A Devotion Two Weeks in the Making

This one is significantly longer than my normal fare.  Go grab something to drink and make yourself comfortable.

I don't have any verses this week.  There are times where God speaks to you through your studies, and there are times where he presses something on your heart with other means than the Bible.  This is one of those times for me.  So bear with me as I explain what's been going on with me the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago, I had a double-wedding weekend.  One wedding was for family and one was for a very dear friend of mine.  I can still very clearly recall the first time me and my friend went out by ourselves and got to know each other.  We went for ice cream and she very quickly told me about her faith in Jesus, the devotions she was working on, and that her favorite book in the bible was Romans.  Keep in mind, this was the FIRST time we had ever had a conversation with just the two of us.  She boldly wears her faith and shares it with everyone she interacts with.

Her wedding was beautiful, and the speeches by everyone at the reception had a common theme: the bride's faith.  Everyone talked about it, including in the best man speech.  I was incredibly moved by how much this woman is driven by and for Christ.  She's an inspiration to me, and I told her so when I was leaving the reception.  She was stunned and shocked and even said, "What? You?" when I first told her, but I explained it all as fast as I could and hugged her as we said our good byes.  She's on fire for Christ, and I want that fire, too.

I write these devotions and will occasionally talk of Christ with my Christian friends, but do I really go out of my shell and talk to strangers or people who are not Christian about Christ?  Not really.  That's what I told myself that I would start working on.  I was going to make myself get uncomfortable, I was going to do it!

And, like most New Year's resolutions, nothing changed.

Last Saturday, there was a sudden death in my family.  He was a dearly loved uncle and he will be sorely missed.  It hit me particularly hard because I have some great childhood memories of him.  He was Santa.  Seriously.  Our family personally knew Santa, and we've got the pictures and videos to prove it.  Really!  He'd make special appearances at parties throughout the year (not just at Christmas), and I remember once he showed up to a summer party in the red Santa suit with a sombrero.

My husband and I attended church on Sunday morning, and I was doing better.  I honestly can't remember the songs we sang in worship at the start of the service, but the lyrics struck me at the time and it suddenly hit me.  While I knew my uncle, I didn't know him that well.  I didn't know if he was a Christian even.  I never asked.  I felt shame for having never talked to him about this and I felt despair at not knowing.  I knew him as Santa!  Tons of people had been posting to Facebook after he died to share their pictures of him, and share their memories of him, but not one person (that I saw) had talked about his faith.  

It was then that I had my God-moment.  That little lightbulb directly from God telling me, "Live your life so that there isn't any question about your faith.  What will you be remembered for?  Make the first thing that people think of when you die be your love for Christ."

That was powerful.  Again, this was the start of service that this happened.  I prayed to God for help in doing this.  Help in making sure that people will see this first in my life.  Before the pastor went up for his sermon, they played this video.

Idol Worship - YouTube

Bam!  I felt smacked in the face by that video with what I had been thinking earlier.  Yes, this was precisely what I was looking for.  I had other things that, while they weren't my idols, people would surely think of first when they thought of me.  I knew it.  I had everything segmented into different aspects with my life, and I made sure that they didn't cross boundaries, so I never talked of Christ when I was in different situations.  I kept those separate.  I know then that I needed to make sure that people know I worship Christ.

The sermon continued that same thread.  Here's the sermon (it's a long one), but take a watch if you have the time.

Gospel Centered Worship

The sermon really drove home what I was thinking and praying about.  After that sermon, I knew this would be my devotion for the week, so it's been brewing in my mind for a long time.  I decided I'd survey my Facebook friends (thank you to those who participated) to see what the first thing was that they thought of when they thought of me.  I was humbled by some, laughed at others, and saw my flaws with a few.  However, the very first person that responded to my inquiry gave me exactly what I'm going to be working for.  They said they first thought of my "love for God."  That gave me affirmation that this is absolutely the direction I need to be going in for the devotion.  It's my goal now to change everyone else's thoughts so that they, too, think of that first.

