Opaqueness in Life

 

Halo opaque,

essence surreal

Breathe whispers promise,

Hope lingers there.

 

Rising the sun,

Fresh newness of day,

Brings bright promise

Of hope on the way.

 

Whispers slip past,

Worries flee the light,

Heaven’s sweet nearness

Caress rested minds.

 

Promising rest,

Weary soul’s retreat,

Breathing with ease,

Bright promises meet.

 

Waking on new day,

Crescent fire in sky,

Joy comes with morning,

They exhale, we’re alive.

 

Stepping through new day,

Noon, evening, too,

Life’s great pattern

Constantly true.

 

Hindrances step back,

New Conq’rer trods in,

Savior’s great coming,

Sin and death to suspend.

 

Once forever always,

Walk through golden gates,

Always a victor

With the Ancient of days.

 

Life transformed, new,

Heart bursts with love,

Christ forever, always

Redeemer from above.

 

Justified, forgiven,

Never held at bay,

Walking with the Savior

Forever and always.

 

Halo opaque

Brings no fear of night,

Creator made them,

No harm comes from His might.

 

All His creation,

Good, He called them all,

Welcomes you in love,

Saves from man’s fall.

 

For this He made us,

Relationship so dear,

Living with the Savior

heart’s beat….

breath’s sigh….

my Savior and me.

 

The Reward

The “end” is over,
Timeline erased.
Life ran o’er its course;

Heart completed the race.

One last beating.

One last exhale.
One final eye-blink.
Life ends its brief trail.

What more can be done?

What remains beyond?
Mere mem’ries recalled
At setting of sun.

A psalm said o’er life.

A psalm said o’er death.
Prophecy fulfilled,
Shepherd’s love begets.

Mem’ries of Shepherd’s love;

What was now and not yet,
Becomes now and always
As with Shepherd, they sit.

The Lord is my Shepherd,

Said with understanding in full.
He laid them down in green pastures,
Just as He led them by waters still.

He refreshed and restored them

And led them on righteous paths.
The Shepherd gave them peace and calm,
Walking with them, with His rod and staff.

Before eyes of their enemies

Made He a table for His own.
Anointed their heads with oil;
Son and daughter, He made it known.

Faithful and faultless,

Merciful and good,
The Shepherd never left them;
Through their days of life, He always stood.

Breath and heartbeat gone forever.

Timeline faded away.
Eternity stretched before them,
Because of the Ancient of Days.

Surely goodness and mercy followed them

Through the length of their days.
The “not yet” is now theirs,
To God, we now praise.

     For being their Shepherd,
     the One who gave rest and led.
     For being their Savior,
     their Restorer and Righteousness.
     For being their Conqueror,
     their Peace, Rod, and Staff.
     For being their Provider,
     their Defense and Holiness.
     For being their God
     all their days and night.

To them, all that was, their timeline ran out.

The days of their “not yet” have begun without end.

The reward of a life consecrated by God?

Forever hearing “well done” and eternity with the King,
Singing with the angels, “Praise God and Amen!”

In their lives, they sang with men.

Now with the angels, this song never ends:

The Lord is my Shepherd;

I did not want.
He laid me down in green pastures;
He led me beside still waters.
He restored my soul.
He led me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yes, though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I did not fear evil because You were with me;
Your rod and staff comforted me.
You prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies.
You anointed my head with oil; my cup overflowed.
Surely goodness and mercy followed me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.

Choices of Life

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14

God told Joshua to call the Israelites to himself. He told Joshua his death would be soon. The Israelites needed to be reminded of who God is, has been, and will be, as well as what He has done for them as His people. In Joshua 24:14, God, through Joshua, challenges them to recommit themselves to Him.

As we consider this verse, we must notice all the imperatives—fear, serve, cast aside, serve (again). For one verse to have so many commands, this should cause us to ask some questions. The questions that come to my mind are the following four.

·       Who gave these commands? God gave them.

·       Whom did God command? He commanded His people, Israel, and, by forward-pushing, His children by faith.

·       How were God’s people to keep His commands since humanity is sinful and unfaithful? God would give them the will and ability to do what He commanded. God gives absolutes. His ways are bigger than people’s. People must have the desire (will) to follow God through their daily growing relationship with Him, which makes His desires theirs. People also receive God’s empowering to do what He commands, asks, and lays out.

·       What did God command the Israelites to do? He gave four commands by using three words and used one of them twice. God emphasized one command because it was a very important imperative.

God’s first command to the Israelites was to “fear the Lord.” Fearing God comes from the Hebrew word yare’. It means to revere and honor. God commanded the Israelites to revere and honor Him above all else. He would give them the ability to do this. The Israelites would be in awe of God and could only worship and revere Him solely if they grasped onto His power to forsake the self-concerned murmurings of their fickle hearts and minds. God does not require what He does not give the ability to do. People must want to be close to God so that they receive His enabling because of their hearts and minds being attuned to His. God said, “Fear the Lord,” to the Israelites. Draw near and worship God.

