Relaxing With God

tea

July 14 (Psalm 46:10)

Be still, and know that I am God! (NLT)

This is one of the better-known verses in the Bible, and we love it because it calls us away from the hectic, even frantic, pace of life. We envision getting away to the woods or the mountains where we hear nothing but the sounds of nature and the voice of God. It makes for a wonderful devotional goal, but there is something more going on in the command to be still.

In the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, that command literally means to be at leisure, to take a break, to kick back and relax. Now read that verse again. God is saying, “Take a break. Kick back, relax, and spend some time getting to know me.” Doing that certainly can mean going on retreat to a place of quiet beauty, but it can be as simple as enjoying your favorite beverage on the deck one summer’s evening and hanging out with God as you would with your best friend, which He is, if you want Him to be.

Can you hear the friendly invitation God is sending you? How would you react if a friend asked you over for ice cream tonight? You would be excited, but also relieved because you would know it would be a time to set aside the work and worries of the day. It would be something to look forward to, and that is what God is offering you today.

Thank You for inviting me to spend time with You, God. I am looking forward to putting everything else aside and being with You. Amen.

The Offensive Gospel

Jesus-Sanhedrin

June 30 (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. (NLT)

Ask someone who has been part of a drug intervention. It is usually not well received at first by the person who needs it. For that matter, consider a child’s reaction when her parents say it is bedtime or try to apply antiseptic to a knee scrape. That which is good and true, that which brings healing and restoration and life often meets with profound resistance, and the same is true when it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus.

If things seem to be going well enough without God, do you really want to be told that appearances can be deceiving and that you need Him desperately? If your idea of God is comfortable, based on ideas cobbled together over a period of years, do you really want to confront His fullness and reality in a first century Jew named Jesus? If truth about God’s love requires a change in your life because He knows better than you what is best, do you really want to hear that?

We all struggle with listening to and accepting what God says to us. Some people have learned to put aside their preconceived notions in order to approach Him with a truly humble and receiving heart, but others have not, and you and I do not know who is who. It is our calling, just as it was Paul’s, to live lives that are a sweet fragrance to God, lives that will draw some toward Him and seem to drive others away. If what you say and do helps someone live in deeper relationship with God, then rejoice, for you have done well. If it makes others angry or causes the loss of friendships, by all means grieve, but do not change. You live to please God, not human beings, and you never know whether those people may one day come back to Him because of what they have experienced in you.

Jesus, You never once cared what others thought when it came to fulfilling Your calling. I want to be as strong as You. Give me the courage to live a life that is pleasing to You and one that can point others toward You. May I never back down from being Your servant, no matter how people react. Amen.

Can You Be Honest With God?

honest-prayer

June 23 (Psalm 116:10)

I believed in you, so I said,
“I am deeply troubled, Lord.” (NLT)

In the movie The Dark Knight, several people dressed as Batman try unsuccessfully to take down the bad guys. After the real Batman appears and saves the day, one of the imposters asks, “What’s the difference between you and me?” Batman replies, “I’m not wearing hockey pants.”

A lot of people think they know what it looks like to follow God. It usually involves a list of behaviors by which they try to do this and avoid doing that. God certainly does want us to love others and not to sin, but a true relationship with Him is about much more than that. For one thing, it is about honesty, even when that honesty means admitting that you are in trouble. Do you really think God does not know when you are afraid or troubled or confused? Do you think He doesn’t know when you are angry with Him?

Too many of us would have written this verse differently. “I believed in you, so I put on a good front for others.” “I believed in you, so I sang praise songs in church even though I wanted to shake my fist at you.” Those alternate versions may sound absurd, but how well do they describe our actual lives? The psalmist is blunt and honest in this verse, and that is what God wants from you, too.

Lord, it’s just You and I right now, and to put it mildly, I’m troubled. I’m deeply troubled. In this moment, alone with You, I am setting aside my pretenses, because, quite frankly, they are too heavy to hold up anyhow. You know my pain even better than I do. Please bring the help and healing that I truly need. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Do You Know Him?

jesus_walks_with_disciples

June 16 (Acts 1:21)

So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus. (NLT)

When our son was at an exploratory day for the university he was considering, we had lunch with other families and students from the school that offered the program he was interested in. We asked one of the students from that school, but not from his program, what she could tell us about the program. She had some vague knowledge, and none of it was encouraging. Later, our son and I met with a young man who had graduated from that same university with a degree in that program, and his story was completely different. He could not have been more enthusiastic about it, had lots of good information to share, and was more than happy to be an ongoing support for our son. What was the difference? He actually knew what he was talking about because he had experienced it.

When the disciples needed to pick a replacement for Judas, they knew that it had to be someone who had spent time with Jesus. It would not be enough for someone to know about Him. Whoever the replacement would be would have to have deep, authentic, personal knowledge, the kind that could only come from knowing Jesus directly.

