Psalm 6--Deliverance

“O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak;

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD--how long?

Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies' sake!

For in death there is no remembrance of You;

In the grave who will give You thanks?

I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim;

I drench my couch with my tears.

My eye wastes away because of grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

The LORD has heard my supplication;

The LORD will receive my prayer.

Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.”

     Psalm 6:1-10 (NKJV)

God is a mighty deliverer, as many stories in the Bible illustrate.  Just think of how He parted the Red Sea to deliver the children of Israel from all of Pharaoh’s armies.  Or how He protected Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego from destruction in King Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace.   Or opened the prison doors and shackles for Paul and Silas.

And God still delivers today.  From desperate situations, from fear, from sickness, from oppression, etc.  But deliverance doesn’t always come when we’d like and we have to wait.  Sometimes God uses the situation to grow our faith, to help us learn patience and perseverance, to strengthen our dependence on Him.  But we can be sure that He hears our prayers and His timing is perfect.

So don’t give up, don’t be discouraged. Press into Him; trust fully in Him.  God is rich in mercy and His abundant grace is sufficient to sustain us until deliverance comes.

Thursday Devotional - Better than Money

Does money really buy happiness?

I’m sure Jessica’s family would pay thousands and thousands of dollars to bring her sister-in-law back to life, pay for a cancer cure, etc. (see Monday’s devotional) Money doesn’t solve all our problems.

Peter offered better than money to a lame beggar.

Acts 3:6-10 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

More than just physical healing, this man was offered spiritual healing! God used the physical healing to open the door for Peter to share the truths about God and Jesus Christ (as you can read in the rest of chapter 3). The beggar was so thankful Peter gave him something better than money!!!

What about you and me? Are we more focused on providing financial means for ourselves and our family? Or, are we giving those around us something better than money? Are we sharing the truths of God that can bring spiritual healing for all eternity, no matter what happens in this life?

Alice

Heart & Humility

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

The topic of prayer has recently come up in my journey.  Not just from the standpoint of my own prayers but more into the thought of praying the right prayer.  When I was a younger Christian (if you consider being 40 ‘young,’ I heard a gentleman talk about prayer life saying that God is all knowing, and even if you are not good at prayer, he understands your heart.  And He will hear your prayer and request.  As I’ve grown older, I heard more complex teachings on prayer.  For example, the sermon at my church this week gave me three key takeaways.  My pastor said that prayer is defined by the entire Bible and not just a few verses.  Second, it is about connecting with God and not about what we get out of it.  Finally, it is an act of obedience and not desperation.  These points were very helpful in understanding what a prayer life should be like.  My confusion however focused on what I first learned.  If my prayers are not really good, can my prayer life be?  The answer is in the humility which you present it with.

Our words and hearts must be in alignment with each other for our prayers to really be worthwhile.  You see, you really can’t have a solid prayer life unless your heart is into it.  That is why a person who is born again and seemingly ignorant on the right way to pray to God can be more impactful than the most studied of prayer warriors.  Reading the Psalms of David are a great reminder of what a successful prayer life would sound like.  I was reading a historian’s viewpoint on David’s writing of the 19^th Psalm.  They said the chapter is twofold talking first about how great God is and how he is Lord over all things.  However, the second part is a bit of his own introflection.  David wrote:

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
    Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
    Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
    and innocent of great sin.  Psalm 19:12-13

 It’s as if to say, “I know I am not you, God.  Help me be a good man and not a worldly one.”  This shows the humility of David understanding that while he is King of Israel and a great man, he is a servant of God, and as such, needed Him to help make the right choices so that he will be blameless.  How often do we go to God with this kind of heart?  One that acknowledges His greatness and our weakness?  This was why the closing of the 19^th Psalm was perfect.  We want our prayers to fully see who God is, and to look upon Him knowing we simply cannot make it without Him.  This is the heart of a believer who is fully connected with God.

Our prayer life is a simple reminder of our relationship with God.  It keeps it real because it is above a ritual that we mark off and more personal than practical.  Do not let your prayers just be an idle act.  Make it meaningful and impactful as a true act of worship, appreciation, and adoration for the one true living God.  Are your prayers heartfelt or just going through the motions?  What changes can you make to improve on your prayers and prayer life?  My prayer is that we go to God frequently with two key ingredients; heart and humility.  Amen.