God commanded the Israelites to “serve Him.” Again, what God commands people He enables them to do. It requires selflessness, which will lead to godliness. God commanded the Israelites to serve Him, Yahweh (the always existing One), not other gods. Those other gods, which Yahweh said not to serve, include manmade things, self, or other God-created things. He told the Israelites how to serve Him—"in sincerity and truth.” People have a faithlessness that allows them to perform worship acts without involving their heart, mind, and soul. God told His people to serve Him with their whole being (sincerely) and faithfully (in truth). These descriptors of the worship God requires may have caused the Israelites recall what Moses told them. He said in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 22:37. So, God commanded the Israelites to grasp His enabling of them faithfully to serve Him sincerely with their whole being.

God gave a third command in verse 14. He demanded they “cast aside the gods your fathers served.” Cast aside means to put away, remove, turn aside from. God commanded the Israelites to grasp the power He gives them to turn away from the false gods the Egyptian, Abraham, along with his ancestors, venerated. Do not worship them; intentionally turn away from worshipping created things. Instead, be in awe of Yahweh and worship Him, the One who was before time, is now, and will be even beyond time. Choose to revere and serve Yahweh faithfully (singularly) and completely, with your heart, mind, body, and soul.

That third command in this verse leads to God’s final command. The final command is a reiteration of the second imperative. He commanded the Israelites to cast away the gods of their forefathers and the Egyptians and “serve Him.” Serving God requires exclusivity, serving only Him. It requires oneness of being and faithfulness. Serving God requires awe and reverence of Him singularly daily. God enables His people to serve Him completely and exclusively. People are fickle and unfaithful. Yet God does not command of people what He does not enable. God gives His people the ability to have a close and personal relationship with Him. From that relationship comes the will and desire to be closer to God and to honor Him with their lives by word, action, attitude, and exclusive worship.

Even today, God enables people to serve Him completely and selflessly. He does this by bringing a sinful person into a close and personal relationship with Him through Jesus. Because of God’s great love for people, He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born in human form, live sinlessly, die unjustly, and arise from death victoriously. Jesus died for our sin punishment, which we deserve, so that whoever believes in Him will be saved from their sin and given eternal life with God in His kingdom (John 3:16). For anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the grave will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Anyone who is God’s child can obey His commands in Joshua 25:14 with His enabling. Trying to live as God’s child without His strength, power, and enabling, leads to sinning--missing the mark. God expects His children to live by His enabling them with ability, power, and strength. Anything less than exclusive and sincere worship of God is unacceptable. They become tepid water He spits from His mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

Today, I encourage you to consider your relationship with God. Do you have a relationship with God by believing in Jesus? Is your worship of God true worship—done with your whole being? Do you worship God faithfully daily and weekly? Do you grasp God’s gift of enabling you to worship Him in these ways? Have you turned away from other things in your life that had more importance to you than God and returned to worship Him wholeheartedly and singularly?

“Choose you this day who you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15a)

 

Have Hope

 

 

“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

— Romans 8:11

 

Notice the dependent clause at the beginning of this sentence, “If the Spirit lives in you.” This statement doesn’t say, “if the Spirit can raise Jesus from death.” That happened; it’s a certainty. It says if you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, only then can you know without doubt the Spirit lives in you. 

 

With this understanding, let’s read that clause again, “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus lives in you.” The Spirit of God raised Jesus and, since you believe in Jesus, you have been saved by Him. So, His Spirit lives in you. 

 

That dependent clause sets the stage for the truth Paul taught to the Christians of Rome in verse 11. He wrote, ““He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” Just as the Spirit brought back to life Jesus’ mortal body—and thereafter Jesus lives His divine provenance of eternal life since He is Deity—He will give that same life, eternal life, to you. 

 

Remember, the gift of eternal life is not given to everyone. It is given by the Spirit who resides in everyone who has believed in Jesus and has been saved from the judgment his/her sins deserved—eternal separation from God, eternal death. 

 

So, in reading this verse again, “For you who believe in Jesus for salvation, the Spirit, who lives in you, raised Jesus back to life and will also give you eternal life with God.” Don’t doubt this. Your belief in Jesus with your heart, mind, soul, and strength has given you, through Jesus’ Spirit living in you, that promise and hope to hold onto; you will most definitely live with God forever. 

 

That starting dependent clause is your clause. You are dependent on Jesus. Your life is dependent. Remain depending on Him. Keep believing in Jesus. 

 

So take heart; your situation isn’t so bad. It and future hard times can never take you from God’s hands. Your hope is secured in Jesus. The Spirit who raised Jesus lives in you and will raise you to live into eternity with Him. Have hope. Keep strong in your faith. Jesus is coming back for you.

Tears

The tracks of tears,

Refreshing? Not so.

Swiftly downward,

Silently go.

 

Unheeding pain

Felt deep within,

These silent creepers

Start once again.

 

Volcanic, at times,

Sputtering deep within,

Bursting up and over

Pain cascading.

 

Unwanted news,

Though expected, still,

Loss and heartache,

Surprises until…

 

What I knew comes,

Life ends for all,

Life given to God,

Goes to His call.

