Thursday Devotional - God is With Us in Tense Conversations

I’m guessing I’m not the only one that has stressed over potential relational conflicts. As I anticipated various scenarios with one particular person I would see over Thanksgiving, I prayed for wisdom, ways to calmly speak, what actions to take, etc. God helped me stay calm and quiet the first interaction with this person, but the second one ended heated!  

 

As I was crying and praying in my room that evening, I flipped open my Bible study and read most of Matthew 10.  

 

Matthew 10:16-20 16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 

 

It seemed God planned the timing of the Bible study passage just for me and my situation!!! He’s so personal! I hadn’t been arrested or flogged physically, but maybe verbally. He reassured me that He would be with me in future conversations. I didn’t need to worry, but could prayerfully trust and follow His Spirit’s lead.  

 

As you and I anticipate other tense conversations, we can look to God for His help and presence, especially when we’re witnessing about Him!  

 

Alice 

Testimony of a Witness

 I have heard from some in law enforcement that witnesses to a crime are the worst evidence. Scientific evidence is much more preferable because of the general inconsistency of your basic human. I, for one, am an excellent example of inconsistency. I totally spaced writing the entry for last week. 

Ironically, our Creator seems to prefer the inconsistent creature to the consistent scientific variety. Ever wonder why? I do, and I do still, so that's not what I'm going to figure out here. Instead, I want to point out what we started out as witnesses of, the resurrection of Jesus.

Therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22 NASB)

When I was taught to write out my testimony, I was taught a format to use: what I was like before, what happened, what I'm like now. The idea being that I'm testifying to what Jesus did to me, and how I'm different, hopefully better. But what if you're boring? What if what your Savior does in your life is so dull and interior that your testimony is a cure for insomnia? Wouldn't it be cool to have a really cool, dramatic, gut-churning, testimony of what you have witnessed our Savior do? As it turns out, we do.

I heard Sunday, over and over, how great the name of Jesus is. The person using His name was trying to draw the people into worship, to focus us on Jesus, but there was this TV-Preacher feel to how she was doing it. It was focus on the name, and what He does for us rather than on Him. Not that this was necessarily the intent, it was simply the feel.

We all, every believer, every disciple, everyone believing God raised Jesus from the dead, confessing Jesus is Lord, all in that category have a testimony: Jesus is alive and active in my life. Rather than what I was like before, it's far more important what He does. 

I talk to my wife every day, multiple times throughout the day, we do stuff together, we ask each other questions, we are close in ways that aren't always obvious, and some that are. It's not what I was like before she and I talked this morning, or over lunch, it's that we talked, that we are together all the time, that we seem to share brain-cells, speak a weird symbiotic language made up of partial movie quotes and one-liners. 

I know Jesus is alive because the very warp and woof of my existence is enmeshed in His existence. His Spirit dwells in me in this weird overlay over everything I do and think. I am permeated by my Savior. I wish that meant that I stopped doing stupid stuff, never went my own way, and he and I never had to wonder what the other was thinking. Technically, He knows, I don't, sometimes I don't what either of us are thinking, and He always does.

Those who read this and are married already know that perfection doesn't describe human relationships. It doesn't describe my walk with/before my Savior either. Not His fault, it's entirely mine. But I walk with my Savior. The Creator of the universe lives within me, stays with me, and continues to relate to me because of the powerful transaction on the cross, the failure of His grave, and the continual intercession at the right hand of my Creator.

Was I saved from a life of terror, rampaging murdering and wonton destruction? Nope. Was I changed from a hopeless drug addict to a hope-filled evangelist? Not my story. My story is that I, frail, flawed, and fickle, walk with the Master of the universe. And that I do so because He invites me into this relationship, made it possible, and sustains it through His power. 

So, I too am one of those who know the story of Jesus, from the day of His baptism, through His ascension, and my "proof" is that He continues to walk with me to this day. It's relational for me, as it was for them. I haven't seen Jesus and shared a meal with Him like they had. I didn't hear the voice of some Rabbi calling me to follow him, and leave everything to obey his voice. They did that. I'm not an apostle in any sense, truly. I'm simply a witness to my Master's presence in my life.

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us In and Sometimes Causes Our Storms

Some storms in life are not a result of sin and evil in the world, but a test from God.

I’ve read or heard the story of Jesus calming the storm numerous times. In pondering it again this week, several things stood out to me.

Matthew 8:24-27        ²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Suddenly a furious storm came! Not just a little rain or a few waves. It seems God caused the impossible storm to test the faith of the disciples. I wonder if they did all their fisherman tricks before they finally woke Jesus. Did they not think God would protect His Son until the appointed time? He wouldn’t let him drown and die prematurely.