After two thousand years nothing has changed. There are many scholars who can tell you about Jesus, and you certainly do not need to be a Christian to teach someone about the ancient Roman empire or the Hebrew culture in which Jesus lived. But if you want to know Jesus, you need to get around people who actually know Him, people who have walked with Him and heard His voice. And if you are one of those people who know Him personally, then you are desperately needed to share what you know. We live in the Information Age, and it has never been easier to find facts about anything and everything. What the world truly needs is for those like the first disciples, people who have walked and talked with Jesus, to share with enthusiasm what it means to live with Him.

Lord Jesus, open my lips that my mouth may not only declare Your praise but proclaim the truth about You to those who do not know You. Open my eyes to opportunities to share what it is like to live with You, my loving and matchless Lord. Amen.

Special Feature: Here is a clip from the classic sermon by Dr. S. M. Lockridge, “Do You Know Him?”

Faith Is More Than We Think

Cicero

June 9 (Hebrews 11:1, 6)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (KJV)

In an attempt to be more understandable, most contemporary translations of Hebrews 11:1 miss the force of the Greek original, but the King James Version gets it right. Faith is the very being and substance of what we hope for. It is the argument or the proof now of things that have already happened in our future. A little girl wants and hopes to get a pony for her birthday, but it cannot be said she has faith that she will get it. It is a desire about a future that has not yet come to pass. On the other hand, when we have faith “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” as it says in Romans 8:28 or that we will “not perish, but have everlasting life” as we are promised in John 3:16, our faith functions like an airtight legal case, proving to us that these things will happen, for they indeed already have.

Now connect that with Hebrews 11:6. We are kidding ourselves if we think we have a right relationship with God yet remained unconvinced about His promises. We can’t claim to follow Him and yet be unsure whether He exists. We can’t say we are His people and yet not be utterly convinced that He rewards those who seek Him and works things out for their good.

If Jesus were to look us directly in the eyes and say, “Do you believe what I have told you,” too many of us would, if we answered truthfully, say, “Well, um, yeah…I suppose….” The word for “evidence” in the King James Version is elenchos in the Greek, and it has to do with rhetorical arguments and philosophical proofs. Our faith should serve us like an irrefutable argument in a trial, one that leads to a conclusion beyond all reasonable doubt. That is the kind of faith that is truly comforting and that pleases God.

Father, today I take You at Your word. In all things, big and small, I trust that You are working them out for good. I reject what my senses, which are often fallible, tell me about the world and I reject the false advice of others that masquerades as truth. I place all my faith in Your already accomplished promises. Amen.

The Old Testament God of Love

ZionNatPark

June 2 (Exodus 34:6)

The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,

“Yahweh The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. (NLT)

Moses had just completed one of the most important tasks God had ever given to a human being. He had spent time with God on the mountain receiving the ten commandments that would become the basis of Jewish life, and now God honored him by passing before him. What a privilege for Moses to be in the presence of the living God! The Lord knew that the purity and brilliance of His presence would kill Moses, so He instructed him to hide in the crevice of a rock until He had completely passed, and then Moses could look upon Him from the back. Still, it was an amazing honor and one that would change Moses forever.

And what does God say in this moment? What does He announce about Himself? He proclaims that He is the God of compassion and mercy. What? Aren’t the Ten Commandments a bunch of rules that prove God is angry and out to get us? Not at all. Notice that it is in the very moment of giving the law that God proclaims His compassion and mercy. In fact, because He knows our enemy does not want us to grasp this fully, He goes on. “I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.”

There is only one God. He eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is not a God of the Old Testament and a different one in the New Testament. There is one God, and His nature remains unchanged and unchanging, and that nature is one of compassion and mercy and love and faithfulness. Satan will use anything and everything to convince you otherwise, so look up from your circumstances for a moment. Look away from the pain and difficulty in your life and for just a moment look to the presence of God. You will find what Moses found, love that will change you forever.

Lord, so often I try to reason my way to knowledge about You. I look at something bad in my life or in the world and conclude that You must not love me. Help me not to try figuring You out with my own misguided logic. Help me to see You clearly through Your own words. May the Holy Spirit illumine my understanding so that I see the compassionate, merciful, loving, and faithful God that You are. In the name of Jesus, Who revealed You fully, I pray. Amen.

When You Speak, You Create

Speaking

May 26 (Ephesians 4:29)

Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (NLT)

God spoke the physical universe into existence, and we were created in His image. It stands to reason, then, that human speech shares in that creative power. It is true that I can’t say “shiny, red Mustang” and a hot sports car will appear in my driveway, but the words that we speak to others have profound and very real effects. In many of our daily interactions, we are speaking reality into existence.

This is the season for high school and college graduations. Countless words of encouragement and affirmation will be spoken by friends and families to those who have completed their studies. Why do we do that? Why do we bless people with our words, acknowledging their gifts and abilities before God and men? We do it because we know that in some way we cannot quite explain, our words have the power to shape reality. Of course, it is not our words themselves so much as the power of God working through them when those words are given in faith and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Now consider this. How many people never hear such words? How many children and young people never hear words of encouragement and affirmation? How many adults have gone a long time without hearing them? Be attentive to the Holy Spirit, and when He gives you a word to share with someone, be quick to do it. Whether in email or written letter or spoken communication, imitate your Father by speaking truth and love into those around you. You will be taking part in the very of act of creation when you do.