 

He calls to each,

Wanting to redeem,

He calls to His children,

Come, take your claim.

 

The promise from Him,

Upon accepting His gift,

Opens and reveals

For those who admit.

 

Admit His Son died,

Ransomed for all,

Sins washed away,

Children of faith.

Washed by His blood,

Cleansed from all sin,

Accepted by Father,

New life begins.

 

Entrance to heaven,

Open, free, for all,

Accept and believe,

Before tears fall.

 

Tears will still flow,

Trickling gently down,

At the loss of a dear one,

Absent here on this ground.

 

No more is present,

No more in pain,

No more discouragement,

Always have faith.

 

Faith in the Father,

Knowing He saved,

We’ll see our loved one,

Again, face to face.

 

Tears, yes, let them flow,

Cleansing, renewing,

Sputtering, flowing,

Refreshing relief.

 

Grief flowing up,

Tears flowing down,

Refreshing and healing,

God’s love surrounds.

Keeping and holding,

Weeping with you,

Comforting, cleansing,

His love ever new.

Life Challenge

 

The God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including His people, His own special possession. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is His name! Jeremiah 51:19 (NLT)

Growing up, each child wants to be like someone. Some children want to be firefighters, police officers, or doctors. Others want to be the President or a teacher. Throughout the Bible, we read of people who want to be like others. Most often, we read about the Israelites wanting to be like the people of other nations and having what they have.

The Israelites descended from Abraham and Sarah. To Abram (Abram’s name before God changed it), a man who had no heir, God promised he would have as many descendants as the stars in the skies (Genesis 15:5). He continued this covenant with Abram, in Genesis 15:7-8,

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you, and I will be their God. (NIV)

God made another promise to him saying He would make Abram’s descendants a “people.” He said in Genesis 17:4, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you; you will be the father of many nations.” Before God led Abraham’s descendants out of Egypt, these people were not a “people.” The word “people” means a group of individuals called by one name and made into a nation. God made Abraham’s descendants a nation when He rescued them from Egyptian slavery using Moses and Aaron.

In Genesis 26:3-5, God reiterated His promises to Abraham’s son, Isaac. Isaac passed God’s promises as a blessing on Jacob in Genesis 28:3-4. Yet, the descendants of Abraham were not a nation. They were a collection of people from the same area. These people, by God’s plan, became descendants (heirs) of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In Exodus 6, when God spoke to Moses about the Israelites in Egypt, He told him Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew Him as Yahweh, “the existing One.” Yahweh God explained He had covenanted with these men. With His rescue of the Israelites from Egypt, He declared His relationship with the people of Abraham. God told Moses,

“I am the LORD (Yahweh, the existing One). I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD. I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. (Exodus 6:2-4)

God then commanded Moses to tell the Israelites, "I will take you (the Israelites) as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians." (Exodus 6:6-7, NIV)

God said His relationship with the descendants of Abraham is close. He called Abraham’s descendants His people. God did not call other people and make them His own. With God’s declaration about the Israelites, He made them into a nation, His nation. This nation was the inheritor of the promises God made with their founding fathers. He would be their God and they would be His people.

Consider Israel’s spiritual life. They followed God, then sinned repeatedly. These descendants of Abraham worshiped God in the tabernacle, then made a golden calf at the bottom of Mount Sinai. They promised to obey His commandments and decrees, then kept things from the villages and cities they attacked. These Israelites had a spiritual life of peaks and troughs. What caused them to stand strong for God then disobey Him? What would make a group of people called by Yahweh His nation turn their backs on Him? This God is the same One who redeemed them from slavery in Egypt. He made them to be a light for the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

What happened? The Israelites sinned against God because of temptation. The ways people lived in the surrounding nations enticed the people of God. They wanted the gold and silver. The Israelites wanted idols, false gods, like other nations had. They must have thought, “Surely, the land of those nations is thriving. Their gods are working for them, so let’s give offerings to their gods, too.” This desire for more things-more gold, fame, and glory-drew them away from their devotion to Yahweh, LORD. Their actions, words, and thoughts disobeyed God’s commandments and said to Him they were not content with what He, the Giver of all good things, gave them (James 1:17). The Israelites coveted, killed, took part in adultery, worshiped other gods, etc. They no longer distinguished themselves as the people of God, His nation. Abraham’s descendants were like other nations. They became like the nations who God allowed to defeat and rule over them. The Israelite nation, people God chose and made into a nation, became slaves and exiles. They were in bondage to other nations and to their sins. What about these other nations enticed the Israelites? For a while, these nations prospered, defeated other nations, and expanded their empires. In the end, other stronger nations defeated them.

Considering this again, we read about the Israelites and wonder how they ever could have wavered in their spiritual fervor. God was among them in by cloud, fire, amazing provision, in protection, and in power. How could they have left Yahweh to be like the other nations? Understand, they wanted what other nations had, while forgetting Who made them a nation and proved Himself faithful to His covenant with them. They wanted to be like Babylon, Edom, Amorites, and other nations.

