Strengthened Hearts

“Then He spoke a parable to them,

that men always ought to pray

and not lose heart.”

     Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

“And let us not grow weary while

doing good, for in due season

we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

     Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

Things happen in our Christian walk that can easily make us lose heart. We can become disheartened in many situation, such as seeing a relationship we’ve been praying about go from bad to worse instead of better; experiencing more defeat than victory in our efforts to die to self; watching the increasing hostility towards God and rising anti-Semitism; even trying to bear up in a seemingly unending winter. 

Christ knew that life in this sin-infected world would not be easy and He exhorts us to “pray and not lose heart.”  The Apostle Paul similarly urges us not to grow weary and lose heart but continue to do good.  Why?  Because “in due season we shall reap.” God is faithful and we can trust the Bible’s promises that this life is not all there is, that heaven awaits those who have put their faith in Christ.

God hears and answers prayer according to His will; God works all things out for our good according to His plan and in His timing.  We can trust in that. Christ came the first time in fulfillment of Scripture; He is sure to come again in fulfillment of Scripture.  Spring will eventually come because God has ordered our seasons. 

So we can press on, with hope and joy, because our “redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28, NKJV)  We can be strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ, enabling us to pray always and continue to do good without growing weary or losing heart. 

Thursday Devotional - God's Help Over Consequences

Last week we saw how Joshua upheld his oath, even though the Gibeonites deceived him into making a peace treaty. However, what do you think happens when the Gibeonites are attacked by the Amorites and ask Joshua for help?

Joshua 10:6-11        ⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

Not only does Joshua willingly help the Gibeonites, but God confirms Joshua is to help them and then God does most of the work!!! If I was Joshua, I might have told the Gibeonites that they were on their own. I might have thought God was bringing judgment on them for their deception. I would uphold my oath of a peace treaty, but nothing extra.

God clearly helped Joshua and the Israelites not only uphold their oath, but love their neighbor (without holding a grudge) by sacrificially helping them in crisis. Even though Joshua and the Israelites had made a big mistake in making a treaty with the Gibeonites, they obediently did the next right thing and the next right thing. God rewarded their steps of obedience despite their previous disobedience. 

God can do the same for us today. Even after making a big mistake, God wants to help us make the next right move. God is willing to help us in a mighty way, just like He did for Joshua! Where will you and I seek His help to make the next right step?   

Alice

My Provider

“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”

They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”

Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share.  They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish.  A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.  Mark 6:38-44

My wife and me will often write notes to each other as affirmation of our wonderful and amazing love for each other. Sometimes, we will write on the envelope of the note positive words of affirmation describing the love the writer has for the other.  For example, one envelope I wrote her recently was from an old Barry White song simply saying, “My first, my last, my everything.”  I know for older ‘Ally McBeal’ fans, you are about to have that tune in your head for the rest of the day 😊  We often place these notes in areas of our work places to remind us when we are away just how much we mean to each other.  One which hangs in my area was of comfort the other day.  I looked at it, and on the corner of the envelope it said, “My provider.”  Those words are humbling to read even to this day.  It’s not that she does not realize that God is our ultimate provider, because she does.  However, it is the meaning of the word that she wanted to acknowledge.  It is to say she appreciates I give her the love, affection, and comfort she needs.  That means a lot to me because it goes back to that famous Rick Warren ‘Purpose Driven Life’ opening sentence that has become a guiding light for my walk of faith; it’s not about you.

God’s often underappreciated but incredibly important attribute is that He is a awesome provider for us. One of my recent devotions talked about God always watching over us.  In that case, the focus was on how God is there when we do not notice.  In this case, we focus on those times where we truly know He delivers.  For the disciples in today’s verses, they have thousands to feed and little to offer.  Or so they thought.  Jesus simply does what he does, and all the people are fed.  It really sounds too simple, but we often find that it is the simplest things that are the most powerful and profound.  In our lives, we often do not know how we will get through life’s trials, or we struggle to find a way through a situation.  Then low and behold, God shows up often in an awesome way.  A check comes in the mail just as you realize you don’t have anything in the account, or a friend stops by when you are at your near breaking point asking, “Are you ok?”  Sometimes, it’s just a word or scripture from the Bible that gives your strength and courage to carry through another day.  We should always expand our understanding of who God is beyond just the ‘He gives me stuff’ realm.  Much of His provision is well beyond material things or what we can understand.  Like my wife knows, it’s His love, nurturing, protection, and so much more.  What we as followers of Christ should aspire to do is become more aware of those things, and most importantly, give thanks for it!

God’s provision is unlimited! He gives us so much, and yet, asks for so little.  Obedience to God to some may seem to be a bit much, but if we have a relationship with Him, we see clearly all that He does in our life.  Let us spend more time reflecting on God’s gifts to us no matter what form they may come in.  Where might you give God the glory for gifts received?  How has God provided for you beyond what you see?  My prayer is that we see God today for all the blessings He has given as ‘my provider.’  Amen.

