HELP!

SCRIPTURE: Ps. 70

¹ Hasten, O God, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.
² May those who seek my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
“Let God be exalted!”

⁵ Yet I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

OBSERVATION: The writer of the psalm asks for help; help from his enemies who seek to shame him. He must have been at his wit's end too, for he makes it clear that he needs help NOW! He feels he cannot wait but needs God to show up immediately, without delay. He acknowledges that God is his only source of deliverance and safety. He also recognizes his state before God by saying, "Yet I am poor and needy". Though David, the psalmist, was not a poor man as far as material wealth, he knows that in himself, he has nothing to offer God. In comparison, he will always be poor and needy. It is a statement of humility.

APPLICATION: Though I am a co-heir with Christ, and He has given me all I need for life and godliness; though I have all of heaven's riches and God's resources at my disposal because of the sacrifice of Christ, yet I know that before Him, I am poor and needy. I have to depend on Him for all my needs, and I am, indeed, a very needy person. Without His help, I would certainly live a life of quiet desperation, at best. But I have confidence, as the psalmist did, that when I call on God He will hear me. When I am at the end of my rope, He will come quickly and not delay.

PRAYER: I need You now, Lord. I am getting older and do not know how much longer I have on this earth. But I so want You to restore my soul, my precious sons, my grandchildren that You have given me. My heart aches for them. I am poor and needy. Come quickly, Lord, and do not delay. Bring my sons from afar and also renew my strength to serve You with my whole heart. I am counting on the promises You gave us years ago. Fulfill them that I may rejoice and be glad in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Then, Face to Face

SCRIPTURE: Rev. 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Every time I read this verse (and a few others in Revelation) I am reminded of a time I attended a church in Spain with my daughter, who had been studying there. She was a linguistics major in college and had explained to me that there are ideas in each language that cannot be translated exactly into any other language because the meaning of the term doesn't really exist in the language it's being translated into. Each culture has some ideas that are unique to it; a different paradigm, or view, on life. So here I was, listening to worship and a sermon in a language I did not know. I sat there, bored, and decided to pray, "Lord, Your Spirit can speak to me anytime. Please speak something to me now that is revelatory so that I can be built up in my faith." No sooner had I finished that prayer than God brought to mind this scripture and others from Revelation that say people from every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation will be in heaven praising Him. The Lord spoke to my heart that day and said to me, "Even though you don't understand what is being said here today; on that day, each of my people will understand every language on earth. The praise that you hear from your brothers and sisters around the globe will reveal to you new aspects of My person and My glory that you had not previously understood. The revelations will cause your heart to swell with more and more praise as you finally get a full-orbed understanding of My Being and Nature. Through your praise, others will learn more of Me. My glory is greater than can be expressed in the words of any one language; but on that day, My glory will be expressed through every language and it will cause all to marvel." As the Spirit spoke this to my heart, I wept for joy. My daughter, sitting next to me, turned and whispered,"What's wrong, Mom; are you alright?" Of course, I was more than alright. God had preached to my heart the only sermon I needed that day. If we are willing and open, He can speak to us at anytime.

PRAYER: Father, I have never forgotten that beautiful truth You spoke to my heart that day. It makes me long for the day when all the saints will be together praising You forever. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. May I be productive for you in the meantime. Speak to me daily, as I seek to learn more of my beautiful, glorious Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

God's Heart Transplant

SCRIPTURE: Ezek. 11:18-21
¹⁸ “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. ¹⁹ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

OBSERVATION: The Lord is speaking about His people, who He has punished for their sinful stubbornness in refusing to turn their hearts back to Him, even after years of warning. The wonderful news here is that He promises to turn their hearts toward Him and give them "hearts of flesh", hearts that will yield and not be hard and stubborn. Notice that they have to take an action first before this happens. They have to choose to rid themselves of idols. Then the Lord promises to change their hearts. He makes a declaration, though, that those who are devoted to their idols will still be punished. He will not change their hearts.

