attached the name Bethel to the place where he dreamed of angels ascending and descending from heaven (Genesis 28:16, 17, 19). But Jeroboam 1 corrupted it when he set up an idol calf there. Bethel's reputation continued to go downhill so that Hosea named it not Bethel (House of God) but Beth-Aven—House of Nothing (Hosea 4:15). Amos reinforces that name when he says here, "Bethel shall come to nothing."

Gilgal:
Gilgal was the place the Israelites camped just after crossing the Jordan River from their wilderness wanderings. There Joshua had them set up twelve stones of remembrance taken from the Jordan's riverbed, signifying God's faithfulness to the twelve tribes of Israel (Joshua 4:19-20). Since then it had become an idol shrine: "Gilgal was a place where high places and altars were erected, and idols worshiped as it had formerly been a place of worship of the true God. The ten tribes made use of it in the times of their apostasy for idolatrous worship" - Hosea 4:15" - Gill's commentary on Amos 4:4.

Beersheba:
The patriarchs—Abraham (Genesis 21:31-33), Isaac (Genesis 26:23-25), and Jacob (Genesis 46:11)—had worshiped God in Beersheba. Now, however, it was associated with the "sin of Samaria" and linked, along with the city of Dan, to idol shrines (Amos 8:14).

There is a lesson for us in Amos's plea to the Israelites to seek the Lord as opposed to going to Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba. Three aspects of this seeking come to mind:

1. We need to guard against trying to duplicate the past. When we have met God in a place or time, like the Israelites had in these three cities, it's tempting to make a shrine there, hoping that we will relive what happened if we go back.

2. We need to be vigilant against syncretism, i.e. molding our experience into something it wasn't or isn't by adding in elements, like Israel added idols. Meshing our worship of God with the practices of other religions is always dangerous.

3. We need to follow Amos's simple instructions on how to find God. It is not by going to a sacred place or enacting a religious ritual, but by nurturing an awareness of who God is, and by doing what He values. In simple words, He meets us when we are obedient.

"Seek good and not evil

That you may live;

So the Lord God of hosts will be with you..." Amos 5:14.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep my relationship with You fresh and alive with my obedience. Amen.

MORE: One Master

"A man is a slave for obeying unless behind his obedience there is a recognition of a holy God. Many a soul begins to come to God when he flings off being religious because there is only one Master of the human heart, and that is not religion but Jesus Christ" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 18 reading.

Hedged in

2012-01-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 139:1-24

TO CHEW ON: "You have hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me." Psalm 139:5

If you are like me, you don't like to feel confined. I don't like to feel physically confined. I remember fighting panic when we vacationed in our tent trailer and I slept in a narrow place between my husband, the canvas wall beside me, and the canvas roof that sloped to just inches of my face.

But David tells us that God confines us—fences us in, a hedge in front and in back, His hand on top.

If life is good we may scarcely be aware of this constriction. But when circumstances are hard, the job is unfulfilling, other pastures look greener, it is easy to try to wriggle out of the place we're in, to spring ourselves from what feels like a prison.

I read the blog of a special education teacher who wrote of this very thing in one of his 2011 advent meditations. His thoughts came out of a conversation with the furnace fixer, Mr. S., who confided in him, "I don't like my job," and then asked, "How about you? Are you thinking of leaving or are you going to stay?" Here's the rest of the story in Magical Mystical Teacher's own words:

“'I’ve thought about leaving,' I say to Mr. S, 'but where would I go?'

What I don’t tell him, because I’m not sure he’d understand, is that the only thing keeping me here—besides the children—is my sense of being placed here by God. Like the psalmist, I have found that God leads people who are willing to be led. If it weren’t for that, I’d be filling out as many applications as it takes to get out of here as quickly as possible.

However, until it is clear that I am supposed to move on, I listen for God’s instruction right where I am, confident that God will teach me the way to go, and lead me when the time is right."

Perhaps that attitude of trust in God, that willingness to stay or to go in God's time, not ours, is the secret of living without restlessness, anger, resentment, bitterness etc., in our hedged-in place.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that Your enclosing of me is governed by Your wisdom, love, and power. Knowing that, I can live wherever You put me. Remind me of these things when I feel like complaining about my circumstances. Amen.