Righteous Persecution

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we have been studying the beatitudes.  This week we have started studying Matthew 5:10.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
    but my heart trembles at your word.

To understand what it means to be persecuted, we first need to understand what it means to be righteous as this beatitude clearly states that those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven will be those that are persecuted because of righteousness.  While there are plenty of people that are persecuted in this world, it is not always because of righteousness. 

The first person mentioned in the Bible to be righteous was Noah. 

Genesis 6:9b

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

What made Noah righteous?  He LISTENED to God, he BELIVED God, and he OBEYED God. 

Next we see Abram referred to as righteous.

Genesis 15:6

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Like Noah, Abram listed, believed and obeyed.

Next, we need to understand what counts as persecution. 

Psalm 119:149-150; 161

Hear my voice in accordance with your love;

Rulers persecute me without cause,

We see that persecution comes from 1) evil intentions, 2) being far from God’s law, 3) without cause.  I’m sure that each of us has encountered persecution at some point in time.  It may have been something as simple as someone spreading falsehood against us.  You may have experienced righteous persecution without even realizing it. 

Each of us should strive to live a life worthy of persecution because of righteousness.

Nothing Too Hard

"Ah, Lord God!  Behold, You have made

the heavens and the earth by Your

great power and outstretched arm.

There is nothing too hard for You."

     Jeremiah 32:17 (NKJV)

It's good for us to remember that whatever we're facing, nothing is too hard for God.  No problem is too big for Him, no situation too bleak, no need that He can't fulfill.

For me, it helps to remind myself that even all the small things are not outside of God's reach.  Last evening, I was feeling vexed because of a number of small annoyances and frustrations this week that just would not go away.  Then as I sat down to eat supper, I looked up and saw the beautiful sunset out my windows.  I stopped and just gazed at God's glory displayed in the rosy sky and the breathtaking cloud patterns.  That helped to put things in perspective.  I saw God manifested in the glorious sunset, reassuring me of His presence with me and in my life. 

When I start to feel like I'm getting caught up in the frenzy of this world, when my peace is fleeting because of the strife in our society, it helps to focus on God's creation.  The weather, nature around me, sunrises and sunsets, are reminders of God's sovereignty.  God is still on His throne and all is well with my soul.

My prayer is that you too will be reminded of God's glory through His creation and be reassured that nothing is too hard for Him to handle. 

Thursday Devotional - Upholding Oaths

Making decisions based on bad information or wrong assumptions can lead to big mistakes. It certainly did for Joshua, as we saw last week. However, what are we to do when we realize it after the fact? We aren’t to go back on our word, or sin again to try to fix it. We may have to live with the consequences.

After Joshua made a mistake by making a treaty with the Gibeonites, as we saw last week, he didn’t try to undo the treaty after he realized his mistake.

Joshua 9:16-21        Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, ¹⁹ but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. ²⁰ This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” ²¹ They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

Even though the Gibeonites had been deceptive, it didn’t negate God’s expectation that Joshua and the Israelite leaders uphold their oath (which God confirms in Joshua 10 and II Samuel 21).

What about your and my unconditional oaths and promises? Whether they seem little (like promising to take a kid to a park) or big (like a marriage vow) or a typical contract with a customer (that doesn’t have a conditional clause), we’re to keep our promises. How well are you and I keeping our word? Is there something we said with which we still need to follow through or uphold, even if the other party did wrong?

Next week we’ll see how God is ready and willing to help us uphold our unconditional oaths, move forward in the midst of consequences from previous mistakes, and make the next right step.

Alice

Listen, Learn, And Love

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:5-11

I was listening to a lady speaking about the challenges of being a woman in a workplace.  It came to a very interesting part that struck a chord in me.  She said that as a Christian black woman, people of the LGBT community would not approach her.  I let that thought marinate for a bit, and it occurred to me why that was.  You see, I too am with my own bias, and as a Christian, we can have such a strong response toward sin that it often can push away others.  Some of those are the very people that need Jesus more than we realize.  So how can I reach them?  First, I need to acknowledge that I too am flawed.  Then before I jump on my pedestal, my built-in guard rail of humility must remind me that at best I am not better than those around me.  Finally, I must pray my actions focus on opening my heart and mind to whatever is on their mind.  No judgment.  Just listen, learn, and love.

As Christians, we always must remind ourselves of the example Christ set for us to be toward non-believers.  Today’s verses are a reminder of the mindset of Christ, which set Him up to be glorified above all others.  I think of the calling of Matthew by Jesus himself as an example.  Matthew had a banquet for Jesus where many of his fellow tax collector friends came to ‘hang out’ with the Messiah.  Luke 5:30 says, “But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?””  Why were they complaining?  How often are we judging others because they are not ‘like us Christians?’  Do we look down on them with disdain seeing those who do not follow Christ as unruly sinful creatures? “Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” (Luke 5:31) It is highly likely that those Jesus puts in our lives are just like Matthew; lowly and not like ourselves.  Thus, we represent hope, joy, love, and acceptance  to those distant from God and in many ways need someone.  You know.  Distant like the person I was when He found me (a young man who never thought he was worthy of God’s grace).  Or maybe that same person when He found you (insert your story here).  God opened His arms, and asked us to come as we are.  He neither judged our past nor said we did not make the grade.  He said as Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow me.” (see Luke 5:27)  He focuses on the future as if to say, “Together, we’ll figure this out.”

