Psalm 22

 

1 To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Deer of the Dawn." A Psalm of David.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.

7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"

9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God.

11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

21 Save Me from the lion's mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.

22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.

25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.

28 For the kingdom is the LORD's, And He rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,

31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

     Psalm 22 (NKJV)

 

Psalm 22 is the psalm of the Cross at Calvary. It gives an account of the Suffering Savior’s last hours and records His last words. Charles Spurgeon suggested that we should read this psalm reverently, putting off the shoes from our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for if there is holy ground anywhere in Scripture, it is in this psalm.

 This psalm describes the crucifixion of Christ in amazing specificity.  Interestingly, more detail about Christ’s death on the cross is given here than in the gospel accounts of it.  The fact that David wrote about it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so many centuries earlier and with such accuracy gives added weight to the inerrancy of Scripture.

 Although this is a psalm of David, it contains the words of Jesus – from first verse (“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”) to the last (some say the last phrase in the original is “It is finished”), and Christ is there in the in-between. We see both the darkness and the glory of the Cross. For “He has done this” – the perfect Lamb of God, set His face to do the Father’s will, and died for all our sins. Everyone who comes to the foot of the cross as a sinner, trusting in Christ’s atoning work, will be saved.  Hallelujah and amen.

                                                 A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth

A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth to save a world of sinners.

He bears the burden all alone, dies shorn of all His honors.

He goes to slaughter, weak and faint, is led to die without complaint;

His spotless life He offers. He bears the shame, the stripes, the wrath;

His anguish, mockery, and death for us He gladly suffers.

(Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676)

To Infinity And Beyond!

 

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43 18-19

I was reading some of my older devotions when I born again.  That’s over fifteen years ago!  As I read some of them, I realized how much I have grown over that time.  It is with that in mind I decided to write  (actually rewrite) a number of other devotions over the next few weeks. I pray you will get as much out of them as I did pausing and reflecting over them.

(Revised from 10/10/05)

When we are born again, we are free from the bondage of our sins of the past.  A month ago, I mentioned that Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 spoke of the painful sorrow of sin that corrects versus worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance (see http://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com/2020/09/more-than-enough.html).  There are an infinite number of sins we could recall not only from our past but even as recent as today to dwell on.  However, we are not to focus on the seemingly infinite number of sins for as today’s verses say, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”  Today, I am focusing on God’s infinite wisdom that figured out a ‘new thing’ for us to get past it all.  Because of that, we have a future with Jesus Christ.

God’s plan always goes beyond what we can see.  Today’s verses are about prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ.  As I delved into these verses, I dissected it further than I did when I originally wrote about it.  Back then, it was simply that God made a way to remove the bondage of the past.  Today, I realize what God had done was much more profound.  He looked at the bigger problem of our sinful nature and realized there were more barriers between Him and us than just sin.  Here are some questions I asked myself in trying to understand how God looked at the problem of our relationship with Him.  How can He get us past seeing the rules and focus on loving one another (The Greatest Commandment)?  How can He help us focus on our relationship with Him and not just rituals (James 2:26)?  How can He get others to be saved who don’t even believe they are worthy (the Samaritan woman – John 4:1-26)?  Many of you could come up with a multitude of questions that ultimately Jesus Christ is the answer for.  The key today is to realize how God saw this enormous problem and knew we could not find a way to Him without great difficulty.  As such, He had the solution of sending His only Son to save us.  This is at the heart of what Isaiah is prophesying.  The new thing (Jesus Christ) was to come and make “a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  I can barely solve a problem to get to next week, and God made a way to solve a problem for all eternity!  Then, He sent a prophet to foretell what was to come so future generations would know.  Only the true living God could have that kind of master level wisdom.  I so appreciate that He did this for us! 