APPLICATION: God will not override the freedom to choose that He created us with. But once we choose Him, we can come to Him and ask that He change our hearts and do the work in us that we cannot do for ourselves. We can ask Him to give us an undivided heart. He can give us a new spirit. What a phenomenal promise! I can rely on God to give me the grace to choose His ways and to obey His Word so that my struggle is lessened.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, Thank you for the great and precious promises in Your Word. Thank You for the grace to live in obedience to You. I have chosen You above all else, and You cover my sins and help me to stay on the narrow path that leads to life everlasting. I also want to pray for those I love who are not now on Your path. Lord, do whatever it takes to cause them to turn, repent, and receive the new heart and new spirit that You have promised. I love You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I Want to be Hot!

SCRIPTURE: Rev. 3:14-22
¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹ To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

OBSERVATIONS: I went on a mission trip to one of the poorest parts of Africa a few years ago. This scripture came to mind when I saw the faith and dedication of the believers there. They would walk up to 3 hours, barefoot, to get to church. They packed in the crude building, which had no seats, until it was standing room only and would worship with a fervor that is very rare in the United States. The service went on for hours with no boredom exhibited by anyone there. They were definitely "hot" in their faith and in their deeds. Jesus specifically mentions that the passion for Him can be seen by the deeds of the church. As I compared their fervor, demonstrated by their deeds, I was struck by the relative "cold" of the American church. We start looking at our watches if the sermon goes beyond 30 minutes. After all, that cuts into our time for watching our favorite sports on TV! We are the richest believers, and the most educated about the Word, yet we do not want it force fed to us or our Christian leaders to expect too much of us in effort or giving. What a contrast my American church experience was to what I saw in Africa! They were poor by our standards, but rich in faith, with the experience of many more miracles of healing and provision than we have.

APPLICATION: I was so humbled by my African brothers and sisters. We were there to build them a medical clinic and had with us a team of doctors, nurses and dentists to provide those services to them. In addition, we who were pastors conducted a teaching seminar to the African pastors there so they would have a better understanding of the Bible. I had the experience of having several pastors come and kneel before me asking that I pray for and bless them. One was a woman pastor, pregnant with her 10th child, who pastored 3 churches in nearby villages, the smallest of which had about 500 members and growing, and the largest of which was about 1500 members. I have never reached so many in all my years of ministry. Another pastor was a man who had suffered cruel torture for the sake of preaching the gospel. The scars were visible on his body where he had been whipped with chains and been pierced through his feet with long pointed sticks. These were kneeling before me for prayer! I felt I needed to be the one on my knees before them! Oh, that we would learn from them to not be lukewarm, but to be "hot" for Jesus! They had more joy than I have ever seen in most American believers. I think our wealth and self-centered sufficiency has kept us from seeing and receiving the spiritual wealth our Lord provides for each of us. Every time I read this section of scripture, I remember what I learned from my precious African brothers and sisters.

PRAYER: Father, I want to be like my African family. I want to take to heart all the things I learned from them. I know they received from us and were grateful for what we shared with them, but they gave us just as much or more. May my life reflect the same passion and may I never be lulled into spiritual "lukewarmness" by the enemy of my soul. Keep me vigilant so I recognize his attempts to tempt me into complacency and compromise. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Speak Up!

SCRIPTURE: Ezek. 2:3-8
³ He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. ⁴ The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ ⁵ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. ⁷ You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

OBSERVATIONS: Ezekiel receives a strong command from God to speak His truth to the nation of Israel. It comes with a strong warning to speak on God's behalf whether or not the people will listen to him. The Lord makes it clear that no matter how he gets treated he must obey God or he will be held guilty of rebellion just like the people.

APPLICATION: Sometimes I have to admit that I am tempted to not speak the truth of God's Word because I know that it is not going to be well-received by the listeners. It is not popular to say that God says that there should be no sex before marriage, that He expects us to forgive our enemies, or that being tolerant does not include accepting any and all behaviors and beliefs of others. There are so many truths in the Bible that are counter-culture. And I have charged by God, as Ezekiel was, to communicate His truth to others regardless of whether they respond well to me or not. It isn't easy for me to say things that might make me unpopular. I like being liked. But God's approval is more important to me than the approval of others.

PRAYER: Lord, help me when I am tempted to "chicken out" in speaking up about what you say in your Word. Help me to be as effective as possible in communicating your truth in a way that others will receive it, but without compromising it either. I love you, Lord. Keep my heart from any fear of man. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Deliver Me

SCRIPTURE: Ps. 144:11-14

¹¹ Deliver me and rescue me
from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.

