Living the Dream

Living the Dream!

Daily Reading:  Jude 1

Scripture Focus: To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1.1b-2)

Devotional Thought: The book of Jude has but one chapter, and it is mostly devoted to warnings about and to false teachers.  The salutation of this short letter, however, is very uplifting!  It tells us we are "living the dream."

Who we are...

Called - Life can be very lonely.  A call goes a long way in lifting someone's spirit.  God doesn't leave us wondering if there's anybody who knows we exist.  He sent his Son to be our Savior and his Spirit to be our Companion.  He calls us!

Beloved - I love to watch my children with their children.  Even when things aren't convenient or easy, I see how they love those babies.  God loves us not only when it's easy.  He loved us when it was the hardest thing in the world to do!

Kept - On September 2, 1978 - 40 years ago! - I asked Lana to be my bride.  It was in June of 1979 that we were married.  But in those intervening months, we kept ourselves for each other.  In the same way, we are espoused to Jesus and there is a great wedding day coming!

What we're given...

Mercy - Not getting something we deserve - the sentence of our sin.  That is multiplied daily in our lives!

Peace - Getting something we don't deserve - the assurance of knowing that it is well with my soul!

Love - The greatest gift of all!  And this from the One whose love is infinite and eternal!

May these things be multiplied in you!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for calling me, loving me, and keeping me.  Thank you for forgiving my sins, for giving me peace, and for loving me unconditionally.  Help me, O Lord, to multiply these things to others.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  16 When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, 17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him. 20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21 he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, 22 to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom. (Psalms 105:16-22)

Will I do my part?

Will I do my part?

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 31

Scripture Focus: Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31.8-9)

Devotional Thought: In his book Suicide of the West Jonah Goldberg provides evidence for the greatly improved situation of humanity in the last 300 years due to the appearance of democracy and capitalism.  One of the weaknesses of market-based economies, however, is that some people get left behind, forgotten.  The writers of Proverbs remind us that God's people must remember them!  We want the government or the church to take care of the needs around us, abdicating ourselves of responsibility.  Or we say, "The need is so great, and the issues so complicated.  What can I do?"

I think the first order of business might be to identify who are the mute - those without a voice?  Who are the poor and needy - those without adequate resources?  Who are the destitute - those without the ability or opportunity to even access those resources?  I can think of several...

·        The sick or aged or young

·        The preborn in the womb

·        The unemployed or unemployable

·        The refugee or displaced citizen

·        The addict or prisoner

·        The marginalized or outcast

·        Even, for those of us in Christ, the sinner

The second thing I need to do is ask" What can I do to help?"  In these verses three things are mentioned:

·        Open our mouths for the mute.  The principle is to personally do for them what they cannot do for themselves. 

·        Judge righteously.  We all, like Job's friends, have a tendency to blame others for their situations.  We need to stop judging and start helping!

·        Defend their rights. The front line of their defense is us!  When the early church saw a need, they didn't seek help from the government, they sold their lands and gave!

What are you doing about it?

Prayer: Jesus, you paid a debt you did not owe and I owe a debt I could not pay.  You didn't ask anybody else to go to the cross.  You went there to pay my debt for sin.  Help me to be like you.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." 12 When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, 13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 15 saying, "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" (Psalms 105:7-15)

Safe!

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 29-30

Scripture Focus: The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25

Devotional Thought: Fear is often addressed in the Bible.  God has desired from the beginning that we would trust him wholly, without fear or anxiety in our hearts.  With the fall of God’s perfect creation and the introduction of sin into the world, the hearts of men turned away from the Lord, and mankind has been struggling against one of our soul’s greatest enemies: fear.

The Israelites, surrounded by miraculous rescues, provisions, and encounters with God, still struggled with fear.  When Jesus came to the world, his disciples kept on fearing.  As we live in the “in-between” time before Jesus comes back again, we fear as well.  Will I be able to raise godly children in a godless world?  Pay my debtors?  Be free from addiction?  Fear seems to be a normal way of life, even for believers at times.

Why should we regard fear as a serious threat?  Fear is rooted in distrust of the Lord.  When we trust in the Lord, we are safe.  We have assurance that He hears our prayers, and we trust that He is sovereign over every detail of our lives.  But don’t take my word for it!  In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Jesus says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?” (Matt. 6:27).  “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship…” (Rom. 8:15).  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,” (1 John 4:18).  We have a blessed Savior who has set us free from the bondage of fear and given us safety in His name.

Jenny

Prayer:  Father, thank you for freeing us from the fear that so easily captures our hearts.  Help us to fix our eyes on you in times where fear threatens us, remembering that we are safe in Your arms.

Psalm of the Day:  1 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! 4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! (Psalms 105:1-6)

An appetite for God

An appetite for God

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 27-28

Scripture Focus: One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. (Proverbs 27.7)

Devotional Thought: Most Wednesday nights I go to the Feed Mill to get pie with some friends.  I have a bad habit of finishing off my friends' pie if they don't keep it closely guarded!  Once in a while, Rachael gets the Oreo pie.  It is sooo good!  But, if I eat too much of it - after having cleaned up my peanut butter pie - I find out that it starts to taste  bad.  Too much sugar!  When I'm hungry, though, it's delicious!

Did you know the same thing is true spiritually?  When we're 'full' nothing tastes good.  When we're hungry, everything satisfies.