If we look honestly at ourselves, we realize our spiritual lives are no better than the Israelites’ lives. We have had times of faithfully following God and growing in our relationship with Him, then gradually or suddenly, we stop. When we consider these dips in our spiritual journey, we realize we decided we wanted more than God was giving us. We were not content with the “good and perfect gifts” He has given us (James 1:17). Reflecting on this, we realize we are no better than the Israelites, who were no better than the Babylonians, Assyrians, and other nations around them. We each are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Of course, saying we fell away from God assumes we had a relationship with Him already.

Let’s think about this. God, through Abraham, covenanted with the Israelites. Yahweh promised to be Abraham’s, Isaac’s, and Jacob’s God. That was a personal covenant for them from Him. Only from Exodus 6 does God make this covenant with a group of people, the Israelites. He chose the Israelites to be His people, a nation. God chose them to draw other people and nations to a covenant relationship with Him. They could do that by their faithfulness to Him and His to them. They were to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6 & 60:3). The Babylonians, Assyrians, et al. had no covenant with Yahweh God. The people of these nations followed in other gods like Molech (child sacrifices required), Chemosh, Asherah (goddess of fertility who had temple prostitutes), and Baal. Each of their gods were false gods. These gods had no power. They were idols made by people from parts of God’s created world. They could not move themselves or cause any benefit or harm to people who bowed to them.

With this information, reflect on what this means for us. We are like Israel, who are like Babylon and the other nations. We sin and fall short of the righteous standard of God. The other nations had no god that could cleanse their sins from them. The nations’ gods could not help or save them. Their spiritual journey was a flat line in the trough. They had no hope of salvation from sin and no hope for eternal life with God. Still, they were like us, sinners separated from God.

The Israelites knew God and knew about Him. He chose them before they were a people, before each of them was born. God chose them when He covenanted with their ancestor, Abraham. These same Israelites had the prophets and priests of God who proclaimed what God required-to love Him with their whole being and to obey Him. The people who were not His people saw and heard about what God had done over the centuries. They understood from the Israelite lineage, God loved them, was gracious to them, and protected and provided for them. Still, the people of God had a spiritual journey of peaks and deep valleys. They had no steady upward growth in their spiritual journey with Yahweh God.

Consider this. God existed from before time began. He makes Himself evident in creation, provides testimony of Himself in personal accounts from people over these millions of years since He created people. The Bible, His word, tells us about Him-His attributes and works. Many of us have heard of the covenant God had with the Old Testament Israelites. This covenant was a covenant to lead the people to seek and follow Him. It carried His promise of always caring for them. Yet, God’s first covenant did not provide salvation, the cleansing from the stain and guilt of sins. God required by His laws that the Israelites twice daily offer animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. No created thing was perfect enough to cleanse people of their sins.

God had the perfect plan. He sent His Son, Jesus the Messiah, to be born as a man and live a sinless life as fully God and fully man. This Son, Jesus, died at the hands of humans. They crucified and laid Him in a tomb, which was then sealed. Yet, three days later, He rose from death to life as death’s conqueror. Forty days later, Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven to intercede for us. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ sacrifice cleanses the stain and guilty conscience from the sins of each person who believes in Him as the Son of God, the Messiah, and who confesses and repents of their sins. To be a Christian, a person must believe in Jesus the Messiah and confess and repent of his or her sins. From then, Jesus redeems the believing person. God declares him or her righteous. That makes her or him more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. That person can know he or she will have eternal life with God in His kingdom. This is the second covenant God gave to all humanity. It surpasses the first covenant, which could not save a person from his or her sins nor give eternal life.

You must ponder on and decide for yourself whether you will believe, confess, repent, and surrender your life to Jesus. Honestly, consider your life beside the Israelites’ spiritual journey. Do you recognize you have spiritual troughs and peaks as the Israelites? God covenanted with them. This covenant was not a redeeming one. Of course, a few people of Israel showed their faith with their lives of obedience to God. God called each of them righteous. Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, and other great men and women of faith God declared righteous.

Are you like the Babylonians and other nations who had no spiritual journey and covenant with Yahweh God? They either did not know God personally or did not know about Him they had no covenant with Him. Are you like the Israelites who wanted to be like their neighbors? Whether you are like the Israelites or like their neighbors, you still need redemption-cleansing-from your sins. Jesus paid the redemption price for you to be freed from the debt of your sins. That debt of sin is an eternal death penalty, an eternal separation from God.

Perhaps you are like the second covenant people, who are in a faithful covenant relationship with God and are co-heirs with Jesus in God’s kingdom. Unlike the first covenant, the second covenant ushered in by Jesus provides salvation and cleansing from sins for all people. Jesus died so each person could be made righteous and so God would declare them righteous. The heirs of Abraham are people of faith. Remember, God declared Abraham righteous in Genesis 15:6. This means Abraham is the father of people who believe in Jesus and become righteous through Him. The Gospel is for each person. God loves each person and wants each one to be saved from his/her sins and death. He wants everyone to become His redeemed child and co-heir with Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to earth because of His great love for each person and His desire to have a righteous relationship with each one. John 3:16 testifies to that. In it, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Through the millennia, Many Christians have stood for Christ and endured persecution. These testimonies of His people and the Bible proclaim God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness available to every person. Each person gets to make his or her decision about believing in Jesus as the Son of God. Be more than other people. Choose to be like Jesus. Jesus is the image of truth and perfection.

