Thursday Devotional - Snake Bite Purpose

I wonder what Paul thought when he got the snake bite? Was he afraid? Did he wonder why God allowed yet another challenge and more pain?

After the drama we saw last week around the snake bite, we quickly see it was a way God used to draw attention to Paul and the Holy Spirit’s power and message through him.

Acts 27:7-10 ⁷ There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. ⁸ His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. ¹⁰ They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

The passage doesn’t say Paul preached the gospel and told the people on Malta about Jesus, but I don’t think Paul went anywhere where he didn’t talk about God’s message of Salvation. He must have told them it wasn’t his power (but God’s) that healed them. Paul could see now how God used the snake bite to give him a platform for sharing God’s power and message.  

This reminds me to have a different perspective when a family member or I experience pain or suffering. I can ask God for help AND ask Him to help me see how He is going to use it for His purposes.

That certainly wasn’t my first thought when my son, James, had a gymnastics injury Monday that left his vision blurred and half his face numb. I definitely asked God for help! It was a few hours, though, before I asked Him to show me how He might be using this for His purposes. As God answered prayers for direction and next steps (such as one of our doctors personally talking to us on the phone right as we got to ER and letting us come to his office immediately for an assessment, bypassing ER), we were able to share these answers to prayer with family members, coaches, and doctors!

James is still dealing with several issues, but we’re praising God he didn’t end up with a concussion and the nerve damage shouldn’t be permanent!

The next time you and I face a challenge, let’s remember to not only ask God for help, but to help us use it for His purposes!

Alice

Filling The Gap

Be good to your servant,
    that I may live and obey your word.
Open my eyes to see
    the wonderful truths in your instructions.
I am only a foreigner in the land.
    Don’t hide your commands from me!
I am always overwhelmed
    with a desire for your regulations. Psalms 119: 17-20

One of the first things I tried to do when I became born again was give up something for lent. The funny thing was I was never successful.  I would slip up somewhere along the line, and eat the chocolate cake, or I would have that night out where the cheesecake looked too good.  Eventually, I would give in.  Then one year, I put it all together and found success!  There was so much joy in my heart that I enjoyed cheesecake that year much more!  In retrospect, each passing year where I failed, I also learned something from my failures.  I realized to avoid certain places, or had greater will power to never ‘give up.’  I was overwhelmed with a desire to make it.  The whole thing reminded me about reading a section of a book that talked about ‘failure.’  It noted that we look at failure as something to avoid.  However, many people view failure as an opportunity.  Their failure was not because they did not plan well or perform at their best.  It was because they were missing something, and thus, their quest was to look at the gap between what they wished to accomplish and where they ended up.  They had lofty expectations where they learned a great deal about themselves striving to become something they would not ordinarily grow to become.  It was the gap that became the key to their finding greater energy and ambition to make the final changes and adjustments to achieve their goal.

This is what spiritual growth with God sounds like.  We see the perfection of His son Jesus Christ, and we try so hard to meet that lofty expectation, but we often fall short.  We should see our failures as opportunities to learn about God’s plan and grow from it. In reading David’s 119^th Psalm, I was struck by his passion to truly learn about God’s purpose for his life.  I noted that he prayed to live and obey His word.  The key word here was ‘may.’  This was an acknowledgement that he studied and focus on God, but he was not always perfect.  He hoped that he was following God’s word.  Additionally, he was overwhelmed with desire to learn more.  Thus, he further understood the ‘gap’ between where he was and where God wanted him.

This is incredibly powerful for us when we are focusing on our own spiritual growth. We will fail.  We will not always hit the mark.  However, we must not be deterred by the loftiness of our goals to become followers that Jesus Himself would be proud of.  Thus, we must look at Christ’s example and see where the ‘gaps’ are.  Then continue to adjust and make changes that will make us more in His likeness.  This can be both scary and challenging.  However, as Hebrews 12:2 says, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

God is very intentional in His pursuit of us. He sets the stage and moves things so that we know of His presence, and He provides protection, comfort, inspiration, and of course love to solidify that relationship.  Is it no wonder that we should be “overwhelmed with a desire” to know more of Him.  That is what a true growing and loving relationship is like.  Famous football coach Vince Lombardi said to his team once, “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence.”  This is exactly what being a Christ follower is all about.  Let us ‘chase’ Christ in such a way that truly honors Him.  Where is your obsession to learn more of God’s word?  How will to continually raise the bar to be more like Jesus?  My prayer is that we are honest with ourselves and are overwhelmed with desire to fill the gap between our ways and God’s.  Amen.

Finished

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”  A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30

“Are we done yet,” asks my daughter as we go down the path of her impending punishment. This is the conversation we seemingly have over and over again.  We discuss something along the lines of, “You need to take responsibility for your own actions,” or, “It’s not about what you want.  It’s about what we expect from you.”  We try to be careful realizing one day this strong-willed child will be a force for good.  But yesterday, I simply wanted the little girl who tried to please her Dad with little tears running down her face.  So, we get to her punishment, and then, we are finished.  She storms upstairs frustrated that I have been harsh (in her eyesight), and I am hopeful she understands the right things to do in the future.  While we are finished with the conversation, it is part of the bigger picture of helping one young girl become a young woman.  My wife and me understand one of our purposes is to help her make that transition from young girl to a God-fearing woman, and we pray she will one day appreciate that.