Yesterday was the memorial service for my uncle, and still, this devotion is swirling about in my head the entire time.  I was talking with a family member prior to the service and it came up about what we wanted for our own funerals.  I told her that I wanted to be cremated and have no funeral.  I only wanted to have a get together somewhere with food, where people could talk and reminisce.  No service, no hymns, just a simple family gathering.  She told me that she originally thought she wanted Mo-Town music played, until her pastor told her that this would be the last time for her to give an impression on people and that the music should be hymns.  She's still undecided on Mo-Town vs. hymns, but I sat quietly, while still ruminating on the devotion (seriously, this theme has been stewing constantly in my brain).  I thought to myself, but if I'm going to be making my fire for Christ known to everyone, and everyone thinks, "There was a woman who lived for Christ," when I die, do I need hymns sung and a Christian service for a funeral?

No.  My life for Christ will be my legacy.  This will be what I live for, and what I die for.

I vow to make a change.  I vow to no longer stay silent.  I vow to not be politically correct when it comes to Christ.  I vow to show my fire and boldly wear my love for Christ like my friend does.

Thurs Devo: He Who Dies With the Most Toys Wins?

Have you seen that on a bumper sticker? I have. It didn’t have the question mark after it, either. I have also seen the opposite – “He Who Dies with the Most Toys Still Dies.” When I read that, it usually reminds me to focus on what really matters and not on temporal things or things of little eternal value.

I know we can get very attached to certain possessions and I’ve heard of people being buried with some of their prized possessions. Korah got buried with not just some, but ALL of his belongings!

Numbers 16:28-33   ²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹ If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

Wow! Quite drastic! Korah had been given opportunity to repent, but he chose to continue in his rebellion in despising God and rising up against Moses, God’s chosen leader.

What lessons have you and I learned the past few weeks from these devotionals on Korah?

I’ve been reminded how serious and destructive pride is.

I’ve also learned that even when someone else is completely in the wrong, I need to respond with humility, like Moses did.

God is to be consulted first and foremost before any reaction.

God is the ultimate Judge and will have the final say on who “wins.”

Alice

Giving All of Us

Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”  So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.  1 Samuel 7:3-4

Do I serve God with my head or heart?  This is a constant in my mind because there are times that the head and heart are not on the same page.  For example when dealing with my own sin, it would appear that the head (i.e. reading God’s scripture and taking it to ‘heart’) should win the day.  Yet when dealing with others in their brokenness of their own sins, having a heart and being compassionate is the right thing to do.  I have found that I best serve God with my head as the guiding force but my heart as the driving force.  You see, we cannot serve God just one way or the other.  He wants every bit of us to serve Him.  Only then will we be able to have a growing Christian walk.

Serving God must be done fully and completely.  I was fascinated with the story of Samuel in doing this devotion not only for the verses above but also the build up to this moment.  Samuel was called on directly by God to serve, but first, the stage had to be set for God’s truth to be revealed through Samuel.  God allowed Israel to be defeated by the Philistines and lose the Ark of Covenant of the Lord in that battle.  If you do not understand the significance of this, imagine doing the thing that you do better than anything else, and on your best day, you still were not as good as someone else.  Pretty devastating!  However, God was just prepping the stage by later causing all kinds of grief and suffering for the Philistines while Samuel was being elevated to his leadership role.  Thus when Samuel spoke to Israel asking for them to give everything to God; hearts, turning away from false idols, and obeying God alone, they were ready to listen to everything he had to say, and the Israelites gave everything to God.  As such, the Philistines would attack yet again, but this time they were defeated as God was with the now faithful Israelites.