God’s wisdom is unimaginable.  His word gives us a wealth of knowledge.  Answers to every problem possible is contained in it.  One might look and say, “Well God can’t fix my internet when Comcast cuts a cable by accident!”  This is true, but perhaps at that moment He wants you to pay attention to other problems He is helping you resolve.  Perhaps God is helping you with your impatience (see 1 Corinthians 13:4) or submitting to His will (Job 22:21).  The point is we cannot know who God is unless we are willing to acknowledge He knows better than us.  Let’s be willing to understand that amazing level of wisdom He brings into our lives.  Will you submit to acquire greater wisdom of what God is trying to teach you?  How will you take time to see problems through a God centered lens?  My prayer is we acknowledge God’s greatness and just how infinite His wisdom truly is or in the words of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, “To infinity and beyond!”  Amen.

Are You With Me?

 

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  Psalm 41:9-10 (NKJV)

 

My mom and I spent a year in Boston while she was finishing her Masters degree.  She was often sick that year, and while she was finishing a major paper from a hospital bed, I would go home alone to study and rest.  It was not that I did not have people to watch over me.  In fact, several friends would stop by our apartment to just check in on me to ensure everything was alright.  One might suspect that at times I might have had a level of loneliness.  That was not the case at all.  I always felt my mom was there with me, and I behaved as such.  My faith was not as big to me then as it is now.  Today with children and grandchildren, there never seems a moment when I’m alone, but at times when it is late at night and I am trying to figure out what to write in my devotion, there can be a sense of loneliness.  “God?  Are you with me,” I say to myself?  I know He is there.  But it is a subtle reminder of where my focus is for that moment.  I could be watching the game or an episode of one of my favorite shows, but as I have previously written, sometimes you have to tune out the noise around you so that you can focus on God.  The simple utterance of the words, “Are you with me,” ensures for that moment, my focus is truly and exclusively on Him.

It is good for us to take time out to focus on God’s presence in our lives.  I love these verses in Psalms because of how reassuring it is, and while it is easier to understand using the New Living Translation, I preferred the New King James because it both read like a poem and felt more personal.  No matter how far we may seem, God is there, and we are His most prized possession.  We have no reason to be afraid or discouraged.  When we are weak, God will strengthen us, and when we are weary, He will hold us up.  These two simple verses cover so much ground.  Even when we think we are, we are never truly alone.  David prefaced this in the 23^rd Psalm saying, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4a NKJV) This reassurance is invaluable in times where we might be on a solo mission.  When no one believe in you, God does.  He is there to help, talk, guide, instruct, and strengthen.

There are no boundaries that can withstand God’s pursuit of us.  This leaves us with a very simple question.  Why would we ever feel alone?  If we have an authentic and loving relationship with Him, we would not.  So if you are lost or just wondering, remember the old African hymnal:

No, never alone!  No, never alone!  He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone!

Never Alone (Unknown)

What is driving your feelings of loneliness?  What void of abandonment can Jesus fill today and beyond?  My prayer is that we know God is with us, and reassure ourselves as much by simply asking God, “Are you with me?”  Amen.

Recoup from Vacation

 Ever need a vacation to recuperate from your vacation? On the other hand, sometimes the vacation is so good that you can't remember what you do for a living. Somewhere in the middle is where I find myself this Monday.

I do remember that yesterday, I was speaking to a group of teens about Gideon. I got a lot of "deer-in-the-headlight" sort of response. The thing is, Gideon is one of those characters we've heard a lot about (fleece wet, fleece dry, and everyone grab your jars and torches!). Yet, when we read the account in Judges, there seem to be a lot of details that seem, well weird. And it's not just Gideon, it's Yahweh too.

If you feel uncomfortable considering something God does to be "weird", don't fret. He makes stars, moves galaxies, and is completely responsible for the particles that make up quarks. So, weird is really what we should expect, not the clearly understandable.

So, when this Creator of all matter seems comfortable having Gideon test Him, it's really okay. It may even be an invitation to us to put Him to the test. And yes, I know Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 where God tells the Sons of Israel not to test Him as they did when they grumbled about water at Massah. But asking Him to confirm His word to do something completely irrational is not the same as claiming He has somehow deceived us. The call not to test God is a call not to be disobedient, and Gideon is seeking the opposite.