MORE: "Nothing is Wasted" - Jason Gray

Jesus sees you under your fig tree

2012-01-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Nathaneal Under the Fig Tree" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1:43-51

TO CHEW ON: "Nathaneal said to Him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him; 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'" John 1:48

Jesus' picking of His disciples appears an easy, random process though it wasn't random at all, based as it was on His x-ray vision of each potential disciple's heart. Simon, Andrew, James and John came at His simple invitation. So did Matthew and Philip.

Philip found Nathaneal and invited him to follow too. He wasn't such an easy sell.

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" he asked, when he heard that was where Jesus was from. He knew — astute scripture scholar that he was — that Nazareth wasn't the prophesied birthplace of Messiah.

Philip, confident he had found the Real One, said simply, "Come and see."

Jesus didn't disappoint. On meeting Nathaneal He exclaimed, "Behold an Israelite in whom is no deceit."

The description obviously resonated with Nathaneal because he responded, "How do you know me?"

Jesus' mysterious answer made sense to Nathaneal alone" "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Jesus had apparently put his finger on a significant moment in Nathaneal's life. Perhaps it was a time when he was in crisis or facing a fork in the road. Maybe it was a moment he had been praying for direction, or that he would be shown truth. Whatever it was, Jesus' mention of that moment under the fig tree arrested Nathaneal right where he lived. I can see his eyes get big, his jaw drop in surprise. Then, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Has God ever shown you that He sees you in the same private way? From the pastor speaking on the exact text you read in your quiet time on a Sunday morning to you hearing from a person shortly after memories of them cross your mind (perhaps for the first time in a long while), recognize these 'coincidences' as Him watching you under your fig tree.

Respond as Nathaneal did — with worship. And then become His modern disciple. Who else would you want to follow after meeting someone who sees, knows, and loves you in such an intimate way?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for your all-seeing knowledge of me. Help me to respond to Your invitation to follow You with the abandon that Nathaneal did. Amen.

MORE: God orchestrates my life

"God has an over-arching purpose for all believers: to conform us to the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ (see Ephesians2:10). And God will fulfill that purpose. As Psalm 138:8 says, 'The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.' Because we know God is directing our lives to an ultimate end and because we know He is sovereignly able to orchestrate the events of our lives toward that end, we can trust Him. We can commit to Him not only the ultimate outcome of our lives, but also all the intermediate events and circumstances that will bring us to that outcome" - Jerry Bridges, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts, Kindle Edition, p. 48 (emphasis added).

(From the archives)

When God spoke again

2012-01-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Eli and Samuel" by William Brassey Hole

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "... And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation .... Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord." 1 Samuel 3:1,21

What a contrast between the beginning and end of 1 Samuel 3. Israel went from
"the word of the Lord was rare" and "no widespread revelation" to "The Lord revealed Himself..." What made the difference? A boy—and a young boy at that.

That boy was Samuel. What made him a good candidate to hear and pass on God's words? Some things we see as we study his life:

1. His mother's prayers and a kept promise.
He had a heritage of faith and was pledged to God from before birth. His mother Hannah prayed for him making a promise to God that if she had a son, she would dedicate him to God's service. After God answered her prayer she kept her promise and brought him to Eli when he was weaned (at three or four years old) - 1 Samuel 1:1-28.

2. He stayed pure.
The old priest Eli and his lewd and rebellious sons, Hophni and Phinehas, mentored Samuel. Despite the awful example of the sons, Samuel kept his innocence. With his mother hovering in the background, bringing, every year, a new ephod, you've got to think those mother-prayers were still ascending and effective to keep little Samuel pure despite his surroundings - 1 Samuel 2: 12-10.

3. He was attentive and obedient
In our reading today we see Samuel jump out of bed three times in response to what he thought was Eli's call - 1 Samuel 3:4-8.