In our lives, we will have situations that may not go our way.  These are opportunities to pause and reflect on whether we are fully vested in the God we serve; mind, heart, and soul.  If we are, we know He is setting the stage for our future triumph as He is faithful and without fail.  Do not focus on those things you do not control or enemies who have seemingly incredible odds stacked in their favor.  Focus on being completely vested in an awesome and amazing God.  Are there parts of you that are not completely vested in what God wants for your life?  How can you respond to situations with both heart and mind toward God?  My prayer is that we are giving all of us to God today.  Amen. 

Tues Devo: Firm in a Foundation

Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having  shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” (NASB)

Hello, (***Note, the following is a little deeper and more interconnected than I normally do on a Tuesday Devo!)

There seems to be a pattern these days. We like to be agile and known as people who can adapt and flex to any situation. While that is great at the office and with crazy personal schedules, it isn’t a great fit with the beliefs of Christianity. We are to root ourselves in the truth of His word. Satan likes to change our focus when he can. Instead of focusing on the truth he gets us to look at the people around us (flesh and blood) – and as those people shift and move we can tend to shift and move with them. Pretty soon, we are no longer basing our beliefs in the unchanging foundation of God and His word, but rather on feelings related to falible humans. We do this tyring to be nice to people. A cause that feels noble, but if the root is niceness instead of hoilness we lose touch with what our foundation should be. We constantly battle trying to balance what Scripture says to our “new people and socially friendly” beleifs…that is tough to do…so we like to duck and hide anything close to controversial. The problem with that approach is that it is through some of the more challenging conversations that God’s truth shines through – causing us to miss the opportunity to share truth with many. A truth that at first some people see a portion of and see unfair – but as they engage in conversation provide the opportunity to see the entire picture and see that it is a truth based in love – the love of God.

Have a blessed day – and stay strong in your foundation of God’s truth.

Will Hill

Refuge & Strength

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

This verse stood out to me as I started trying to write today’s devo.  This is so true and yet kind of sad because of how it is written and it being so true.

What I mean is the focus of the second part of the verse.  God is our refuge and strength, the sad part is we tend to turn to him for that only during times of trouble.  It’s so easy to go on living in a good mood, never really giving praise to God when life is good.  But as soon as there is trouble, we are quick to call on him.  We are also quick to blame him if that trouble does not get resolved how we would want it to.

Today I want to encourage you to make God your refuge and strength in everything you do.  In the good times, in the times when things are going well, make sure to still make God a part of those, giving him credit for being your refuge and strength.

What could stand against?

2 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end! The end has come
    upon the four corners of the land!  Ezekiel 7

Well this is some cheerful stuff in this chapter...

I'm trying to come up with something positive to pull from the chapter, and I can't.  Really.  It's rough.  The only thing happening to me though, is the lyrics to "Our God" are running through my head.

"And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.

And if our God is with us, then what could stand against."

This chapter describes the opposite.  God had decided that Jerusalem needed punishment, and there was nothing they could do to stand against him.

I am fearful of God, but I am not scared.  There's a big difference there between the two.  Fearful is respectful.  I know (or at least, I think I know) the power that God wields.  I respect that power and I respect God.  I am not scared of God.  I do not cower in fear at the thought of God's power.  

The people had turned from God.  They had rejected him and cast him aside.  Nothing they did would stand up against God.  

How wonderful to know that God is all-powerful, and with him on our side, nothing can stand against us.

Thurs Devo: Second Chances

After Moses pointed out to Korah his “never enough” attitude and his rebellion against God’s plan, do you think Korah repented?

Korah didn’t repent, but it appears one of his ring leaders, a man named On, did. On was mentioned in Numbers 16:1 as joining Korah in his opposition against Moses (Numbers 16:1-2a “Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent ² and rose up against Moses.”). However, it appears On may have repented because he isn’t mentioned as one of the ones who suffered the consequences for the rebellion.

Numbers 16:23-27  ²³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

On got a second chance. So did those that might have been thinking about siding with Korah. They were given a warning to stay back. Plus, even Korah, Dathan and Abiram were given several opportunities to recognize their sin and repent (read all of Numbers 16).

