Thursday Devotional - Adoption, Take 2

Thank you to all those who prayed for James last week! He is finally feeling better with no more numbness or blurred vision. We’re praising God!

This week, we willingly face a different set of challenges! We’re four becoming six! We fostered-to-adopt James and Sarah 4 years ago and God had plans for us to do it again (it’s a long story, but we had specifically told our licensing agency we were a closed home during the pandemic).

Tomorrow, twins (a boy and girl, turning 4 in October), will move into our home! They were born the exact day and year as the day we officially adopted James and Sarah!!! Finding that out was one of the many confirmations God gave us to “say yes” to fostering-to-adopt again.

We just took our foursome family photo the end of July, which I thought would be perfect for our Christmas card! I guess not… 😉

God continues to fulfill His purposes from the burden he placed on our hearts over 10 years ago about taking care of orphans.  

Isaiah 1:17   Learn to do right; seek justice.

   Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

   plead the case of the widow.

James 1:27         Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Will you please pray for all 6 of us as we go this huge transition? It’s exciting and scary, all at the same time!

Alice

Trust & Understanding

 

That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

Solomon replied to God, “You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place.  O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! ¹⁰ Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”

God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—  I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”  2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Life is not always as simple as right and wrong.  We are inundated with opinions that conflict one another.  Trust this person.  Don’t trust that person.  Trust that party.  Don’t trust that party.  Stay away from those people.  I love those people.  It starts to ultimately boil down to a simple argument of ‘us vs. them.’  I’m good with that kind of language only when it comes to the Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ vs. the Michael Jordan ‘Bulls’ because that is a basketball game, and for the record, I will always be a ‘Bad Boy for life’ 😊  But do I hate Michael Jordan?  Do I think he is evil?  Absolutely not.  Why?  Didn’t he beat my favorite team?  Did he not ridicule them and ostracize my favorite player?  He did.  So why?  It is really and fairly simple.  First, he is still a human being like me who wanted to do his best and win.  Even as a rival, that is easy to understand.  Second, I must trust that he meant to do good.  Not harm.  There are two beliefs I have in dealing with people.  One, we all want to do our best, and two while we know there is evil in the world, I trust God will guide me to the right people at the right time.  Furthermore, He gave me wisdom to discern who means well who does not.  Is this philosophy perfect?  No.  I am at times flawed in my judgment.  But wisdom is about learning from God and experience.  Not being perfect.

Having trust in God is how one acquires wisdom to both understand and trust others.  In reading the beginning of Solomon’s reign, he is given a choice from God.  He could have anything he wanted.  Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge.  There are a couple of attributes not said here but very important to note.  First is the humility shown by Solomon.  Instead of asking for personal recognition and fame, he asked to better rule his people to whom God entrusted him with.  This speaks to a major principle of our faith: it’s not about us.  It’s about Him.  We are to be humble in our request recognizing that it is from God that all blessing flow.  This bring us to the second attribute: trust.  There is a mutual trust between God and Solomon.  God entrusted Solomon to be King of Israel because He knew Solomon would do well in that role, and Solomon trusted God as a provider knowing that he could not rule without His provision and care.  Is it any wonder that Solomon would write, “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 NIV) You see, trusting in God leads to wisdom.  We are to be humble at heart to allow Him into our spirit, and from there all else flows.  Love.  Patience.  Understanding.  Trust.

God gives us all we need if we just trust in Him.  There is so much that we are inundated with that we at times are overwhelmed.  However, if we put our trust in God entirely then how little would we have to worry about?  Jesus said, “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) This was the trust Solomon had in God.  Let us build a greater trust in Him as well.  Where are you placing your trust in yourself above God?  Do you pray to God for wisdom and understanding in all you do?  My prayer is that we are humble enough to lean into God to gain wisdom and understanding of others.  Amen.

Let Me Count The Ways

 So, I'm not finished exploring hope. I say that by way of warning. In my re-examination of what I missed of hope in the Hebrew Scriptures, I found Psalm 31. This Psalm is really all about hope, but the Hebrew word for hope (tiqwah Strong's H8615) doesn't show up. Instead just about every other word for hope is used. So, let's take the tour of the ways our Creator and Savior is our hope.