¹² Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
¹³ Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
¹⁴ our oxen will draw heavy loads.^[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.

OBSERVATIONS: There is something that precedes obtaining the blessings listed in verses 12-14. It is being delivered from lies and deceit, especially those of "foreigners", which I would take to mean those who don't serve the same God that I do.

APPLICATION: It is so easy to be affected by our culture; to have our beliefs shaped by the attitudes of worldly people around us. We are born, live and grow up in a culture that does not acknowledge the supremacy of God's Word and I think we often do not even realize the lies and deceptions we have been raised with nor how it affects our interpretation of the Word when we do come to Christ. I must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what lies and deceptions I have erroneously believed so that I may get rid of them. This puts me in a place to receive all the blessings of God.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, You are holy and to be praised. With You resides all truth. Show me Your truth. Deliver me from all lies and deceptions. I want them far from me so that I may receive all the blessings You intend for me to have. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Leadership Lessons

SCRIPTURE: 3 John: 9,10
⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.

OBSERVATION: Here is a leader in the church, Diotrephes, whose motivation is to be "top dog". He does not have a servant heart but is consumed with maintaining his own reputation as a great leader. Anyone who he sees as a threat to that he tries to discount by saying maliciously false things about them. It's so bad that John feels the need to make a defense for himself and those with him by calling attention to what he is doing.

APPLICATION: My husband and I have had experiences like this as pastors. Though we have never felt the need to defend ourselves, maybe we should have. Leaders who are insecure and feel a need to exalt themselves by putting others down do much to destroy the church and damage especially new believers. One of the qualities it is important to see in a godly leader is humility. Do you see a leader taking credit for all the good things that happen in the church? Then be careful. He may be more interested in building his own kingdom than God's. And when people praise me, how do I respond? This scripture is a warning to me to give the glory to God and to not think more highly of myself than I ought.

PRAYER: Father, Keep me humble, with my eyes focused on you. Let me rejoice when you use me to advance the Kingdom without letting it go to my head in any way. You are so gracious to include us in your work. When I am tested by praise, may I come out of it like refined gold. When others wrongly slander me, may I always depend on you to uphold my honor. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Folly of People-Pleasing

SCRIPTURE: Jer. 38:4,5; Jer. 38:8-10
⁴ Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.” ⁵ “He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.”

⁸ Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

OBSERVATION: These scriptures are only two of several examples of the cowardice of Zedekiah, king of Judah. What a wimp! He is afraid to say "no" to anyone. He has the authority of the kingship at his disposal but it does him no good because he blows with the wind of public opinion. He won't take a firm stand. As a result, he suffers personally and the people under his leadership (or lack thereof) suffer as well.

APPLICATION: It is absolute folly to think I can be liked by everyone. The only person I need to be concerned about pleasing is God. Trying to please other people only leads to frustration because it is an impossible task. I would only end up losing the respect of those I am trying to please, and even worse, I would lose God's protection and a close relationship with Him.

PRAYER: Father, I have struggled for much of my life with insecurities that make me prone to being a people-pleaser. Free me from all such desires. They are destructive at the highest level. May my only desire be to please You. Thank You for being a steadfast God who I can count on at all times. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Loving God as He Wants to be Loved

SCRIPTURE: 1 John 5:2-4
² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

OBSERVATION: I relate to these verses from the perspective of being a parent. I know that as a parent, I want my kids to show their love for me by obeying and living by the values I taught them. If they express verbal love for me but are living in a manner contrary to what I taught them, their expressions of love mean very little to me. In fact, I feel dishonored and disrespected even if they are telling me how much they love me. God feels the same way. Verse 3 very clearly defines what love for God is; obeying His commands! And it goes on to say that His commands are not burdensome (it's something we can all do) and that when we do so, we overcome the world.

APPLICATION: If I am having difficulty in "overcoming the world" I need to check to see if I have been disobeying God in any area of my life. It's a signal to me that something is not right in my relationship with Him. If I want to live at peace and have victory over anything that would bring me down, I must love God by obeying what He tells me to do.