Jesus Christ's love overcomes all barriers.  None of us are exactly where God wants us, but we have come a long way.  The journey is filled with detours and unexpected changes in our own plan, but we must always trust His plan for us.  Some of those very detours are people who we ordinarily see little in common with.  If we judge others by their faith, orientation, political affiliation, gender, we have closed ourselves to becoming that which Jesus so clearly showed to be wrong.  This is not to say He changes His standard.  What it does say is He transforms once we have accepted Him as Lord.  Isn’t that what we would want for all those who do not believe in Him?  How can we better display God’s heart and less His judgment?  My prayer is that when speaking with non-believers, we display the mindset of Jesus, and listen, learn, and love.  Amen.

Enemies

Have you ever had someone in your life that simply was not easy to love?  Maybe they did something horrible to you.  You even considered them an enemy because they hurt you or someone you love. 

Matthew 5:43

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Loving your neighbor who you like is easy.  So, when we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, it doesn’t seem so hard.

Matthew 5:44

I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

This gets to be harder and takes more effort from us to accomplish.  So why should we love our enemies? 

Matthew 5:46

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Luke 6:35a

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

But why?  What’s in it for me?

Luke 6:35b

Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

We are told to be children of God, we must love even those that we classify as enemies.  Imagine if God considered us enemies because we did something that hurt him.

Luke 6:36

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Wheel of My Life

“Therefore, submit to God.”

    James 4:7 (NKJV)

“If you confess with your mouth

the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart

that God has raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved.”

     Romans 10:9 (NKJV)

As I write this, we’re in the midst of another very heavy snow storm.  It seems appropriate to hear the song “Jesus take the wheel” on the radio, although I’m grateful to be working from home today rather than out driving in the blizzard.  Even in good conditions, I don’t like driving and regularly pray for God’s help to drive safely.  But I need Jesus to take the wheel of my life, not just the steering wheel of my car. 

Because if Jesus is our personal Savior, then we also must confess Him as Lord and submit to His will.  In church last Sunday, the pastor talked about the difference between surrender and submission.  He analogized to a military situation where soldiers who surrender usually do so involuntarily and with an eye towards finding a way of escape to re-gain their freedom. They may surrender on the outside because they have to, but not in their hearts. Submission, on the other hand, is voluntary and involves our heart, soul and mind.

Too often, Christians may refer to Jesus as Lord, but they fight His rule in their lives and rebel by going their own way, pursuing their own will. Have you ever sought the Lord’s help on a big issue but then came up with “Plan B” just in case?  Or committed a decision to God but then took action when you couldn’t wait for (or didn't like) His answer?  Or has Jesus been Lord on Sunday but not the rest of the week?  It's easy to say the right words yet act according to our own agenda.  When we do so, however, we miss out on the great blessing that comes from being fully submitted to Him.

God does not want our halfhearted acquiescence; He desires to be Lord of our lives.  He wants devoted followers who will relinquish our wills, our desires and our plans, who will voluntarily submit to His rule because He knows best.  When you know that God’s promises are true, when you’ve experienced His faithfulness time and again, when you’re sure that He’s worthy of being trusted with everything, then you will come to know His peace.  Then you can let go and experience joy and true rest because He is in control.

Jesus has the wheel of my life.  My prayer is that you too know the blessings of submission to Jesus as Lord.

Thursday Devotional - Relying on Our Understanding

Have you ever made a simple decision based on the information you knew, but later found out it wasn’t the right decision? Maybe you made assumptions that weren’t correct because you didn’t have ALL the information. I did that recently…

Earlier this year I had talks with James about getting his schoolwork done at school instead of goofing off and talking. He’s bright and quick and I knew he had plenty of time allotted to complete it. He eventually stopped bringing home 4 full pages of kindergarten homework! However, he continued to bring home 1 full page of math homework, which frustrated me (especially since he complained about having to do it after he got home). Instead of checking with the teacher, I kept blaming him, knowing it had to be his fault. Later, I found out the teacher intentionally sent home 1 full page of homework each day!!!  

Well, Joshua, too, made a decision relying on his own understanding…

Joshua 9:3-8, 14-15            ³ However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

⁷ The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”

⁸ “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹ They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt… ¹⁴ The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Joshua wasn’t to make a treaty with people who lived nearby. He knew that, but didn’t realize the Gibeonites were deceiving him. He relied on his own understanding. Like Joshua, we can read and know God’s commands but fail to act on them. We can still fall back on relying on our own understanding instead of praying and asking God for wisdom and direction. It may seem like a no brainer and easy decision, but we’re to go to Him for everything both big and small.

How can you and I remember that each and everyday with all of our decisions?

Alice