First, our Savior is our "refuge": "For the choir director. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me." (Psalm 31:1 NASB) This is probably the most common use of hope in Psalms. It translates the Hebrew word, chasah (Strong's H2620). And this makes sense to us because the whole point of a refuge is provide hope of a future in times of danger. So, Jesus is our "refuge" when we're in danger.

Next, our Savior is who we can trust: "I hate those who regard vain idols, But I trust in the LORD." (Psalm 31:6 NASB) This is the Hebrew word which, in the prophetic works, was most often translated as hope. It is the Hebrew word, batach (Strong's H982). The contrast is in what we hope, either gods or the God. We can trust in the created, even spiritual powers and authorities. Or we can trust in our Creator, who also created these other, lessor, options.

These two options are repeated twice each, "trust" in verse 14, and "refuge" in verse 19. And yet, nearly every verse has something to say about hope in some way, either well-placed or misplaced. God is our "Rock", our "Deliverer", "The One on whom we call". And then, finally, He is the One on whom we wait:

"Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD." (Psalm 31:24 NASB) In most modern translations, where the NASB has "hope", they have "wait". The word in Hebrew is yachal (Strong's H3176), which has a sense of waiting with expectation of receiving whatever is being waited on. There's no doubt involved, but there is excited anticipation. Are you waiting on our Savior with bated breath? Are you seeking His kingdom with eager anticipation that you will see it? Do you scan the skies looking for His appearing? Be strong and take courage. He comes!

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation

Psalm 16

 

1 A Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You."

3 As for the saints who are on the earth, "They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight."

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.

5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

     Psalm 16 (NKJV)

In my Bible, this psalm is captioned “The Hope of the Faithful; and the Messiah’s Victory.” It is cited several times in the New Testament (Acts 2:25-31, Acts 2:32-36, Acts 13:35-37), where the Apostles Peter and Paul applied it to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For believers, Christ’s resurrection is our blessed hope. Without the resurrection, our faith would be empty (1 Corinth. 5:14). But because Christ is risen, we trust that we too will be raised.

David declares in this psalm that he has put his trust in God  (v. 1).  This is the basis of faith---believing that He is Almighty God with power to save all who trust in Him.  When we do, He cares for us and in Him, we have a “good inheritance.” By contrast, those who hasten after “another god” will never be satisfied and instead will have their sorrows multiplied.  Who or what are you trusting in today? Make sure it's only in the Lord Jesus. Nothing else will fill you with hope, peace and abundant life.

 David also proclaims "You are my Lord" (v. 2). This come out of a sincere heart that really knew God.  By contrast, there are some who call Him “Lord” and yet Jesus declares of them: “I never knew you; depart from Me” (Matthew 7:21-23).  This is one of the most frightful passages in the Bible speaks of those; don't let it refer to you. Be sure that you truly know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.  Then commit your way unto Him and He will show you the path of life. With Christ, there is the blessed promise of joy forevermore with Him.

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

Meeting Them Where They Are

 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.  Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.  But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.  1 Timothy 1:12-16

 We all have different strengths.  People have told me that I tend to be very good at reading people.  It’s not in the sense of reading someone playing poker as to whether they are bluffing or not.  Instead, I continually work at getting to know someone.  Before you know it, I would become very good at understanding what someone would and would not like.  I trust God to guide my instincts and literally feel what they feel. It explained why some people were willing to share their pains and anxieties to me after an hour what they would not share with their close friends in a couple of years.  I tried to understand that.  Someone said that people see me at their level.  They said if you want someone to trust you, don’t bring them to your level.  Understand them at theirs.  For example, I honestly cannot relate to someone having to worry about where they would sleep at night because that’s not be in my world.  That does not mean I don’t have empathy for them.  Furthermore if I just listen to understand, I can connect it to the last time I was afraid at night or fearful for my life.  Is it the same?  Of course not.  But by listening and just being honest with both them and yourself, you can achieve a level of trust.  That is how you meet them where they are.