4. He passed on the message.
God's words to Samuel were a chilling denunciation of Eli and his sons, along with a prediction of judgment. Notice that after hearing them, Samuel didn't rush off to tell Eli. In fact, the next morning Eli had to pry God's message out of him. But Samuel did finally tell him exactly what God had said, even though it was nasty. Perhaps this was an apprenticeship test for Samuel, because throughout his ministry God would give him many more unpleasant messages to deliver.

We can apply some of these qualities to our lives to ensure the word of the Lord is not rare in our days.

We can pray for, dedicate, and support the next generation to the things of God—our children and the young people in our churches.

We can ourselves cultivate a keen ear to hear God's voice and be quick to respond to His voice.

We must then be willing to speak God's words to our generation, both the pleasant and the not-so-pleasant, the words of life and the words of judgment.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Samuel and his inspiring example. I love how all his words were significant. May it be said of me, "The Lord was with her and let none of her words fall to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19). Amen.

MORE: "Speak, O Lord" by Keith & Kristyn Getty

Speak, O Lord by Keith and Kristyn Getty on Grooveshark

Instant obedience

2012-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Edge of the Forest (The Flight

Into Egypt)" by Jan Brueghel the Elder

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 2:13-23

TO CHEW ON: "Now when they had departed behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young child and His mother, flee to Egypt ... When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt." Matthew 2:13-14

I am the kind of person who likes to have lots of warning. Hubby wants to invite people for dinner? Great. But I appreciate knowing a couple of days in advance. He wants to go for a drive? Well, he'd better not expect me to just drop everything and come with him. I need to know ahead of time so I can fit it into my plans.

With God I'm sure this is a flaw. Imagine if Joseph had stalled when the angel visited him in the night with the message to take Jesus and Mary and flee to Egypt (not realizing that Herod's soldiers were already assembling in order to comb the town for Jesus and kill Him)? But he didn't. Rather, he got up, woke his family, loaded the donkey and left immediately—at night.

His actions show he was a man of faith who trusted God's wisdom to the extent of instant obedience. Though starting a journey with a wife and baby in the middle of the night was not what he had planned, he just did it without a minute's hesitation.

I'm sure there is some lack of trust in God and His ability to orchestrate my life behind my inflexibility. Of course I'm not suggesting that it's a bad thing to plan ahead. But when my plans trump God's surprises, I may be depriving myself of some wonderful serendipities, or even putting myself in harm's way.

Are you a spontaneous person, or schedule-driven? Have you ever experienced a time when God interrupted your plans? What happened?

PRAYER: Dear God, I love Joseph's instant, unquestioning obedience. Help me to trust You to coordinate my days. I want to learn to handle surprises with optimism and the anticipation of finding You in them. Amen.

MORE: Abandon

"Jesus sums up common-sense carefulness in a disciple as infidelity. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will press through and say - Now where does God come in in this relationship, in this mapped out holiday, in these new books? ....

'Take no thought . . .' don't take the pressure of forethought upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never any thing else that worries us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the word He puts in? The devil? No, the cares of this world. It is the little worries always. I will not trust where I cannot see, that is where infidelity begins. The only cure for infidelity is obedience to the Spirit.

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon."

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 23rd reading

Looking for mercy

2012-01-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY' SPECIAL: Psalm 123:1-124:8

TO CHEW ON: "Behold as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the Lord our God,

Until He has mercy on us." Psalm 123:2

I've always liked this picturesque little verse, reading it as servants keeping an eye on the master for the next command. But on a close look today, I see that that's not what the servant is waiting for at all. Rather, he or she is waiting, looking up, hoping for mercy

[Mercy (chanan) means to be gracious, show pity, favour.

In English mercy is defined as kind or compassionate treatment of an offender, adversary, prisoner etc. in one's power; compassion where severity is expected or deserved.]

This request for mercy from the lips of man to God—from our own lips—reminds us of who God is and who we are. Eugene Peterson comments on this psalm and the stance of the person praying:

"The person of faith looks up to God, not at him or down on him. The servant assumes a certain posture, a stance. If he or she fails to take that posture, attentive responsiveness to the master's commands will be hard" - Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p. 61.

The definition of mercy reminds us of why it is only realistic to take that low, looking-up posture: because we are people who deserve and, except for Jesus and His substitutionary death for us, expect severity.