The comfort of the Lord

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Over the past week, I have traveled a very dark valley with my husband and his family.  We watched helplessly as my husband’s sister, came to the end of her battle with cancer.  We watched helplessly as her husband and kids tried to understand why and how they would go on.  We watched helplessly, yet we feared no evil, as we knew the Lord was with all of us through this dark valley.  His rod and staff have been there to comfort us and we know they will continue to be there to comfort us.

What has been hardest however, is watching as some of those that loved her, do not know the Lord and therefore do not know the comfort that we have in him.  I thank the Lord that Mary was a born again Christian and loved the Lord, yet struggle with how this will impact her husband and kids that do not have that relationship. 

Today, I ask that you pray for those around you that do not know the Lord.  This world can be dark and hard to survive without the love and comfort of God. 

Storm Shelter

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.”

     Proverbs 18:10

“For You have been a shelter to me,

a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.

Selah.”

     Psalm 61:3-4

Spiritual storms come in all shapes and sizes, and none of us are immune from them. It’s been said that if you’re not in a storm right now, you’ve either just come out of one or one is heading your way.  That’s why it’s so helpful to know the many promises of refuge and shelter in the Bible, such as the two listed above.

A daily infusion of the word of God helps us prepare, so that when the storms start raging, we’ll know (or know where to find) pertinent verses to strengthen and encourage us.

I’m grateful that the Lord’s name is a strong tower and that when I run to it, I’m safe.  I’ve experienced God’s shelter under His wings and I know it brings rest and peace, even in the midst of a storm.

God doesn’t promise that we will avoid the storms, but He will be with us and help us through them.  Hide God’s word in your heart, run to Him when the dark clouds appear and know that He is a strong tower of protection for you. 

Thursday Devotional - Clearing up Confusion

At the tower of Babel (Genesis 11), God confused the people’s languages because of their disobedience. They had refused to scatter over the earth as He commanded, so He made it so they had to scatter because they couldn’t understand each other anymore. However, on the day of Pentecost, God united the different languages.

Acts 2:1-6, 11-12      When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken… ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Peter boldly answered their question by sharing the truths about Jesus.

Acts 2:32-33, 36       ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear… ³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Peter then boldly called them to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and salvation. God brought all the different languages together. Jesus had died for all of them, no matter what their nationality or background. His plan of salvation is available to any who will accept it.  

Acts 2:21       And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Who do you and I know that is confused and needs clarity about God and His truths? Like Peter, we can clearly, lovingly and boldly share God’s plans with them by the Holy Spirit’s power.

Alice

God's Will

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When faced with tough decisions, sometimes it can be hard to figure out what is God’s will, verses our own will.  This is especially hard if we conform to the pattern of this world, or their way of thinking.  If we look at the world and how they have twisted the command to love everyone to instead mean be accepting of everyone, we see just one example of how we can then no longer be able to clearly test and approve what God’s will is. 

Rather if we allow our minds to be transformed to how God wants us to live, we can clearly test and approve when something is or is not his will. 

I’m sure each of us has something in our lives that we are trying to figure out what the Lord’s will is with it.  I encourage you today to allow him to transform your mind so you will know.

Seasons

“While the earth remains,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat, winter and

summer, and day and night

shall not cease.”

     Genesis 8:22 (NKJV)

“Jesus Christ is the same

yesterday, tomorrow,

and forever.”

    Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

I saw a church sign near the Eagan office today and it said: “Seasons change, God does not.”  It made me smile because it’s true. 

Here in Minnesota, we’re in the midst of fall with beautiful colored leaves, cooler temperatures and shortening days.  I do love the changing seasons.  But I love even more the fact that our God does not change.  He is eternal, beyond time and beyond the seasons He creates.  Our Savior Jesus Christ is always the same--yesterday, tomorrow and forever.  That stability is a great comfort, knowing that He is our solid Rock.