Trusting God is key to ensure His purpose for our lives is fulfilled. This past week, I kept reflecting on today’s verses on Jesus’ crucifixion.  Why did He say, “It is finished,” when He knew He would rise from the grave?  Jesus had done all that He needed to do on earth.  He showed He was the Messiah through teachings and miracles.  He gave the hope of the Good News to come.  He took on all that the world could offer, and most important of all, He gave His life in sacrifice for us.  He submitted His free spirit to God.  There was nothing left for Him to do.  So, His work here on earth was … finished.  But we know it was not the end.  How often do we continue to fight and claw through a situation without an end in sight?  Perhaps now is the time to focus both intently and with clarity what God’s next move is for your life.  Our work or efforts in a situation may be indeed ‘finished,’ but we must remember that just because our work is finished does not mean it is the end.  Only God makes that determination for as written in the book of Isaiah, “When He opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.” (22:22b)

God has a purpose for everyone.  Sure, the journey may seem endless, and sometimes, we may not even feel like we know where we are going.  But if we trust in God, we know there is a bigger plan.  So let us focus on continuing to both seek and fulfill our purpose such that when the end is truly in sight, we can speak as Paul wrote:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

What Godly purpose do you have left unfulfilled?  How can you make steps toward finding God’s purpose for your life?  My prayer is that we continue to follow God unconditionally until we can say to Him, “It is finished.”  Amen.

Planting A Seed

Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.  But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.  The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.  The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!  Matthew 13:18-23 

 Am I reading the word or living the word?  I ask myself this question because at times it is a struggle.  In a discussion I had over the weekend with a friend of mine, things began to be a bit heated.  I could tell she was getting frustrated.  As such, I proposed that maybe we should step back, and come back to the topic tomorrow.  However, nothing changed because she would not see eye to eye with me.  I think the reason for their frustration was that although I understood where she was coming from, she took my understanding as ‘agreement.’  Then as I explained my opposition, she grew frustrated and attacked me.  Although I appreciated learning their side of the story, I felt nothing had been gained.  Then, I thought of what God taught me about planting seeds.  It helped me to understand that we may not see the fruits of our labor right away.  We must wait for Him to make the seed grow. 

As a Christian, our goal at times may not be to literally change a life but to instead plant seeds so others can see God at work to recognize it later.  In reading the parable of the farmer planting seeds, I recognized different points of my life where I fit each seed.  In my early years, I did not understand God’s word.  At some point, I became filled with joy when reading His word.  But I was not sufficiently grounded, and thus fell off the path.  Then once I became born again, I would become worried about troubles in the world where I felt lost from God.  However, I somehow made it back to where I felt grounded in God’s word sharing it with others and living it out to those who come in contact with me.  I have watched the harvest not only in friends but also children and grandchildren.  None of this happened without trusting in God.  My wife has been a great inspiration to me reminding me to stay grounded and trust in Him.  I share this hoping that it helps some of you.  You could be at any of these stages, but if you are not producing a harvest, note that it may not be time for your harvest.  However if you trust in God, know that it will come. 

God’s time is always accurate and correct.  We may struggle believing a time for something to occur is now.  The key is to trust God regardless of what the outcome may be.  It may be something small and you won’t see the end result.  However by trusting in God, remember that “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.” (Matthew 13:31b)  Our goal is to be an instrument of God letting Him use us, and then watch as He (not us) makes the harvest.  Let us rejoice in the omnipotent power of God to turn even the smallest things into a big part of His Kingdom!  Where are your seeds planted?  How will you trust in God to let the harvest grow?  My prayer is that when things don’t seem to work out with someone, we don’t focus on the now and just remember to plant the seed.  Amen. 

God's Control And His Plan

The discussion of the environment has become a hot topic of late (no pun intended).  I would not want to discuss what many would consider a political discussion for a devotion, but something I heard pulled me and my beliefs right in.  A congressman put God in the middle of the discussion.  He said, “As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”  That makes sense for we know we serve an almighty God who can do anything.  We could very well take the approach of Jesus speaking of worries saying, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33) 

However, there is another side of the argument that says we are not to absolve ourselves from just standing around and doing nothing.  When we see something is wrong, Jesus tells us to act.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of many examples (see below):

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. ³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.  The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  Luke 10:33-37

We are to remember that our faith calls us to act when God calls upon us.  There are those who may take the approach of not worrying about things for there are other things that God has called on them to do.  That is not an issue.  We must be careful to not to just simply believe that God will take care of all things for there will be times God calls on us to be His advocate.  Whether it is feeding the needy, caring for the homeless, teaching bible study, or (yes) protecting the environment, all are worthy callings of God.  To say ‘God will take care of a problem’  is irresponsible.  That does not mean there will be times we need to leave things in God’s hands.  It means we are to prayerfully go to Him and ask what His will would be for us, and then respond.   Furthermore, the scriptures about worrying mean to worry about what God calls you to do.  Not ignore what is right in front of you.

We cannot turn a blind eye to those things God would call on us to do.  There are many things beyond our control, and God can indeed handle anything.  One of my favorite pastors once said that we are called to go out and do what God calls us to do.  Let us make sure we follow what God instills in our heart and be encouragers of those who God has called to serve in ways that may not be as we are called to do.  What calling has God placed on you to act upon?  What prayer must you have to meet God calls upon you.  My prayer is that we can discern between God’s control from God’s plan for our lives.  Amen.