It's easy to get in the 'ordering God around' mode in our prayers. This little psalm reminds us of who we are and what our realistic posture before God is. And yet, because He is good, this grovelling for mercy is not fear-filled but optimistic. Peterson again:

"In obedience we pray "Mercy!" instead of "Give us what we want." We prayer "Mercy!" and not "Reward us for our goodness so our neighbors will acknowledge our superiority." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Punish us for our badness so we will feel better." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Be nice to us because we have been such good people."

We live under the mercy. God does not treat us as alien others, lining us up so that he can evaluate our competence or our usefulness or our worth. He rules, guides, commands, loves us as children whose destinies he carries in his heart" - Peterson, Ibid., p. 64.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this reminder of my realistic position before You. Thank You for Your mercy that looks on me with soft, compassionate eyes, instead of with the condemnation I deserve. Help me to extend Your mercy to others. Amen.

MORE: Kyrie Eleison (As We Come Before You) by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

God's voice in the key of nature

2012-01-09T02:00:00.000-08:00

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 29:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "The voice of the Lord is powerful;

The voice of the Lord is full of majesty." - Psalm 29:4

I loved thunderstorms when I was growing up on a Saskatchewan farm (loved with just a tinge of fear). My parents treated them with respect. If one rolled in overnight, they herded us all from our upstairs bedrooms into the living-room to sleep on pullout couches, so I knew they could be dangerous. (In fact, some tall prairie houses were built with a lightning rod. Ours didn't have one so perhaps our parents' fear for our safety on the upper story was well founded).

I remember not being able to keep my eyes from the window as I waited for the next burst of light followed by the crack-crash-rumble of thunder. I felt safe and secure, like an onlooker, curious, even excited to see how bad this would get. (The wind, with its ability to knock things down and rattle them around, scared me more than the thunder.)

David in this psalm seems to write from a similar vantage point of safety, even detachment. With poetic details he word-paints cataclysmic acts of nature:

Storm: "The God of glory thunders / The Lord is over many waters" (vs. 3).
Earthquake: "The Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon / He makes them also skip like a calf" (vs. 5-6).
Wildfire: "The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire" (vs. 7).

However, nowhere in this Psalm does David attribute God-like qualities to nature in a pantheistic way. A footnote in my Bible comments:

"There is no evidence of superstitious fears as in pagan cultures (Jonah 1:4-6), nor is God equated with the storm and thunder as polytheistic religious depict; but here God is above and over nature commanding it with His spoken word as at creation (Genesis 1)" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 707.

We all know that natural events can bring with them devastation and death to believers and nonbelievers alike. The note of peace on which this psalm ends ("The Lord will give strength to His people; / The Lord will bless His people with peace.") reminds us that we can ultimately trust God who is behind and allows both the calm and the storm. They are part of His conforming us into the people of His destiny:

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son" - Romans 8:28, 29.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your power in nature can be fearful. I have only to see the after effects of an earthquake or tsunami to remind me of how puny I am. Help me to face whatever You allow into my life with peace, knowing that Your purposes for me in going through it are good and constructive. Amen.

MORE: Nature's power in pictures

The website Boston.com runs a feature called "The Big Picture: The News in Photographs." It contains sets of newsworthy photos. Below are links to some of the natural disasters our world has seen within the last few years (be patient; these are large files which take a little longer to load than some):

"Massive earthquake hits Japan" - photos of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the east coast of Japan.

"Remembering Katrina, five years ago" - photos of the August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina that devastated the Gulf Coast, centered on New Orleans.

Is it time for a burning?

2012-01-08T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Saint Paul and the burning of pagan books
at Ephesus" by Lucio Massari (1559-1633)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 19:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them and it totalled fifty-thousand pieces of silver." Acts 19:19

I love the beginning of the year. I like starting new calendars and a new daybook. I get the urge to purge old papers from my files and junk from my closets and the garage. I want to unburden myself of the past and make a new start.

The people in Ephesus made such a new start too. However, for them it wasn't a new year thing where they rid themselves of their abundance of clutter, but a spiritual housecleaning where they gathered and destroyed their how-to-do-magic books.