Be Imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV)

Who will you choose to be like?

Other people or Jesus?

The Befores Before

Before - the time of

  waking refreshed and the sun shining through your curtain.

            making plans for your future thinking you know all the road bumps.

            dreaming about the one person you will fall in love with and marry.

            remembering life as rosy with few cares in your world.

            hearing the contented sigh of your newborn child.

            whistling as you skipped down the sidewalk to a friend’s home.

            staying up late because school was closed due to snow.

The “befores” seemed so numerous and so wonderful before…

            waking to the sunrise perplexed yet not knowing why

            making plans but fearful of road bumps

            dreaming about what might happen to a loved one held so dear

            remembering that one time back when life wasn’t so rosy and carefree

            hearing of a new virus and thinking about your newborn

            whistling loud to cover the volume of the news as it hurtles like a waterfall on your personal world

staying up late to stay abreast of the closures of businesses, schools, and countries.

And this is life, you fear. Life different from any you’ve known before.

Cries of “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”

Fear for your life and the lives of the ones you love. Wondering if you’ve said all you need to say because you or they may not live another day.

Grasping in panic for any lifeline, then hearing of doctors and nurses falling to the same song. “No one is safe!” you shout in your head.

So many sick; so many dead.

FEAR burbling to a crescendoed shout that deafens all reason.

FEAR given way to TERROR and the change of life you thought you controlled.

A change not dictated by professionals, but a change mandated by yourself because FEAR has confronted you head-on with your own MORTALITY.

That sudden REALITY and the extreme of your FEAR cause an instantaneous HUSH.

A HUSH that comes from knowing you KNOW NOTHING.

You control NOTHING.

You cannot stop DEATH.

You cannot snatch your LIFE from its viselike grip.

DEATH, when it’s time, CANNOT be CHEATED.

And with that REALITY, you are ready to listen, and see, and come to know.

Life is a GIFT. A Gift given from the CREATOR GIVER.

And a hush comes over you as you recognize this truth.

And you come to your moment of decision.

You recognize you cannot cheat death.

You cannot save yourself.

You have very little control and all you want is the sun to shine through your curtains again and to make plans and dream and remember and hear and whistle and stay up late because it’s just snow.

Then you realize you can have this even when fear calls to you. You can have this hope and live in the knowledge of the victory that you will always have this, even if not in physical form, but in the mind, spirit, and heart because you KNOW the CREATOR GIVER.

Live life with HOPE.

Live now and the future with HOPE.

Accept the HOPE God gives each person who believes in Him.

Then VICTORY is yours because you are GOD’S CHILD.

You want to be a child again and dream and wake to snowy mornings with the sun shining through the curtains and know that no matter what happens, fear does not win because Jesus has given you victory over fear, sin, and death. Before takes on new meaning. Before is the time prior to you becoming GOD’S CHILD. NOW and FOREVER is living in the VICTORY HE GIVES YOU.

A Devotional Thought

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” (1 John 4:18 [NIV])

This verse comes from 1 John, in which John writes to believers in Jesus Christ. He reminds them if you have fear, you do not have perfect love. You are not mature in your faith in Jesus Christ. Perfection is very difficult and none of us ever get it right and are truly perfect through our own means. Yet, John says we can be perfect; we can be mature. This perfection, perfect faith in Jesus, comes by knowing and believing the love God has for us (vs. 16) and becoming His children through faith in His Son, Jesus. John said, “God is love and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”

Love and fear cannot occur at the same time. Fear is from Satan. With it he causes us to doubt for our lives, reputations, jobs, safety, and salvation, etc. Satan, in his attempt to keep us from believing in Jesus as the Son of God, tries to turn our eyes away from God by distracting us with fear. This is why John said perfect love casts out fear. Fear and love cannot occur at the same time. Satan doesn’t want us to be perfect in Christ. He doesn’t want us to grow to maturity in our relationship with God. Satan seeks to create chaos so other people will not believe in him. If he can cause the people who believe in God to fear, then unbelievers see no purpose in believing either and he can lead many people away from salvation.

Perfect love, God’s love that He gives to us and that lives in us as His children, casts out fear. Is your faith growing to perfection or are you allowing Satan to distract you with fear for your life?

Perfect love casts out fear just like God cast Satan out from heaven when he sinned against Him. Because God lives in His children, His love resides in them, too.

Perfect love casts out fear. As a child of God, you have His love residing in you; you have perfect love in you and available to sustain you during this time when Satan is trying to distract you from God and your relationship with Him.     

Perfect love casts out fear. You have this love in you and can share it with other people so they have hope, and fear cannot cause terror and panic in their lives.

Perfect love casts out fear. You, as God’s child who has His perfect love living in them, love people just as God loved us enough to send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so we could be in relationship with Him forever. Are you showing and sharing this love with others who are fearing and living in terror during this crisis?