The key to having God use you is realizing exactly how far you have travelled with Him.  I read these verses of 1 Timothy over and over again to understand what Paul was trying to convey.  He held Timothy in high regard as a young apprentice, but he also realized he was a spiritual mentor to Timothy.  How would he best guide him?  He took this moment to lower himself to Timothy’s level in today’s verses.  The goal was not for Paul to make himself seem worthless.  Instead, it was to help Timothy understand that anyone could be used by God if their heart was transformed.  Thus by sharing where his journey began, Paul met Timothy at his level.  “I am the worst of them all.  But God had mercy on me,” he said.  This was not only an invitation to Timothy but also all of us.  No matter how far we may have strayed and whether it was a moment, a day, months, or even years, God will patiently wait so eventually His will is done.  We could not possibly know when, and that is not our focus to begin with.  Ours is to prepare for when He will use us and be ready to allow Him to do so.

Understanding servitude to God takes time.  As I mentioned about reading others, it does not happen right away.  But over time, you become attune to what God is looking for.  It will at times require you to look back at where you once were like Paul.  But in seeing just how great God’s mercy is, you too will be able to share your story of transformation with others.  Do not forget the goal is for you to grow spiritually in addition to helping others find a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Not boast of your transformation.  Let us harken to our own journey to humble ourselves and allow others to see they too can serve Him as we now do.  How well do you know your story?  What listening skills are needed for you to understand another’s story.  My prayer is that we are able to trust God’s guidance to help us meet others where they are.  Amen.

Boney James is Like God ... Kinda

 

Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
    And everyone will see him—
    even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
    will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  Revelations 1:7-8

I am a jazz music fan.  I like classical jazz, but I absolutely love modern jazz.  As such, I make a lot of CDs to listen on long drives, and armed with it, I could literally drive for days (Driving from coast to coast is a bucket list item).  One of my favorite artists that I listen to is a guy named Boney James (Yes, that is his name).  I love when his songs come blaring from the sound system.  They have this distinct sound, and the melodies always soothe me.  They give me a pep in my step, and there is a smile that comes over my face showing the joy in my listening to it.  It does not matter how good the song is before or after him or whether his song is at the beginning or end.  His songs stand against all others.  It made a silly thought come into mind.  Could Boney James be God?  Of course not!  But his music does have some attributes of God that remind me of Him.  That is not a bad thing.

 It is important to remember how great God is.  One of my favorite words when I think of God is the word ‘Dominion.’  Dominion is defined as the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority. rule; control; domination. We are given dominion over all of God’s creation as Genesis 1:28 (NKJV) says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””  One of the good questions I had in my head is why doesn’t the Bible say God has dominion over us?  The answer is that there is a subtle but important difference between dominion and control.  We have dominion over all animals, but try that line with a hungry cheetah chasing after you.  Doesn’t work so well, huh?  However, God has control over everything.  He makes a rule and breaks it just because He is God.  He will make ways when we cannot, and in my scenario, He will put a barrier or diversion to save you in a situation where the cheetah is chasing you.  God is not what we always want Him to be, but He is always what we need.  There can be nothing greater than that.

 We should learn to embrace the control God has over us.  A line I often reference to is from the movie 'Rudy' where a priest is questioned on his certainty about God, he answered that there is a God, and "I am not Him."  A great sermon at my church spoke of how Jesus can be unfair as He healed a man who could not walk on the Sabbath. But that was to show His authority as the Son of God and not focus on the fact maybe others needed healing that day.  Sometimes our pain is there for us to learn something like Paul dealing with his imperfection (Romans 7:14-25) or Jacob’s hip being out of socket (Genesis 32:22-32).  But no matter what we are dealing with, we know that if we place our trust in God knowing He is in control, everything will turn out alright.  Like a Boney James song, it does not matter whether God comes at the beginning, the middle, or the end.  He will always be right on time.  What things are you pressing for control over that God has?  Do you acknowledge God in everything that you do?  My prayer is that we find the greatness of God in all things … even Boney James.  Amen.