PRAYER: I do love You, Lord. I want to love and honor You in the way that You desire. I know You have my best interest at heart, and so, I choose to obey You, even if I don't see the "why" of it all up front. Your ways are higher than mine and Your thoughts are higher than mine. I trust that if I obey, especially in times when Your ways don't make sense to me, that You will bless my life and protect me from the evil one. Thank You for Your promises, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Test of Faith in God

SCRIPTURE: 1 JOHN 4:15, 20-21
¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

OBSERVATION: I have known people who acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and say they love Him; yet, they behave in hateful ways toward others in the Body of Christ. Clearly, according to these scriptures, this is not supposed to be.

APPLICATION: I have to look at the whole Word together to understand truth. It's easy to say I acknowledge Jesus as my Savior and that I love Him. The test of whether I really believe those words is in how I speak about and treat my fellow believers. Do I harbor resentments? Do I feel superior to some? Do I have any prejudices toward others of different ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds? If I do, repentance is in order. I cannot love God but despise others.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, you are holy. May I live in Your light and never deceive myself about my own level of spiritual connectedness with You. You care very little how much I say I love You if I don't demonstrate my love toward others in my actions. Perfect my heart so I may be like You in all I say and do. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Simple Truths

SCRIPTURE: 1 John 3:5-10
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

OBSERVATION: I love this epistle! John states the truth in very simple terms. If you love God, you cannot continue to sin. If you continue to sin, you are not of God but of the devil. Jesus came to destroy the devil's work. We can tell who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. The former do what is right and love their brothers and the latter do not do right and don't love their brother. Simple.

APPLICATION: Paul tells us in Corinthians to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Obviously, then, it is possible for us to deceive ourselves about that issue. John gives us some very simple truths by which we can measure ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. Do I love my brothers and sisters? Do I do what is right according to God's Word? Do I come to Jesus and ask Him to do His work in destroying any hold Satan has on me in the form of a besetting sin? If so, I'm in good shape and can have confidence toward God. If not, I need to repent. Simple.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for Your Word. I wish everything in it were as simple as these verses. Help me to always ask the right questions of myself and to have the Holy Spirit shine light into my soul and reveal any areas of darkness. I ask You, Jesus, to do Your holy work and destroy the works of the devil in my life and in the lives of all my loved ones. Make Your Body pure and give us all love for one another. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Discouraging Word

SCRIPTURE: Jer. 45:1-5
This is what Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’”

The LORD said, “Say this to him: ‘This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

OBSERVATION: This would not be a great word to get from the Lord. We are not told exactly what Baruch is struggling with. From the response he gets from God, I think that maybe after hearing about all the terrible judgments the Lord was going to bring upon Israel, maybe he was feeling like he was going to have to suffer unfairly by losing his property and perhaps going into exile along with those whose disobedience had brought all this about. It's easy when the sin of others affects a person who has not sinned for them to feel "put upon".

APPLICATION: The word of the Lord to Baruch should be a lesson to me. God owes me nothing. He has been incredibly gracious to forgive all my sin and give me a way to be with Him in heaven forever. Anything good beyond that is icing on the cake, but certainly not something God is required to do for me. I need to be grateful to God for everything He gives me and not resent anything that He does not.

PRAYER: Father, I am grateful for the gift of everlasting life. You died for me and have given me everything I need for life and godliness. May I never be demanding of Your grace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Jesus' Unanswered Prayer

SCRIPTURE: John 17:20-23
²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³ I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

OBSERVATIONS: I think it's amazing that Jesus prayed for me way before I was born. The answer to this prayer, though, has not been fully manifested. The Church does not have oneness and unity and I believe it is one of the reasons that too much of the world does not know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that He is Lord! We still have church splits and believers who claim to know God and yet will not work through offenses with each other. We seem to forget this prayer of Jesus and how much He wanted us to live in unity with one another. This was a part of the last prayer He prayed before He sacrificed Himself for us. If it was that important to Him, shouldn't we do all we can to work at being at peace with one another?

APPLICATION: I have a responsibility to go out of my way to work at loving my brothers and sisters in the Lord and being "one" with them. Not only should I do this because I love Jesus and it is something that is important to Him, but I also need to do this because it helps the cause of evangelism.