Perfect love casts out fear.

What are you doing to grow and allow God to cast out fear in and around you?

Lord, God, I admit, I am afraid. I’ve been following the news of this crisis and I fear for my life and the lives of people I love. I had not stopped to think about You and Your love for each of us. Forgive me for getting so absorbed in the unfolding and mounting crisis that I lost sight of You. Forgive me for not coming to You before now. Why do I only think about You, God, when crisis comes? Lord, save me now and save me from my sins forever. Help me to believe in You always.  Let the love, Lord, You’ve put into me show so people see Jesus in me and want to know about the peace I have even in the midst of this crisis. God, speak and work through this body You’ve given me so that others come to know You as their Savior and have Your peace because of You living in them. Let Your love be evident, so the fear Satan is causing decreases. Let Your will be done, Father, on earth as it is in heaven. Perfect me, mature me, so that day by day I become closer to You, our relationship becomes more intimate. May Jesus’ prayer that we be one as You and He are one come to fruition. Amen.

Life and Breath

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” (John 16:31 [ESV])

Imagine you work for a diving company and your job is to teach people how to dive and to lead them on underwater adventures. One day, you forget to check the air in your air tank. You take people for a dive and within ten minutes, while you are deep in the ocean, you realize your air tank is empty. When you realize this, you panic then make excited motions for everyone to surface, but you don’t have enough oxygen to surface without getting decompression sickness; you get the “bends.” Sometimes people die when this happens.

Christians can get the “bends,” too. We forget to check with our source of Life and salvation each day and moment, then live in our own strength. We run into problems and wonder why that happens since we are Christians. The problems come because we walk in our own strength instead of seeking God who is our Source of life and strength.

As Christians, we know salvation from God came at a moment in time. Many of us remember the date on which we asked Jesus to be our Savior and Lord. Salvation is not only in the past but is also in our present and future. Only God can save us, and He gives us the power to continue to be saved from sin today and have the hope of eternity with Him. Still, many of us say to ourselves, “Okay, I’m saved, now I can go about my life. God’s got me.” God saved us from hell, but we must work out our salvation. We must put shoes on it and live it out. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:23-24,

If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. [ESV]

Jesus equated obedience to Him and the Father as love. He said if you love Me, you will obey Me. In John 8:31-32, Jesus told the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” [ESV]

These statements by Jesus are often starkly different to how we live our lives. We think we’ve been saved, so let’s get on with the business of living. When decisions need to be made, we consider ourselves able to make those choices either from our own intellect or the counsel of friends, professionals, or the internet. “Why bother God with everyday needs. I’ve got it,” we may say within ourselves. Or, another possibility is that we’ve heard from God, had a vision, and proceeded to work as He led us, then we just got into the task to which God told us to work and broke off communication with Him. We don’t talk to Him daily about the work, praying over it for guidance, safety, and provision. We get into the rote task of just doing the work. This, too, is not working out our salvation, as Paul spoke of it in Philippians 2:12-13. In this passage, Paul said,

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. [ESV]

Keeping God’s word, that is obeying Him, shows our love for Him. When we get lost in the myriad tasks of living, we forget to seek Him and His will, and instead do the next best thing we know. When we do that, we show our limited love of God. If instead we keep God’s word, we put shoes on our faith in God and work out our salvation. The purpose of working out our salvation is to grow more in our relationship with God, become more Christlike, and show/tell others about Jesus. Paul said to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We realize our salvation only comes from God through Jesus. It doesn’t come from ourselves. We recognize God’s might, sovereignty, and mercy. We come before Him in awe and reverence of who He is. On top of this, we realize what we can’t ever do. We cannot save ourselves, but we can grow in our relationship with God and show our love to Him by obeying Him and living out His love and salvation so the people of the world can know about Him. This is working out our salvation.

Today, the questions for us Christians are: Do you love God? Do you obey Him? Do you seek Him daily to grow your relationship with Him and to live each moment of your day in His strength and power and with His wisdom and understanding doing His will? Alternatively, did you believe in God for salvation, but then only speak to Him in dire emergencies? Did you listen to Him tell you what to do, what ministry He wanted you to join Him in, then not turn to Him for daily guidance? That creates burn-out and frustration with the people to whom you are ministering. Possibly you are thinking, “Those people are ungrateful; they don’t try to help themselves by learning what I am teaching them. They just want me to keep giving and helping but do nothing for themselves.” Stop. Consider what you are thinking or saying. That is not God’s attitude. You’ve forgotten to go to the Source of your vision, resources, guidance, and love. Instead of having the mind of Christ, you follow the thoughts of your own mind. Consider what Paul said of the mind of Christ in Philippians 2:5-11. He said Jesus was humble. He emptied Himself by becoming a servant in the likeness of man. Jesus was obedient to God even to the point of dying on a cross. Is that the mind you have? Do you love the Father so much you would obey Him in anything? Do you hear His voice in prayer, Bible study, and preaching? Have you humbled yourself to do God’s will?