Lord, thank You for all those who have spoken Your words into my life. Make me aware of those who need Your words and embolden me to speak them. May my words always be an encouragement to those who hear them. In the name of Jesus, my Savior, amen.

Faith When You Don’t Believe It

Christian-Woman-kneeling-in-Prayer-Silhouette

May 12 (Genesis 18:14)

Is anything too hard for the Lord? (NLT)

After many years, the couple still had not conceived a child. When the woman heard that she would bear a son, she laughed. I imagine there was a touch of bitterness to Sarah’s laughter. It may have even been more of a scoff, as if to say, “You’ve got to be kidding!” Let’s be honest. Years of praying without seeing the desired results can make you a bit jaded.

Oh, but we are supposed to have faith! We are supposed to keep believing! Yes, and one can have faith and still become jaded. In fact, faith only enters into things when we don’t see the way and we can’t imagine that what we want will ever come to pass. And it is in just such moments that God says, “Is anything too hard for me?” It’s odd how we can pray for justice and the healing of hatred, you know, the really big issues, but we don’t believe that God can or will handle the daily things. Here was a couple, Abraham and Sarah, who had trouble conceiving a child. What is it that you have wrestled with for a long time? Does it have to do with work or friends or family?

If you are convinced that God can handle the big things, things like speaking stars and atoms into existence, things like raising the dead and providing for the salvation of all who want it, then it stands to reason that God can handle what you are facing today and tomorrow. And if He can, He will. It may not have happened yet, and He has His reasons for that, but keep your faith in Him, even if it means you laugh when you say it. He knows your heart and will say to you just what He said to Abraham and Sarah.

Father, You know exactly what is on my heart right now. I don’t even need to articulate it. In fact, I have articulated it and cried it and screamed it and pleaded it with You too many times for me to count. I confess that even though I do not see a way right now, I will put the matter before You again, trusting that You will handle it perfectly. In the name of Jesus, I cast all my cares upon You. Amen.

The Message of Jesus

light-darkness

May 5 (Acts 26:17-18)

Yes, I am sending you to the Gentilesto open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me. (NLT)

Life in Jesus is about far more than having a genie in a bottle to help us out every now and then when things get rough. It is a radical altering and reorienting of the very essence of our selves, and Jesus lays this out quite clearly in His words to Paul.

First, we move from spiritual, and very real, darkness to light. Apart from God we are susceptible to the power of Satan, which can be hard to recognize and almost impossible to resist. By surrendering to Jesus, we move out from that power and come to God Himself. Second, we receive forgiveness for our sins, which we would not even know we needed without the light of God illuminating what is truly dark. Finally, we receive a place among the people of God. The work of Jesus is not just to clean us up and then send us out on our own, but to incorporate us into the body of those who dwell in the joyful presence of God forever.

And all of that is available through faith in Jesus. That is all it takes. Accept Him as Lord and Savior, and all that can be yours. Pause and think about that for a moment. If you have already surrendered your life to Him, rejoice and thank Him for the amazing gift He has given you and share this good news with those you know who need that gift as well. If it all sounds too good to be true, but something you know you light-darkness desperately want, then invite Him into your heart today. What Jesus told Paul to offer people two thousand years ago, He is offering to you right now.

O Jesus, the light and life You offer is more than I can comprehend, yet I know I want it. In fact, I want nothing more than You this day. However closely or poorly I have followed You before, I confess my sin to You and surrender all to You this moment. Help me to live in the light and life of You, my Savior. Amen.

The Deep Heart’s Core

Innisfree

April 28 (Psalm 27:8)

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” (NLT)

When I recently read this psalm, I was struck by how much it sounds like the call and response of the lover and his beloved in the Song of Songs, and suddenly my mind went down a poetic path. The opening line of this verse reminded me of the last line in “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats. The poet has been musing on returning to the lake of his youth and concludes that even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life, the sound of the lapping waters comes back to him, for “I hear it in my deep heart’s core.”

Do you hear God that way? Do you hear Him calling in your deep heart’s core, calling you to come and spend time with Him? And do you find your heart yearning to do just that? When I do, I often feel a pang of anguish for all that separates me from Him, and the words of John Donne come to mind. “Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, but am betroth’d unto your enemy.” And who is that enemy? At times it is nothing more than the mundane demands of life, which William Wordsworth lamented when he wrote, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers….”

Yet God has also said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” He is always standing at the door and knocking. He is always calling to us in our deep heart’s core. And what is it God wants? It is simply to talk and spend time with us, His beloved children, the ones He created in His own image.

Father, You have done everything in our relationship. You are the one who has approached me. You are the one who made it possible to talk directly with You thanks to the work of Jesus. If I find myself apart from you, then the words of the old blues song ring true. “Ain’t nobody’s fault but mine.” Today I take You up on Your call, Father. Today I am setting aside time to be quiet and to talk with You. Amen.