God has a hard time getting through to us when we are full.  Our world is full of all kinds of things to fill our minds and hearts - television, internet, hobbies, relationships, entertainments, sports...  We are over-stimulated.  When we get so full with these things, there is no room for God.  We actually get to feeling sick!  It's even true that we can gorge ourselves on religious TV and by the time we get to church, we are no longer hungry!

But, oh when we're hungry, the Word of God and the fellowship of the saints and the songs of Zion satisfy us!  I've noticed that the self-sufficient have no need for God and are slow to respond.  There are those, however, who are hungry for peace.  They feast on God.  Others are lonely and eat the living Bread of Christ's presence.  Some are looking for meaning and find that Jesus satisfies.  And, most of all, those who are hungry for the eternal, the settled, the unmovable - in short those who are hungry for God - are able to feast on the goodness of the Lord.

Amen!

Prayer: Help me, Lord, not to fill my life up so much that there is no room left for you, no appetite left for the things of the Spirit.  May I, by your grace, hunger and thirst for righteousness and be filled!  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. 27 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD! (Psalms 104:24-35)

Material for a vessel

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 25-26

Scripture Focus: Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel. (Proverbs 25.4)

Devotional Thought: Silver is refined in stages.  The silversmith heats the silver in fire, and the dross rises to the surface.  The dross then is skimmed off, and the silver is heated again - this time to a higher temperature.  More dross comes to the surface and is skimmed off.  This process is repeated until all the impurities are removed.  Only then is the silver ready to be worked into the finished product.

God does the same thing to us as he prepares us for the "finished product." 

Life's troubles are the fires that heat us up.  Sometimes these things are accidental and incidental, such as compromised health, job difficulties, strained relationships, financial setbacks, even misunderstandings.  As we grow in Christ, we face things that we didn't before.  We are tested far beyond what we think we can bear.  These trials are a necessary part of our sanctification.

We can't forget the next step, however.  Fire in and of itself will not purify silver.  The impurities remain unless removed.  There has to be a skimming. Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, lust, greed and more... all these things are to be skimmed away.  We can't keep them!

There is another way for silver to be purified, however, and that is by the addition of nitric acid.  In this process the nitric acid absorbs the silver and carries it away from the impurities.  This is analogous to being filled with the Spirit so fully that there is no room for any impurities!

When we are purified, God has the material he needs for the "finished product."  The level of purification determines the level of usefulness to the silversmith and beauty in the object.  Let's allow God to purify us completely!

Prayer: "Purify my heart!  Let me be as gold and precious silver.  Refiners fire, my heart's one desire is to be holy, det apart for you, ready to do your will."  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19 He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. (Psalms 104:16-23)

2018.08.28 Landmarks

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 23-24

Scripture Focus: Do not move an ancient landmark (Proverbs 23.10a)

Devotional Thought: When we moved onto Virginia Trail, I was plowing the yard to prepare it for seeding.  "Uh oh!  What was that?"  I jumped off the tractor and found that the plow had pulled up a boundary stake.  I tried to put it back where it belonged, but the hole was gone!  I didn't think about it for 8 years, but two years ago, a tree that was on the property line fell over.  It was an expensive proposition to cut it up and move it off.  I wanted some help.  I had to know exactly where the property line was but couldn't find the boundary stake!  Thankfully my neighbor remembered, and we worked out a deal that was not too expensive for either of us.

The writer of Proverbs warned against moving ancient landmarks.  His concern was to prevent people from taking advantage of the poor in court.  God is concerned for that, but he also has other landmarks that are even more important.

God gave us the Ten Commandments over 3000 years ago.  Those landmarks are meant for our good.  It is so tempting to move them, to change them.  But millennia of experience teaches us that that is not a good idea!  Life is lived better in obedience to those "Big 10"!

God also gave us the Law of love - to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength - and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  That's an ancient landmark stretching back to the time of Moses and being reiterated by Christ himself.  That ancient landmark has been moved, however, and too many people today, however, love only those they like.

Let's keep those ancient landmarks intact!  It's too expensive not to!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.  Surely I have a delightful inheritance."  Help me to know and keep those boundaries intact.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; 11 they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. 13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. (Psalms 104:10-15)

2018.08.27 Wrong Way!

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 21-22

Scripture Focus: Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21.2)

Devotional Thought: Several weeks ago, Lana and I were in the town where her mom used to live.  We had a couple stops to make, and they were not on our old normal route.  As we left one stop, I thought I knew where I was going, and I turned south on I-79, just like I was used to from there.  I thought I was right, but I really needed to go north.  Lana said, "I wondered why you were going this way, but I thought you knew what you were doing."

We can go through life that way, too.  We can think we are making all the right turns and discover that - oops! - we're going the wrong way! 

There are some things we can do:

·        Listen to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  I love to tell my grandchildren "The Monkey Story" about a little monkey who goes to the swamp to play.  Many of his jungle friends try to stop him, but he is determined to do what he wants, and he ends up on the back of an alligator! God gives us people in our lives who have been this road before, who know the pitfalls.  We need to swallow our pride and listen!

·        Respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  God nudges us along the way.  If we listen and "test the spirits," his voice grows stronger.  If we ignore his promptings, his voice fades away.

·        Know the Word of God.  But we can't just hear or read it; we have to do it!  As we do so, we will understand it more and more.

Listen for the voice of God.  He knows your heart better than even you do!

Prayer: As the Psalmist prayed centuries ago, "Search me, O God, and know my heart.  Try me and know my thoughts.  See if there be any crooked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. 3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. 5 He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. 8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. (Psalms 104:1-9)