Loving God, obeying Him, and having the mind of Christ come from working out your salvation. Without seeking to love God daily, living will lead you to get the “bends” like scuba divers can get. You can’t have breath without Life, and you can’t have Life without breath. God gave and gives us life and breath. One without the other is not living; it’s gasping for breath. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also.” (John 14:6-7a [ESV])

All Christians should be working out their salvation. If you aren’t, you need to ask yourself if you truly know Jesus and the Father.

Loving God leads to working out your salvation.

Working out your salvation means loving God.

 You can’t have one without the other.

If you are not a Christian, today you can make that decision. Recognize Jesus is the Son of God who came to die the death penalty for your sins. Confess your sins and repent of them. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Give Him your life to be your Savior and Lord. If you made this decision today, contact me through messaging or through the contact form on my website. I want to pray for you and connect you with a Bible-based church, if possible.

Lord, I made a decision to follow You, but sometimes I end up thinking of answers for myself and looking to guidance from within myself. I consider I am smart enough to do what You ask, and I forget to seek You for guidance even on the miniscule decisions that need to be made. I’ve not been working out my salvation. I’ve not been loving You through obedience to You. Forgive me for forgetting You or for putting You on the sidelines of my life. I need You every moment of each day otherwise I am not living; I’m just gasping for air. Lord, help me work out my salvation with fear and trembling. Help me remember You and to seek Your will in all things. Use me to tell someone about You and to help them in Your name. Forgive me of my sins of independence and making myself more important that You. You are sovereign God, the One who knows all things, has all power, and does good in all things. I am sinful and do not. I am not You. Lord, here’s my life again; I give it back to You. Amen.

Rowing Without Paddles

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1 [NASB])

In Genesis 15 and Psalm 91, both writers speak about the terror of night. What does this mean? For David, the man God appointed to lead His people, Israel, and a commander of an army, the terrors of night might have meant an army sneaking up and taking him and his army by surprise during the night. It could have meant the depression of the minds of his men as they awaited the battles of the next day. Or, in looking back on his life as King, it could have been the time David awaited his and Bathsheba’s son’s death. He feared it and understood the punishment was because of his sin with Bathsheba. David’s sin caused the death of the child. For Abram, the terrors of the dark night could have been the kings he and his allies defeated to get his nephew, Lot, out of captivity. The terrors that day showed his fear of not having an heir.

Terrors and fears begin in the hearts and minds of people. Satan puts the terrors and fears in our hearts and minds to distract us from the One who casts out darkness and brings light and truth to a situation and to life. Paul stated in 2 Corinthians that Satan “blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” In 2 Corinthians 11:14, he said, Satan must disguise himself as an angel of light to trick people, to “blind” them. Satan is not from the light of God; he is darkness and brings darkness.

This state of mind need not happen; people can avoid being tricked. How?  John said in 1 John 1:5, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.” We can choose to follow God and have His power to defeat Satan and the darkness in which he tries to envelope us. God is more powerful than Satan and that is why Satan must resort to trickery. He knows the goodness and love of God will win people’s hearts and minds. John said in John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.” The darkness could not break through the light, but God’s light casts out darkness. Darkness cannot exist where light is.

What does this mean for us? How do we defeat the terrors of night and live the life for which God gave us the vision? With hope. With belief in God. Abram’s biggest fear as of Genesis 15 was that he would die with no heir. That was his darkness, the “terror of his night.” As Abram rested that night, God told him He would give him an heir and descendants too great to count, just like the stars in the heavens. Abram was in God’s presence. God’s Spirit came in the form of a smoking oven and flaming torch to seal His covenantal promise to Abram (Genesis 15:17). Abram dwelled in God’s presence and slept with His peace.

David defeated the terrors of the night and the arrows that flew by day by being in God’s presence, too. He said in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” David had learned from experience that God was his refuge and fortress. He had learned to live in the presence, in the shadow, of Almighty God. David was like any other person born; he sinned. Still, David recognized God as His Lord and repented when he sinned. He trusted God over all things.

David knew from Whom to seek shelter, comfort, provision, guidance, and protection. He recognized Who was almighty. David had learned to dwell in the shelter of the Most High. He had learned to live in the shadow of God. David didn’t worship God on the sabbath then live the rest of the week solely in his own strength and with his own wisdom and reasoning. He had learned how to live while being with God. Abraham lived while being with God, too. These men recognized God as being sovereign over the world and over their lives. What terrors could defeat them? None, not with God as their strength, hope, refuge, and fortress.

What terrors haunt you? What causes you fear for your future or for now? If you are a Christian, you know Jesus as your Savior, the One who redeemed you from Satan and the power of sin and death. You already have the victory because Jesus has overcome the world. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” When you are a Christian, you already have victory from the terrors of darkness and the arrows that fly by day. Remember that. Believe God will protect you and don’t allow the darkness of Satan to creep into your mind. If you aren’t a Christian, you can have this peace and hope. You can have redemption from sin and death and take refuge in God when Satan tries to force darkness upon you. Believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior who died for your sins, so you can have eternal life with Him in heaven. Give your terrors from the darkness to God and let Him be your light and refuge.