PRAYER: Father, I want to glorify You with my life. Please help me to do all that I can to live in unity and with my fellow believers and to love them a You do. And please help the whole Body to take Your prayer seriously so that we can be a witness to the world that You are the one true God. Give us wisdom in our dealings with one another and the courage to follow through in pursuing peace with one another because we love You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

God's Unfailing Love

SCRIPTURE: Jer. 18:10-13
“When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?’ then say to them, ‘It is because your fathers forsook me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me. So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

OBSERVATIONS: The people the prophet sent to speak to are completely unaware of their sin or what they have done to bring God's judgment down upon themselves. They think God is unfair in punishing them. After all, they still go to temple and give lip service to worshiping God. And how, exactly, does God's judgment fit in with with His loving nature? What about "unconditional love"? Unconditional love is not God's love; it is Satan's counterfeit to God's unfailing love. Unconditional love will love me no matter what I do. I can be evil and still be loved. Unfailing love means that whatever evil I do, I always have a way back to into God's love. No amount of evil or rebellion can change God's love for me. But I must repent of my evil as a condition to come back into God's favor and love. Unfailing love is the only way righteousness and mercy can coexist.

APPLICATION: What was true back then is still true today. There are many who think that they do not deserve any punishment from God because He should love them unconditionally. They do not understand that unconditional love is evil. It treats those who do wrong the same as those who do right. No thanks. I will be thankful that God's love is unfailing; therefore it leads me to righteousness. That is good for me and everyone around me.

PRAYER: May I be like You, Lord, and learn to love others with an unfailing love that will always accept them back without reservation no matter how many times they stray. But may I also always uphold the standards of rightousness that benefit everyone. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Strange Road to Repentance

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 9:17-20
This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. The sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How ruined we are! How great is our shame! We must leave our land because our houses are in ruins.’” Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament.

OBSERVATION: The thought struck me as I was reading this that people who have hardened their hearts and refused correction because they do not see that they have done anything wrong are the last ones who would wail over their sin. Yet here is the Lord telling them that they should do just that.
He says that the professional women "wailers" should teach their daughters how to wail and lament. These were women who would go to the homes of families who had suffered the death of a loved one and wail to bring out emotions of grief in the relatives of the dead so that they could go through the process of mourning.

APPLICATION: We are a society and culture very concerned with not being hypocritical and with being "honest" in expressing our emotions. Is it possible that when our hearts are hard the Lord wants us to make ourselves wail and lament over our sin even if we don't feel like it? If we are confronted with our sin but feel no remorse for it, should we force ourselves to mourn over it like professional wailing women who didn't necessarily even know the dead person whose family they were assisting to grieve? Maybe we need to be obedient to such a command from God and then He will bring us to a point of true understanding of, and repentance for, our sin. Maybe it's obedience to a word such as this that breaks the spirit of arrogance and apathy toward sin.
It's a thought that flies in the face of our culture.

PRAYER: Give me insight and wisdom to understand Your ways, O Lord. Even when they do not fit my paradigm of what is proper, continue to challenge my thinking. I want to be fully obedient to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Communication Lesson

SCRIPTURE: John 12:49
"For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it."

OBSERVATION: Jesus not only spoke the words of God, he was instructed by God on how to say it.

APPLICATION: Communication is so much more than just the words we say. The look on our faces as we say them, tone of voice, body language all go in to how our words are perceived by others. I need to follow Jesus' example and pray for wisdom regarding not only the words I speak, but how I speak them.

PRAYER: Father, teach me wisdom in how I communicate to others. Offense happens so easily in human communication and I want to avoid as much of it as possible. The truth is often offensive enough on its own without my adding to it by not being careful in how I communicate it. May all my words be seasoned with wisdom from Your Spirit. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

True Prophecy from an Untrue Man

SCRIPTURE: John 11:49-53
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

OBSERVATION: This scripture is fascinating to me. Caiaphas, makes an accurate prophecy about Jesus months before he sacrifices his life on the cross. His prophecy states that Jesus' mission includes redemption for "the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one". Ephesians tells us that Jesus died for the Gentiles and the Jews and broke down the wall between them, making them one. I'm sure Caiaphas did not think his prophecy had anything to do with Gentiles; he probably thought it referred only to exiled Jews. But it is one of those unusual scriptures that shows that God can speak truth through "unworthy" vessels; people who do not have really care about advancing God's kingdom, even though they may be religious.