So, God calls Gideon to seek one more confirmation:

Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. Judges 7:9-11 NASB

The very idea of facing a number of camels impossible to number with 300 guys with torches and jars is not rational. It's not, regardless of how you figure it. Even with 32,000 it's not sensible, and with 10,000 brave souls it is still a bad idea. So, with 300 men who lap water like dogs, the prospects are beyond ridiculous. And so, down to the camp Gideon goes:

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” Judges 7:12-14 NASB

The ridiculous thing Yahweh asked of Gideon was only part of the work He was already doing. Yahweh had already prepared the Midianites for failure. Now, knowing this, Gideon can move ahead with the ridiculous assured of success. And he does. Jars, torches, and blasts from the horns of rams is all that these 300 dog-drinkers need to overcome hilarious odds.

See what Gideon does first, having heard this confirmation from his enemy: "When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”" Judges 7:15 NASB (emphasis mine)

That's the right response, worship. Yes, we are to obey, go get busy doing what our Savior has commanded. But we are also to worship Him. Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to praise Him. Jesus heals many in Judea and Galilee, but only a foreign military officer demonstrates the faith in His authority. 

Have we become jaded by years of faith? Have we seen the worst of believers and wondered if faithful churches even exist anymore? Or has our work in obedience become the distraction from the One we obey? Have you had a "good vacation" from service and can't remember what you were doing?

The first thing we need is worship. The second thing may be obedience, but the first thing is worship. I know that when I sense my prayers being hindered, when it seems my Savior is far off, when I just can't work up the needed energy to do the next thing in obedience or fight the next temptation, I need worship.

I need to acknowledge the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and call out His name, His power, and thank Him for the fact that He has revealed Himself to one like me. That is what centers me in Him, and then everything else is easy. I can face the temptation, find the energy to obey, and sense His Spirit at work where I can do nothing.

Gideon did. He suddenly has a plan, suddenly knows what to do with 300 to defeat enemies he can't count. He started with worship. And, I recommend, we start there too.

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

Psalm 21

 

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him--Length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.

6 For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.

10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.

11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

     Psalm 21 (NKJV)

 This psalm may refer to King David as he offers thanksgiving to God for victory in battle and other resulting blessings; others see the kingly references to mean the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The psalm also can be taken more generally to express the many joys of salvation for the child of God.

 The verses stress that all good things come from God’s hand. There is only one salvation and it comes from God, who gave His only begotten son Jesus Christ, to save all who would believe in Him.  David knows from personal experience that blessing, life, gladness, strength and joy come from the Lord’s presence, and that should be our experience too Rather than letting the world influence us and hold our attention, we should seek His face and spend time rejoicing in our glorious Savior. And we should pause and meditate on His infinite goodness, as the psalm instructs us (v. 2).

 David trusted in the Lord and through the mercy of Almighty God, he was not moved. Although he suffered many trials and experienced sin and mistakes in his life, his faith did not fail and the Bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). That should be both an encouragement to us when we sin and make mistakes, as well as an exhortation to make sure we are truly trusting God even in tough circumstances and uncertainty.

 The psalm ends with a description of God’s judgment upon the wicked and God’s people can rejoice that justice will ultimately prevail. It is also a solemn warning that while we are living in the age of grace, there is an appointed time coming of God’s wrath upon this earth and all those who have rejected Jesus Christ will perish. Be certain that He is your Savior and Lord today. Then let us sing and praise His mighty power (v. 13).

                                                 Crown Him with Many Crowns

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne;

Hark, how the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King, through all eternity.

(Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894)

Thursday Devotional - What am I?

People were created with the need for relationships with others. We long to belong to a family, group, and community. 

The twins have figured out many of the family connections in my family, since I live near my parents and one of my sisters. One of the twins even figured out that the “Panikkars” refers to everyone in my sister’s family (aunt Jane, uncle Sean, and cousins Maria and Mark). I said “Yes, and we’re Reas!” Then, she asked: “What am I?” I told her she and her brother would be Reas just like Joe, James, Sarah and me, once we adopted them.

In Genesis 1, God created everything. What I noticed this time studying Genesis is that God said “Let there be…” or “Let the…” when He created things days 1-5, but on the 6^th day, God said “Let us make!”

Genesis 1:26-28       ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

We were created unique from all the rest of creation! Each person was created in the image of God! We have special value and worth to God!