As we each live our lives and live the vision and calling God gives, we must live in His presence, under His wings. Don’t leave to do His work, instead do the work He calls you to do while you are with Him. Abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

You can’t row a boat without paddles. You can’t live life as God’s child without God.

God’s calling doesn’t mean we leave His presence to work.

It means working WITH Him.

Lord, I’m a mess. I say I am Your child, but then I later find I am not with You. I have walked off living my life by my own reasonings. In my busy-ness, I forgot to stay with You and live life with You as my guide, refuge, and strength. I trusted You with my life, but then I took it back. Lord, help me remember to live in Your presence, to live life as You lead and provide. You know all things and are all-powerful. I know only the small part of my life that is in front of me now. I cannot see the past or future and so I really don’t know how to live as You want me to live. Lord, forgive me for walking in my own way. Forgive me for taking control of my life. Forgive me for making my heart, mind, and body my gods instead of You. You are merciful and kind. You are faithful and continue to love me. Lord, I give my life to You. Please guide me with each breath I breathe and each beat of my heart. Amen.

Dispelling Darkness

In the shroud of winter’s darkest night, before the first peek of sun’s light filters through the drape of day, hope seems to have been washed out and uncertainty appears to blanket wishful dreams. Fears and nightmares assault the mind causing body to tighten with anticipation of what it cannot fathom. Yet nothing is new under sun or moon when life’s final embers crackle, fizzle, and scar. The last grasping at what once was, the last scrabbling for lost life, gives way to submission and abandon as reality assaults the senses. Time nears its end; mortality awaits all men. A hush falls upon the whole self, a sense of unreality and disbelief.

The fighting and feinting from recent past years now ends as understanding and forlornness rise to reign in whole being. The grudging acceptance of inevitable passing of time, of heartbeat, of breath reveals the new reality. The dust of this one’s future began its last steps, its last breaths, its last thoughts.

Around the corner lies the creeping certain ceaseless canceling of creation – corporeal collapse.

The mental assault of its reality never more real than in the darkest moment of winter’s night. The hope of last sun’s rays rupturing the drapes of life soon drifts dizzily down when mind assaults that hope with the certainty of eternality’s nearness. With sudden gasp, this new and imminent reality rears its intention and nothingness makes its inevitability understood; this one’s time soon ends. Grasping and scrabbling ends. Acceptance begins to dawn within.

Still, silently biding its time comes a knowledge beyond all knowledge, beyond all reason. An understanding hard to acknowledge and accept by many until this time of nebulous in-between-ness becomes the inevitability. This oft pushed-aside reality, knowledge, and belief eases itself forward from the recesses of memory. This memory reminds of power, knowingness, and ever-presence. As it advances forward from mind’s recessive memory, a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of future, a gasping of possibility captures the remnants of corporeal body’s spirit and brightly shines hope, anticipation, and expectation. “Oh, what was that?” this one so near to winter’s eternal darkness asks? “What was that news told to me during Spring’s bright and hope-filled dawning?”

The grinding of old, unoiled wheels turns recalling from memory what someone said. The feeling of possibility springs forward giving last glimpses of hope before life’s final dawn fades away. “What was that news?” the spirit begs mind to recall. Picking through worthless words, actions, and thoughts, “There, move that detritus; I see a glorious shining!” Scrambling through stacks of senseless moments and memories, the unheard, unheeded, and unknown shines brighter until that Word is revealed in the bank of life’s detritus. The one Hope disregarded in the dizzying dance of life still shone dazzlingly even amidst forgotten goals, games, and gambits. Gazing upon this unheeded memory, this long-forgotten message, hope springs, heart sings, head soars with the light of possibility of new dawn.

This Hope, this Message, this Word unheeded still, but recognized as the One not to be missed parts the winter’s darkness giving glimpses at possible eternal gazing upon the Light during the non-time of eternity. Grasping, listening, learning, accepting, hope eternal rises as the sun of summer in the heart. Belief beats breath-takingly as winter’s dark night fades into gray as the Light of the world breaks into the midst of time’s sway bringing brilliance and wondrous joy.

Where once inevitable ending reigned in heart, mind, and body, now hope and life unending spring forth bringing bounteous joy and eternal life with the One Who is beyond all constraints, Who loves unrestrainedly, and gives life eternally because of His faithful love.

Who wants the misery and despair of winter’s shroud? Who chooses that option when Hope and Light from the eternal Spring is available? Hear the message. Believe the Truth. Walk in the way. Accept the gift of love given so that all who believe can have eternal life. No winter’s dark night ever casts its shroud upon it. No nothingness ever penetrates this glorious eternal kingdom of God. Hear. Believe. Be saved from the darkness of eternal death.

Come see and believe in the hope of the Gentiles.

Come believe and receive the God of hope.

Then in that day, the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to Him, and the land where He lives will be a glorious place. (Isaiah 11:10 [NLT])

Isaiah said, ‘The heir to David’s throne will come, and He will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on Him.’ I pray that the God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12-13 [NLT])