I thought about the various storms in my life right now. Of course, I’ve prayed about all of them. I know God can grow me through them, but I hadn’t thought about Him intentionally putting any of them in my life. In addition to desperately seeking His wisdom, I’m now asking for greater trust, faithful perseverance and peace, no matter the outcome.

How might all this change your prayers as you face the storms in your life?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us In the Rain

A couple of weeks ago my Mom, kids and I were walking in our neighborhood. It sprinkled and then stopped. We thought about calling my Dad to pick us up, but we figured we had time to finish our loop before more rain came. Then, it poured! We got drenched!!! We wished we had called Dad. Everyone wanted a warm shower once we got home!

What if we had been stuck in the rain indefinitely? I can’t imagine! However, that’s how it is for those who don’t take God and His Word seriously. They don’t have any hope through the storms of life. They also have no one with whom they can truly depend or call.

Matthew 7:24-29          ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

God is available to be with us before, during and after the storms of life. He has also generously given us His Word full of life’s instructions and promises. What Scriptures are you clinging to right now as you go through some “rain?”

Alice  

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us In Our Worry

 

Has the Pandemic increased worry??? Yes!

Even among Christians? Yes!

Should it? No!

 

Even when things seem in chaos, God is still in control. In fact, He knows each one of our needs before we do!

Matthew 6:25-34 ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God is with us in our worry. We can give it over to Him because He already knows what we need, how best to provide for it, and what the end result will be. I can’t change anything by worrying, except decrease my own mental health and increase my stress! I can ask God for wisdom on how to face the worrisome situation and then listen for His guidance. He’s with me and has the best solution!  

Alice

Whatcha Lookin At?

 Remember the scene in some movie: people looking up, shielding their eyes against the bright sun, trying to catch a glimpse of something there, squinting to catch just a bit more detail. And then, someone walks up, standing with them, glancing up to the sky, but looking more at the people than what the people are looking for. When they eventually get the sky-watchers attention, it turns out they were looking for the someone right next to them.

It's a recurring scene idea, used in Indiana Jones movies, comedies, and Acts.

Imagine it, Jesus has spent 40 days with His disciples, providing "convincing proofs" of His resurrection, clarifying the Scriptures about Himself, and simply being with them. Luke is specific, that Jesus shares about the Kingdom of God. And finally, after these days come to a close, Jesus leads them out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, one of His favorite places. They know He's leaving, and figure now is as good a time as any to ask a question burning in their minds, one He has ironically not covered in forty days.

“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6b)

I think (you may not) that it's ironic, and part of Luke's point to his audience, that Jesus speaks to them regarding the Kingdom of God, and they ask about the Kingdom of Israel. I think that difference is why Jesus answers as He does:

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8 NASB)

The message is supposed to go farther than Israel. The good news is for the world, not a single kingdom. And that's not to say they didn't understand that, but that they could not conceive of a mechanism to carry that message that wasn't Israel. God had always worked through Israel. And He still would, but only to a point. Those eleven were about to become the "jumping off point" of a work of God the likes of which none of them could imagine.

And so they stood, looking into the sky where Jesus had disappeared into clouds. And these two guys walk up wearing shining clothing. I imagine the scene, like so many of those movies. "Whatcha lookin at?" And the resulting shock of those who hadn't noticed them.

In a way, many believers are sort of stuck, looking at the sky, struggling to wrap their heads around God choosing a different method than what they had imagined and prepared for. Which is ironic to me because that is how I see God's method throughout Scripture, the unexpected and unplanned for. Jesus' birth, Jesus' ministry, and His crucifixion were all completely unexpected. They were looking for a messiah, not God Himself. They were looking for a king, not the King of Kings. They were looking for a prophet, but not a High Priest and Prophet and King, somewhat like Melchizadek.

And then, after rising, He leaves. Just like that. How weird. Where's He going? When is He coming back? Is He coming back? That's what the two guys answer. "Yes, He'll be back just like you saw Him leave." Yeah, but when? Not our problem. Our problem is to obey until that happens.

So, we can get a crick in our neck, looking at the sky, or sore muscles working the harvest before us. Maybe it would be best to split our time between the two. You never can tell with God, He may just surprise us...again.

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us In Injustice

 If someone snatches something from us, we usually try to grab it back. When my kid’s sweatshirt was supposedly stolen, we tried to get it back. I wonder what would have happened if we had applied Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:38-42 ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Instead of trying to get the sweatshirt back, what if we had given a fashionable coat to the person we thought took the sweatshirt?