What am I? I’m a Rea, but most importantly I’m God’s!

I pray you feel your value and worth to God!

Alice

A Chosen Friend

 

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!  This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.   John 15:9-16

My wife is my best friend.  We have lots of fun together.  We fight and argue.  We have had nights where I slept on the couch, and a few where she put me there.  Deservingly.  I will never forget how we started dating.  We worked together at Burger King, and she asked me out.  Well let me rephrase that.  She told me I was going to take her out for her birthday.  I do not remember having an option in the matter.  The funny thing was I had to cancel the date because I was forced to work that night.  She was so mad!  I promised to make it up to her and be her date at the company’s Christmas party.  That was December 23, 1983.  We dated off and on for twelve more years before we got married.  We have three children and soon to be nine grandchildren.  Our lives are filled with joy and lots of love.  I am forever grateful that she chose me to take her out, and happy she graciously accepted to be my wife.  But if you let her tell you, she will say she ‘let’ me marry her.  As the years have passed, I realize how special it was that she chose me.  It gave me context to understand how it is equally as special to know I did not just choose to be a follower of Christ.  He first chose me as He has chosen each of you.

We are all chosen by Christ as His friends.  In today’s verses, my initial inclination was to be drawn to the middle, where Jesus talked about the greatest love of one laying down their life for their friends.  Of course, this was a precursor to the crucifixion.  However, reading the whole paragraph delved into not only a much deeper love Jesus had for His disciples but also the love He wished for them to show each other and the world.  It was a selfless (lay down one’s life), submitting (do what I command), freeing (I no longer call you slaves), and trusting (a master doesn’t confide in his slaves) kind of love.  Reading these verses give us a clear indication of what a healthy and loving relationship is like.  But first, it requires a choice.  I never really caught onto the part about Jesus choosing the Apostles.  This is truly significant because remember in Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, and John 1:39, 46, He asked them to ‘follow’ or ‘come.’  We often believe that we found God and are grateful we were given a new life to follow Him.  But the real prize is realizing that He chose us first!  This fact is amazing to me, and we know this to be true because David spoke of such saying:

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!  Psalm 139:16-18

We are never separated from the love of God if we choose to follow Him.  Last week, I spoke of how God delights in us.  Today, we are to rejoice in how God loves us.  It is complete and without fail.  I now understand how Israel Houghton wrote in song, “I am a friend of God.  He calls me friend.”  Jesus said it.  Before we said ‘yes’ to Him, He chose us!  Whenever you begin to doubt your place or situation, never forget this.  What in your friendship with God needs repair?  How can you befriend someone as Jesus befriended you?  My prayer is that we remember that we did not just choose God as our savior.  He chose us as a friend.  Amen.

Psalm 20

 

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;

3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah

4 May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose.

5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.

9 Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.

    Psalm 20 (NKJV)

 One interpretation of this psalm is that it describes an offering of prayers for God’s deliverance in battle and exclaiming confidence in God’s faithfulness to help in times of trouble and to save.

 In David’s time, some people trusted in chariots to win the war, others trusted in horses.  Our country seems at war today, with a virus wreaking havoc and deep divisions cracking our society. Many people are trusting in one political party or another to fix things; too many are seeking answers from worldly sources that provide no lasting help. But as followers of Christ, we trust in the Lord our God. 

We are in a war today, a spiritual one and Jesus is the Captain of our army (see Hebrews 2:10).  As David set up the banner in God's name, so we raise the cross of Calvary as our banner.  As David exhorted the people, we too must "stand upright" (v. 8) in His mighty name because Jesus has won the victory.

 This is a battle we must fight on our knees for it is a spiritual one (see Eph. 6:12). For this purpose, many Christian leaders and individuals are planning to gather in our nation’s capital on Saturday, September 26^th to pray for our country and its leaders.  I invite you to be in prayer also. "May the King answer us when we call" (v. 9).

Onward Christian Soldiers

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war;

With the cross of Jesus going on before.

Christ the royal Master leads against the foe;

Forward into battle, see, His banners go!