At dinner with friends a few weeks ago, a couple told of how they did something similar. Shortly after they became Christians, the man burned all his masonic artifacts, the woman her astrology jewelry. No pastor or leader told them to. They just knew it was necessary to make this spiritual break with the past. Why? Because physical objects can be weighted with spiritual power for good or bad. Earlier in this chapter we see how people used handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul to bring healing to the sick (Acts 19:12). And in our focus verse, they destroyed those magic books.

Perhaps we need to do more of this—physically destroy those objects in our lives that signify and bind us to our life before Christ: the CDs, books, jewelry, good luck charms, masks...whatever.

Occult expert Kurt Koch says:

"Every object of sorcery must be destroyed. In the great revival which Paul experienced in Ephesus, many of those who were now believers brought their books on magic arts and burned them in the sight of all (Acts 19:19).

In the revival in Indonesia the natives brought their fetishes and occult objects together in heaps and destroyed them in a similar way.

Magical books and occult objects carry with them a hidden ban. Anyone not prepared to rid himself of the ban will be unable to free himself from the influence of the powers of darkness" - Kurt Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, p. 90.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to anything that is keeping me in Satan's bondage. Help me to make a break with any darkness from my past. Amen.

MORE: Collecting masks and objects of heathen worship

Kurt Koch makes this observation about collecting what some might call anthropological artifacts:

"Some missionaries are actually enthusiastic collectors of devil's masks and similar objects of heathen ritual worship. Through hanging the trophies up in their homes they burden the whole house and all who live in it .... These idols have sometimes been used for years or even decades in heathen rituals. In this way they become crystallization points for demonic powers in houses where they are displayed as works of art. The Spirit of God does not dwell with idols, even in a so-called Christian home" - Kurt Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, p. 92.

He identifies with us

2012-01-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

"Baptism of Jesus" by Isabella Colette

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 1:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Mark 1:9

Mark makes it clear that people were coming to John for baptism to confess their sins and picture the remission of their sins. So why did Jesus (who was sinless—2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26) ask to be baptized?

I would submit that one purpose for His baptism was to identify with us. I see, in the Bible, several facets of this.

He would become sin for us. Paul says that God "...made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.." Though Jesus never committed sin, in His baptism, He foreshadowed those awful / wonderful hours on the cross when He bore all the sins of all the people that had ever lived and would ever live (including yours and mine).

We can trust Him because He understands the human experience. Hebrews 2 talks more about what His identifying with us means:

He was subject to physical death (Hebrews 2:14). But His death was loaded with significance in that He would, by dying, satisfy God's wrath against sin ("make propitiation for the sins of the people" - Hebrews 2:17).

By taking on human existence, He understood/understands our temptation and is able to help us when we are tempted (Hebrews 2:18; 1 Corinthians 10:13).

When He limited Himself to a human body, He became subject to our weaknesses and so has compassion (deals gently) with us in them (Hebrews 2:5).

I love the aspect of Holy Spirit 's involvement in Jesus' baptism that unfolded when Jesus came up from the water and "He saw the heavens parting (torn open) and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove" accompanied by the message of Father God's approval: "You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" - Mark 1:11.

This scene pictures the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It reminds us of the source and energy of spiritual life following repentance: the Holy Spirit.

Let's thank God for Jesus, our older brother (Hebrews 2:17) who was there first and who understands and sympathizes with our human struggles.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Jesus's humility and obedience to subject Himself to a human body and go through with the act of baptism. Help me to live the post-baptism Holy Spirit-empowered life. Amen.

MORE: More on Jesus' identity with us

"The revelation of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took upon Himself our fleshly sins, but that He took upon Himself the heredity of sin which no man can touch. God made His own Son to be sin that He might make the sinner a saint. All through the Bible it is revealed that Our Lord bore the sin of the world by identification, not by sympathy. He deliberately took upon His own shoulders, and bore in His own Person, the whole massed sin of the human race - "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," and by so doing He put the whole human race on the basis of Redemption. Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race; He put it back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what Our Lord has done on the Cross" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 7 reading.