 

This is extremely difficult on the “sweatshirt” level, much less in larger situations. We’ve had renters abandon apartments or not pay their last month’s rent. We haven’t written them a check equal to a second month’s rent!!! Maybe this would “kill some with kindness.”

Romans 12:17-21         Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

God sees the injustice! In Matthew 5, Jesus commands us not to get even or retaliate. God sees and it is for Him to avenge. This is super hard for me to truly trust and apply!!!

 

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us When We’re Tempted

When you are being tempted, do you usually feel surrounded by darkness or by God’s loving arms? It may depend on the temptation, but it can feel like a heavy weight of darkness!

As Joe and I continue walking through some situations with one of our children, our timely Matthew study has helped us! We studied repentance last week (in Matthew 3) and temptation this week (in Matthew 4).

Matthew 4:1-4, 8-11      Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Jesus answered, “it is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’.” … Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’.” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.  Matthew 4:1-4, 8-11

God doesn’t tempt us, but He does allow us to be tempted just as He allowed Jesus to be tempted. However, God always provides a way out (I Corinthians 10:13).  Knowing His Word (like Jesus did) will help us recognize and choose the “way out.”  The “way out” may even include choosing not to go somewhere or do something in the first place that might lead to a tempting situation. 

We can run into God’s open arms instead of into the trap of temptation. As we’ve been trying to convey to our child, God is ready to help us, if we will turn to Him. He can surround us and provide what He knows we need, just as He provided strength and truths during Jesus’ temptation. He then sent angels to attend to Jesus’ needs afterwards. 

Our child thought of several verses they could quote when tempted and they realized they could pray before doing everything (even small things like washing their hands). They said it seemed silly and really hard. Yes, but if we could all do that, imagine how God-focused and obedient we would be!!!   

How will you be ready to recognize and use God’s presence and help when you’re tempted? He’s ready with open arms to embrace you and me when we run from temptation!

Alice

Golden Silence

 Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy. Sometimes, I simply cannot resist speaking up and making clear exactly how foolish I am. Sometimes. Okay, way too often. I struggle with the difference between assertions and questions. Even when I try to use questions, they come out sounding like thinly disguised assertions - because they often are.

Why is silence is so difficult? Jesus did it. He didn't answer His accusers. He didn't feel the need to correct their foolish accusations. When they struck the truth, even obliquely, He affirmed it. Yet He never defended Himself. He was like a lamb led to slaughter, the Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world.

The psalmist, probably David, reminds us of the power of silence:

My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
(Psalms 62:1 NASB)

In the NASB text, "waits" is in italics, which means this word has been added for clarity. Literally, it reads "Only to God silence my soul, from Him my salvation." Which explains why it needed some clarity. Hebrew poetry is both beautiful and, well, difficult.

When we continue on in the psalm, though, it turns out that David is pointing out that the rest of his world seems out to get him - it's noisy and chaotic, dangerous and deceitful. With God, though, it's different.

Only to God can he find that quiet for his soul. Only before the presence of the True King can he find the peace that quiets the chaos around him. Why is that? Because as David approaches God, he becomes more aware that any hope of salvation, deliverance from his adversaries, any hope of seeing through the deceptions, all David needs is found in God.

Last week, Erin Miller wrote about waiting for God when all is dark, inside us or around us. So often, that's how it feels, and it felt that way for David (and the prophet Micah, as Erin pointed out).

Be comforted by salvation in our Creator, not in ourselves or through other creatures. I didn't save myself, nor do I remain my Father's child by my own efforts. I can wait for my Savior, even when it seems dark, when chaos surrounds me, when my paranoia sets in and my fears mushroom, when my imagination lies to me and friends don't have time for me. 

Only to God. Silence, my soul.

From Him my salvation.

Thursday Devotional - God Is With Us When We Repent

Is it hard for you and me to say “I’m sorry?” Sometimes it can be very difficult to acknowledge we messed up. Many of us probably want to move on like it didn’t happen and forget about it. However, to truly repent means we confess it, grieve it, turn from it, turn toward God and desire to set things right.

One of my kids has had to write several apology notes to teachers and fellow

students over the years. Sitting and writing a complete and lengthy note of

confession has been quite challenging. Plus, making restitution to try and set

things right has painfully consumed much of their own money!

As we faced yet another one of those situations, God had us timely study Matthew 3 in Bible study this week, with a focus on repentance!

Matthew 3:1-6     In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

The kids played a game and used sign language to emphasize the full understanding of repentance and how God is ready to welcome and help us with our repentance.

Where do you and I need help to truly repent? God calls us to repent so we can have restored relationships with Him and others. He doesn’t expect us to do it in our own strength, but is quick to help us!

Alice