I also take comfort in knowing that God made the seasons to give order to our lives, to provide a rhythm to the days and months.  “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)  Almighty God is sovereign and His gracious hand ordains the seasons in our calendars and the seasons in our lives. 

As you’re out raking leaves or enjoying a walk in the sweater-weather, take a moment to thank God for His beautiful work in the seasons and praise Him for His unchanging character. 

Thursday Devotional - Times of Waiting

What are we to do while we wait on God’s answers and/or His timing?

As we saw last week, Jesus (just before His ascension) told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. However, he didn’t tell them where to wait, what to do in the meantime or how long the wait would be.  

Acts 1:12-14  ¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

In obedience to Jesus, the disciples waited in Jerusalem. They did the best thing they could do while waiting – they prayed! Maybe they prayed for patience, guidance and next steps. God did give them patience to wait and not run ahead! It appears He also guided their immediate next step - to get organized (as they prayerfully replaced Judas (Acts 1:15-26)).

God provides guidance while waiting.

As Joe and I prayed and waited for God’s answers about children, He helped us continue what He had already called us to do - responsibilities at church and in our community, BSF leadership, etc.

Where else do you and I need to trust God’s intentions and purposes, while waiting on His answers and timing? What instruction do you and I need to follow, even though we don’t know or understand what’s next?

Let’s be prayerful as we wait and listen carefully for His guidance on the next small step.  

Alice

A Fool Already Knows

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,

“He traps the wise
    in the snare of their own cleverness.”

And again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise;
    he knows they are worthless.”  1 Corinthians 3:18-20

We all work hard to be successful not only at work but also in our relationships and faith.  Most times, we are, but every so often, we are not.  Some of us have minor slip ups, but other times, we fail.  Miserably.  I thought about the times that I failed.  I failed to study well enough for a test and suffered mightily getting a poor grade.  There were times that I was not a good husband to my adoring wife, and I hurt her and in essence myself.  My performance at work had been substandard before, and yes, I had lost a job for it.  In most of these instances, I can now see how foolish I was.  It would have been so easy to turn right, and yet, I managed to turn left.  Yet as I reflect on those failures, I am incredibly thankful to God for them.  The one poor grade drove me to perform better and get better final grades.  My pleas for forgiveness and the tears my wife and me shared made me so much better as a husband.  And my failures at work not only helped me become better but also allowed me to be a relied upon resource to others who also suffered failure.  It reminded me of a song when I was a kid.  The chorus went:

Whoa-whoa, fools rush in
Anywhere, anywhere
Wise men will never go
But a wise man will never fall in love
He will never learn
What a fool already knows - Peabo Bryson, ‘A Fool Already Knows’

God uses our mistakes to make us even better disciples of Christ.  We think of the most intelligent people we know, and state, “Wow!  She is so smart,” or, “He always seems to know the answer.”  While there is a great deal of wisdom within them, ask them about a failure they have had and what they learned from it.  If they do not have a story like this, they are the people Paul is warning us about in today’s verses.  I remember doing lent for years only to fail each year.  However, one year I managed to put the failures behind me, and successfully completed it.  The closeness it brought me to God was incredible because I had put Him before myself for an extended period.  It was not anything special that I did different.  What I remembered was the failures when I turned left, and then I fought hard to turn right.  The purpose of Paul’s words was not to say understanding the world is wrong.  It meant to apply worldly logic to understand God is indeed foolish.  Along those lines, Godly wisdom means to rely on His word and to apply it to the world.  To the world, it will sound foolish, but being a fool for serving God is far better than being wise and serving the wrong Master, which in many cases is ourselves.  Why?  God guides us through our mistakes, and we can better see the end result of the wrong path.  After all, Jesus Christ is the only person that was ever perfect. 

True wisdom is knowing who God is and trusting what He says.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”  That would not make sense to a person who relies on his or her own judgment, but if they knew like we knew, it makes perfect sense.  He knows what is right, and has never led us astray.  Let us apply the wisdom of God trusting Him in all we do.  What has God taught you through your mistakes?  How can you trust Him more in your decisions?  My prayer is that we can see the wisdom in our failures to know what a fool already knows.  Amen.