God is the Judge. He does punish sin, but He is also quick to forgive and extend grace and mercy when we sincerely repent.

When God or someone else points out a sin in your and my life, how do we respond? Do we acknowledge it, confess it and ask for God’s help to love Him more fully by not sinning? Or, do we continue in the sin, justifying it to ourselves and others? Will you and I take God’s gift of second chances? Let’s also think of and thank God for the second chances He has given to us in the past! 

Next week we will find out what happens to those who didn’t take the opportunity for a second chance and stubbornly continued in rebellion…

Alice

Separate But Same

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held ba ck and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.  Romans 3:22-26

All people are made for good.  Yes, there is a lot of evil in the world, and many people who would do harm make up a part of it.  However if we are all made in the image of our creator, we are inherently not bad.  Nonbelievers often think we as Christians see ourselves as good and others as evil.  The argument sounds something like, “You think you are better than others,” or, “I can never live to the standard of your God.”  I know this because just over a decade ago, I was one of those in that crowd.  Even more ironic, I am now one who hears it not just from nonbelievers but also believers.  Why?  Is it because we pray and display our faith openly?  Is it that we choose to believe in something that others cannot understand?  Actually, I believe the only question that is relevant to the discussion is what is the difference between them and us?  The answer is simple.  Just God.

Our relationships with others both Christian and non-Christian must start with the fundamental truth that we all fall short of God’s glory.  Today’s verses are maybe the most important to our relationships with others because it makes a bold statement.  The only difference between worldly people and followers of God is our faith.  We are no better nor worse.  We are just as unworthy of God’s grace as anyone else.  Our doing good is no better than anyone who does less than us.  So why make the effort to serve Him?  Why invest in God by which we stand to gain nothing from the world?  Quite simply, it is because we feel true grace through Jesus Christ.  The selfless act by Jesus covered all sins, and our actions are fruits of the Spirit showing how God declares us “to be right in His sight.” We are reborn through Christ, and should others accept Christ into their hearts, they can feel the true grace of God as well.

We are from this world, but we are not of this world.  Jesus Christ died on the cross for all sins; past, present, and future.  Thus our lives have become opportunities to show the world what God can do for them.  Let us commit to showing them the light of God such that no matter where they are in life, the God who saved us is indeed theirs as well.  How can you see nonbelievers as future children of God?  Will you lower yourself to lift someone else up to Christ?  My prayer is that we recognize others may be separate from us but they can one day be with us through Christ.   Amen.

Tues Devo: My responsibility

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 “Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider – God has made the one as well as the other so that man will no discover anything that will be after him.” (NASB)

Hello,

It is really easy to take a good and bad day, thank God for the good one and blame satan for the bad. While many bad things do come from satan, I think we have to be careful where we put our focus. Are we focused on just blame, or are we focused on our response and responsibility no matter if things are good or bad? Remember, God is still in control and has the ultimate power. We are simply accountable for how we respond.

In that response we will find a deeper walk with God, and be able to experience His true joy that is founded on His strength, His love, His faithfulness.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Fix your eyes on Jesus

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

This weekend I watched my oldest niece graduate from High School.  She reminded me so much of myself.  She was certainly one to live as she believed and not go with the flow that is often pushed on a young lady her age.  She didn’t have many friends and worked hard at school, in choir and as a Lansing Police Department Explorer.  Furthermore, she was active at her church and the youth group.  She will be a student this fall at Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing as well.

I truly believe that she lives as we are instructed to do so here in Hebrews 12, she throws off everything that hinders her and the sin that could so easily entangle and she runs with perseverance the race that has been marked out for her. 

I see the woman of God that she is becoming and I pray that in addition to the way her parents have raised her, that maybe, just maybe, I too have been an influence on her in some small way.  I pray that I am running the race set out for me the way that Christ would want me to. 

Who sees your race and says that you have your eyes fixed on Jesus as you are running?