APPLICATION: Don't be too impressed with religious leaders who move in the gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit sometimes uses odd messengers who do not have good character. The fruit of the Spirit is a more accurate measure of who is a good leader to follow. It's easier to move in the gifts than to demonstrate godly character over the long haul.

PRAYER: Father, I want to flow in the gifts of your Holy Spirit more and more. I thank you for them all. But more important to me is that I reflect Your heart, Your character, to others. May I please You in all I think, say and do. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Promise To Cling To

SCRIPTURE: Zeph. 3: 14b-20
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

“The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the LORD.

OBSERVATION: In the book of Zephaniah the punishment that the Lord brought upon His people because of their disobedience is delineated. Then the Lord goes on to speak of how He will restore his people and punish those who have been their enemies after they have suffered and learned their lesson.

APPLICATION: The Lord is a Redeemer! It is His nature. His love compels Him to move to restore His people to a place of intimacy with Him. As if that were not enough, He promises that they will be honored and praised by the people around them as well. What a wonderful promise!

PRAYER: Father, I am a candidate for this promise and I am ready to receive it! Fulfill your Word in me, Lord. I am ready for my enemies to be defeated and to be restored to a place of honor. May my life bring honor and glory to Your Name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

How Dare Jesus Speak Like That!

SCRIPTURE: John 8:42-47
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

OBSERVATION: The way in which Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and their ilk flies in the face of our cultural norms today. He is blunt and confrontational in an almost brutal manner. He certainly doesn't seem to care about "hurting their feelings" or offending them. Does Jesus love the Pharisees? I think so. He died for their sins too. But he also cares about truth and righteousness and is willing to confront, sometimes harshly, to try to bring needed conviction of sin that leads to repentance.

APPLICATION: Today we avoid confrontation at all costs. Hurting someone's feelings is held as almost the highest moral value there is. It is thought better to not speak rather than to risk offending someone. A person who speaks uncomfortable truth is often thought to be unspiritual, rude and unfit for ministry. The result is that we have sin that is not confronted and phoney relationships where conflicts are never positively resolved. Unrighteousness is tolerated in the name of love. But love without truth is not what the scripture upholds as a Christian value. There are times when the Scripture confronts beliefs we have been raised with and our cultural norms. When we find such conflict, we need to re-examine our ideas and behavior and bring them into conformity with God's values.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to align my thoughts with your thoughts and my ways with your ways. Reveal to me where they differ for I do not always see it right away. I want to speak the truth in love, especially when the truth is a difficult one. May I have your wisdom to be bold when I need to be but to be bold with love and gentleness and always with the good of others as my motivation. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Lesson in Leadership

SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 23:24-27
Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger. So the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”

OBSERVATION: Josiah turned back to the Lord with his whole heart and repented for the sins of his people. The priests found the Book of the Law and read it to him. When he realized the extent of his nation's sin and the terrible warnings of judgment that the Lord had pronounced against his people, he inquired of the Lord to see if the prophecies of judgment could be removed by renewing the covenant with God. When informed that God would not reverse the coming judgments, Josiah did not give up. He became even more zealous in doing all he could to turn back the hearts of the people and to remove all idol worship from the land.

APPLICATION: There are many Christians in the church today who believe with all their heart that the second of coming of Christ is near and will likely happen in their lifetime. Yet for many, this knowledge leads to a fatalistic attitude of not trying to do all they can to turn back the hearts of those on the path to hell. "It's going to happen anyway, so why trouble myself with talking to those who will most likely mock my beliefs anyway". But we should be like Josiah, doing all we can to turn others to God and to serve Him ourselves with nothing held back. Josiah is an inspirational example of great spiritual leadership.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, holy is your Name and righteous are your judgments! You have given me a mission here on earth and I pray I would be fruitful and zealous in fulfilling Your call on my life. Give me the boldness Josiah had to lead Your people into righteous living and to turn the hearts of so many to serving You. May I have a "Josiah anointing" on my life! In Jesus' name, Amen.

What is the Definition of a Christian?

SCRIPTURE: John 6:60-66
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

OBSERVATION: People who were disciples, who had accepted that Jesus was the Christ, turned away from him and repudiated their commitment to follow him when they heard a teaching that they did not agree with or understand.