(Sabine Baring-Gould, 1834-1924)

Thursday Devotional - Creation's Beauty

With COVID, we had one family vacation cancelled and didn’t plan other family vacations for the summer, other than visiting family. However, we finally planned a long weekend trip to Mackinac Island for this past weekend. I wasn’t sure how it would go, since the twins had just lived with us 2 weeks by then. When they found out we were going to Mackinac Island, though, they couldn’t wait! It gave them something to talk about and look forward to, especially while they missed their former home. They counted down the days!

We got to see lots of God’s beautiful creation – gorgeous water, sunrises, sunsets, lots of horses, flowers, trees, rock formations, bright moon and stars, etc. Mackinac Island is one of my favorite places on earth! It reminds me of the beauty and variety of all God created. No two sunrises or sunsets are the same! The night sky changes daily, too.   

In Bible study this year, we are studying Genesis. Covering most of chapter 1 this week was timely with our trip!

Genesis 1:14-19       And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

The twins (and all of us) enjoyed Mackinac Island! We took daily bike rides and got to point out lots of things God created.

What of God’s creation have you gotten to enjoy and marvel at this week?

Alice

Relationship Building

 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20 

Do you ever go into a pre-planned conversation and it changes midstream?  Every so often, I will get into a situation where I am focused on a specific discussion, and then right in the middle of it, something changes.  Either the mood shifts, or maybe you hear something that makes you say to yourself, “You know?  Now is probably not the best time for this to be said.”  It could be with a spouse, child, friend, and even coworker.  No matter the person, there is a sense that causes us to shift gears on the fly.  Why is that?  It has to do with the relationship built with that person.  Sure, there are time where we can clearly see it’s a bad time to ask someone to hurry up when they are sobbing.  But other times, we know the other person well enough to gauge the timing of something good to say vs. bad.  When to console instead of being critical.  When to have a lighthearted laugh instead of bringing up a serious conversation.  You are committed to that person’s wellbeing even when they are not directly in your presence.  The deeper it is, the greater all of the above applies.  It’s all about relationship building. 

We should continually check where we are in our relationship with God.  I picked the verses today not because of its focus, which most would know is ‘The Great Commission’ or the end of the book of Matthew.  Today, the view is the culmination of a well-established relationship built between Jesus and His disciples.  They had been through so much together.  There was the beginning where each of them chose to follow Him.  The many miracles witnessed like turning water into wine, watching Gentiles call Him the Messiah, the many healings, and yes, the betrayal and eventual crucifixion all were part of their journey.  There was a lot of joy and pain all in a relative short period of time.  Yet, after the resurrection their bond was stronger than ever.  And Jesus leaves them with the words of, “go and make disciples of all the nations.”  I ask myself when I think of Jesus, do I think of Him just when I need Him?  Kind of like my daughter when she wants the new AirPods?  Or am I laughing when He teaches me something?  Like when my wife shows me she is my better half in a funny way?  You see, when we are only doing God as a ritual and when something is wrong, that may be honoring Him, but it is not a growing and fulfilling relationship.  If you have a dull day and look to God and say, “You know what?  This was pretty bland, but I know better days are ahead.  I am grateful you are with me.  I pray I have done good by you today, and just know I’m thinking of you.”  That does not have a lot to it, but a relationship is not about excitement or fireworks.  It is about showing up each and every day and acknowledging the other’s presence.  While decorum and respect for God is an important part of our relationship, being loving and kind I would argue rates higher because one, they are fruits of the Spirit and two, it comes from a heart for God.  I noted ‘for God’ as Ezekiel 36:26 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” 

God is delighted when we are invested in Him.  Earlier this week, I read about the baptism of Jesus, and how God said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” (Mark 1:11b) While we are not the Son of God, we are God’s children, and He delights in us.  Our journey of faith is a continuous relationship building exercise in understanding why He loves us so much, and in doing so, we find an even greater love for Him, ourselves, and others.  Let us focus on our continual spiritual growth to build a healthy relationship with Jesus just as His disciples did.  Where are you in your relationship with Jesus?  Are you focused on ritual-based or authentic relationship with God?  My prayer is that we do some additional relationship building with Jesus today and beyond.  Amen.