I Knew I Forgot Something

 Ever have one of those projects where it seems way too easy? I don't do "topical" Bible studies because I find them way too much work. The level of detail I like to sift makes a topic truly massive. I finally decided, since I knew it was so foundational to so much of our life with our Savior, to study "hope". So, on top of a topic already being a big task because it's topical, I picked a huge topic. Not my brightest moment.

The method I use to study a topic is by doing a word-study. Since what I was after was how we, as disciples of Jesus, should understand hope, I sought the Greek word for hope, elpis for the noun, and elpidzo for the verb. Sounds easy, right? It should have been easier than it was because I started wrong. I didn't notice this until pretty far into the process.

Since my understanding was for the first believer's perspective, I would need to use both their Scriptures and the writings of the apostles. Since most of the writings of the apostles which survived were written to disciples outside of the region of Palestine, the Scriptures they used was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Septuagint. On the one hand that makes it easier because I'm looking for the same Greek word in both places. On the other hand, that makes it more difficult because now I need to search two versions of the same Scriptures. I just didn't realize that at first.

I had worked all the way through the Septuagint use of the Greek word for hope, and started in on the Christian Scriptures when I discovered I had done the search wrong, and missed many places in the Hebrew Scriptures where hope was used. My findings were now off, and I hoped they were not too far off. But they were. I had more to learn, and I wanted to be done with this particular pursuit. That is sort of where I am now. 

Maybe you've been down this same trail, or a different wrong trail, only to discover all you have reached is the scenic overlook of the place you were trying to reach, not the place itself. If so, I have some hope for you that I'm grasping for myself:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 NASB)

The end of this particular journey isn't a better understanding of hope, the end of the journey is the very throne of our Creator in His heaven. I want a better understanding of hope. What my Master is giving me is a better understanding of Him, how He works, and where He is leading me. Sometimes the overlook reached by accident is actually the view that provides the vital context to better understand the destination. 

For those of you who pushed through the boring part at the beginning, I hope you were encouraged by the ending. Enjoy the view!

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation

Psalm 15

 

“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
 
“He who walks uprightly, and works
righteousness, and speaks the truth in
his heart; he who does not backbite with
his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor,
nor does he take up a reproach against his
friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised.
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
he who swears to his own hurt and does
not change; he who does not put out
his money at usury, nor does he take
a bribe against the innocent.
 
“He who does these things shall never
be moved.”

     Psalm 15 (NKJV)

Only the righteous may dwell with God. Of course, none of us is righteous on our own (e.g., Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10). But the Lord is our Righteousness (Jer. 23:1) and by faith, His righteousness is imputed to us, as it was with Abraham (e.g., Romans 4:22).  That is the positional righteousness we gain at salvation.

 Once converted, we are then to grow in godly character and exhibit practical righteousness by how we live. As expressed in this psalm, this is demonstrated by walking uprightly, speaking truth, and not gossiping or slandering others. We are to love what God loves, hate what He hates. And we are to be sacrificial in our conduct and careful about keeping our word, even if (and especially when) it is hard to do so.

 The reward? We will never be moved.  Jesus Christ is our firm foundation and He shall sustain us. “He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:12, NKJV) 

How Firm a Foundation

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said,

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

 

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am Thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

 Lyrics by J. Rippon (1787)

Thursday Devotional - Murderer or god?

People can sure be fickle. One minute they can be singing your praises and the next minute tearing you to shreds. Opinions and beliefs can change quickly, too, based on what people see, hear, feel, want to believe, etc. 

I’m not immune to this, either. In fact, I thought Joe (my husband) was arrogant and rude when I first met him. He did interrupt a conversation I was having with another guy, which may have skewed my opinion. 😊

Paul experienced this fickleness of people. Once he was safely on land after the shipwreck, the islanders made drastic judgement calls about him!

Acts 28:1-6    Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ² The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. ³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

When was the last time you and I made a quick and rash judgment call that we later realized was incorrect?

Many of us here at Thomson Reuters have been through the training on assuming positive intent. It is sometimes hard to do, especially when our emotions are already riled. However, doesn’t it benefit us and the other person to calm down, assume the best, listen, gather additional details, and then react and respond?

With whom do you and I need to especially practice this?

Alice