APPLICATION: I believe these verses illustrate the core of what it is to be a Christian. A true believer stays around even when a teaching is difficult to understand and assaults the paradigm of the disciple. When confronted with a clear idea from the Word that is in conflict with his own, a Christian will say, "I must conform my thoughts to His, or at least suspend judgment on this and stay engaged with the Spirit until I have understanding of this."
As an older believer I need to make sure I teach and model this stance to others who are in my sphere of influence.

PRAYER: Help me Lord, to be a good example of a mature Christian to all those around me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Lessons from an Ungrateful Man

SCRIPTURE: John 5:5-14
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

OBSERVATION: There are several things that stand out to me in this passage. First, the man does not directly answer Jesus' question to him. The man tells Jesus what he wants (someone to take him down to the water so he can get in first) instead of simply answering if he wants healing or not. How often does the Lord ask me a question and I answer him with an expression of what I think I need from him? I don't think I do that often, but I need to be more aware and check to see if I am. Second, the ingratitude of the man amazes me. Jesus changes his life with a stunning miracle and he rats Jesus out to the Pharisees the first chance he gets! He knew they were not happy with Jesus, yet he wants to ingratiate himself to these men instead of being thankful and loyal to the Lord. Maybe it's because Jesus confronted his sin in their second encounter, but there's no excuse for his behavior.

APPLICATION: I need to examine my motives with the help of the Holy Spirit to make sure I am not concerned about what important people (even in the church) think of me. My loyalty and focus needs to be on what God thinks of me. I also need to make sure I am not telling God how he should meet my needs, but simply make them known to Him and trust Him to meet them in the most appropriate way.

PRAYER: Father, examine my heart and show me where I need to make adjustments. Keep me from the fear of man and the need to ingratiate myself to those who seem to be important. My plumb line is You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Moving Beyond My Comfort

SCRIPTURE: John 4:7-9
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

OBSERVATION: Here is Jesus breaking social conventions again. He is speaking with someone from a social class that Jews did not associate with and the person is also a woman (another assault on the conventions of the day). Why? He wants to make her aware of God's love for her.

APPLICATION: How willing am I to move out of my comfort zone to share the love of Jesus with others? I am basically a shy person and not very confident about making connections with others with whom I have little in common. It is so much easier to build relationship with those who have a similar educational and experiential background. But the love of God and the command of His Word to "go into all the world" compels me to leave my comfort zone and share with others the amazing story of redemption. Jesus cares more about my obedience than he does my comfort, and making excuses to Him doesn't cut it. I must obey.

PRAYER: Lord, I trust You to fill my mouth when I speak to others. Help me to connect with many outside of my normal circle and open their hearts to Your love by words of wisdom and knowledge like you did with the Samaritan woman. May I be a fruitful and faithful witness to others and be a soul-winner for Your kingdom. I do want to be like You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

God's View of Holiness

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 66:2b-4
“This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at my word.
But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a man,
and whoever offers a lamb,
like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense,
like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and their souls delight in their abominations;
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring upon them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”

OBSERVATION: God's values are often so different from our own. He describes in these verses what His view of holiness is. A contrite and humble heart is one that God actually esteems. He even defines at least part of what a contrite heart is; it is one that trembles at His Word. In other words, one that adjusts his/her life to conform with what the Word says and doesn't conform the Word to fit their own philosophy of life. Notice that those who engage in "religious activities", such as the required temple sacrifices, are severely castigated. God makes it clear that though they think they are being quite spiritual, their service to God is viewed by Him like the activities of heathens who worship idols. Why? Because they choose their own way and don't listen to Him even though they perform their "religious duties".

APPLICATION: I need to watch my own heart because any of us are capable of moving from a place of humility before God to "choosing our own way" even though we continue to serve in the church and be seen by others as "holy". We tend to rely on the esteem of other people more than we do on the esteem of the Lord. And I also need to not be impressed by the service of others who may perform well in church (great preaching, praying, etc.) but look to see if they are humble and contrite. That is what is impressive to God and that is what needs to be impressive to me as well. Those are the people worth emulating.

PRAYER: Father, keep me in tune with your values. If my heart gets proud, do whatever it takes to humble me, even if it is painful. I want to serve You well and remain close to You. Teach me to hear You clearly and conform my ways to Yours, my thoughts to Yours. In Jesus' Name, Amen.