Tag: Devotional

Devotional – Finding Wholeness

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,

who greatly delights in his commandments!” Psalm 112:1 (ESV)

I’m taking some time this week to disconnect from my normal pace and schedule to get alone and get away in an attempt to hear from the Lord. This year I’ve been doing some introspection, learning about myself, how I’m wired. I’m trying to get a handle on why I allow certain things to frustrate me, why I tend to wear down carrying the burdens of others, why I’m struggling during this season with patience.

The Bible speaks to the heart, mind, and soul of the human condition. It tells us why the world is so messed up. It tells us why we are so messed up. But unlike a social media rant it doesn’t end there, it gives us the solution. What we would call wellness, wholeness, or contentment the Bible often calls being blessed. While there are many passages which speak to this idea one in particular, Psalm 112:1 gives three characteristics of the person who would be blessed.

1. The Blessed Live A Life of Worship. The Psalm opens with the exultation, “Praise the Lord!” Or just straight from the Hebrew, “Hallelujah!” The Psalms themselves were originally composed as songs of praise. We are left with the lyrics, but not the tunes. What a joy it is to join with the community of faith and sing praises to the Lord. How awesome is it that the Spirit is still inspiring new songs of worship and praise. In what feels like eons ago I was privileged to lead one of the most energetic southern baptist choirs. Back in those days sheet music was printed and bound and shipped to you. We subscribed to several worship clubs that several times a year would send huge boxes via UPS filled with CD’s a samples of new music. It would usually be this time of year (August) that the anticipated Christmas box would arrive and beach week would involve listening through several different musicals in order to make a final decision. We are one experiencing an explosion of God-centered, gospel proclaiming worship music. We now live in an era in which songwriters and artists can instantly share their creations with the masses. With digital distribution we can hear a song for the first time one day and share it with our particular church the very next. With our magical mobile devices we can carry this music with us everywhere we can and whether we are in the car, on the bus, at the coffee shop, we can fill our hearts with God’s praise and make a joyful noise as we go. Let’s praise the Lord.

2. The Blessed Live A Life of Reverence, or as the Pslamist says, “fears the Lord.” Fearing the Lord in Hebrew isn’t abject terror or an irrational fear, but closer to the ideas of respect, honor, or awe. This idea of reverence is to be placed on its object – the Lord. What does it mean to live a life of reverence to God? While it led some in the ancient church to go out in the desert and live in caves and it led others to shun the world, shave their heads, and take monastic orders, I think in todays time it takes multiple forms. I believe a life of reverence to God means waking up each morning and putting God first in your life-no matter what the day brings. I believe a life of reverence to God means taking what God has spoken over us with us when we go to work, to school, or to play. God is not a component of our life-He is part of our real life.

3. The Blessed Live A Life of Faith. Here the Psalmist says that the blessed “greatly delights in his commandments.” When we read commandments in our culture what might be conjured up are a list of rules, of do’s and don’ts. When the psalmist says “commandments” he is using a synonym to mean God’s Word, or His truth. To greatly delight in God’s Word means not just taking in God’s Word-by reading the Bible, prayer, meditation, listening to sermons and podcasts. If we fill our minds with all the knowledge that Scripture has to offer, but do not put it into practice we may have orthodoxy, but a dead one. The Blessed fill themselves with God’s Word and then seek to live it out! One activity I’m doing right now as I read Scripture is to write down either God’s promises or the truth that He speaks over me. In an age of trolls, social critics, and a terrible amount of just overall negativity I’ve found it helpful to my soul to hear what God says about me, that I’m loved, forgiven, redeemed, strengthened, and encouraged.

My prayer is that you may find peace and contentment that can only be found in following Jesus.

Rest

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“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

I am so thankful that the one who designed the world created something call rest. He created the cycle of days and seasons as a natural pattern for work and rest. He created our bodies to follow this natural cycle as well. As I’m writing this on a Sunday afternoon I have just enjoyed a morning of worship with my family. I heard one person describe the weekly worship gathering as the closest taste of heaven that we get on earth. To go from an energizing morning of worship to a completely stress-free and relaxing Sunday afternoon is such a recharging experience.

Spiritually, when Jesus spoke these words recounted in the New Testament, the people he was speaking to were living in a religious system that was based completely upon their performance. They lived by a seemingly endless list of rules and demands that no one could hope to ever live up to. In the midst of this Jesus says to come to Him and He will give true rest. Rest from seeking to earn favor and acceptance based upon our performance. Freedom to receive God’s love and forgiveness.

Questions To Ponder:

How well are you resting in God’s unconditional love?

How often are you making space in your life for rest on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?

What is the biggest obstacle to finding rest in your life right now?

Overcoming a Critical Spirit

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! – Psalm 107:1 (ESV)

A negative or critical spirit is something that can quickly wrap itself around you. I’m reminded of my time as a kid playing in the woods and very early becoming aware of the offensive nature of toxicodendron radicans or as its more commonly known, poison ivy. It’s an innocuous looking plant, blending in with the foliage of the forest, but its oily coating can cause a little reaction. At first one may seek a little relief from scratching the itchy rash, but before long, depending upon the spread and exposure, you might be itching, scratching, and burning all over your body. The old camp song calls for calamine lotion, which only helps if you don’t scratch it off!

I’ve found a critical spirit can infect us in the same way as poison ivy. It actually feels good at first to scratch the itch, so to speak, but before long, if we aren’t careful, it can really take us over and cause a lot of pain in the process. The best cure I’ve found in those moments and the best way to counteract it, is to heed the Psalmists advice, to “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Even in the direst of situations we can find ways to be thankful, to remind ourselves that God is ultimately good, and that though the whole world may be against us, His love, His steadfast love endures forever.

If you are stuck in a critical mindset or with a critical spirit, let’s break the chain today!

Steps to Finding God’s Presence

“And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.'”

Exodus 33:14-15 (ESV)

I was recently asked about the presence of God. In this passage in the book of Exodus, Moses is interceding on behalf of the people after their attempt at idolatry in fashioning the golden calf while Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and instructions for the Tabernacle. God initially tells Moses that while He isn’t going to go on with the people, He will send the angel of the Lord. After Moses’ intercession the Lord then promises His presence. Moses makes an emphatic statement in verse 35, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Moses had been able to experience first-hand as much of God’s glory, power, and presence as anyone else to that point. After experiencing God in that way, he was so convinced the future of the people of Israel absolutely depended upon having God’s presence with them. In fact, Moses says to the Lord, in essence, if He doesn’t go with them they don’t want to go.

In the Old Testament the presence of God was mediated through the Tabernacle and the priestly system. The redemptive work of Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection breaks down the divide between God and man, allowing us to experience the presence of God personally. Paul expresses the necessity of the presence of God this way, He says in Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ-does not belong to him.”

What an amazing prospect-the Spirit of the Living God, in dwelling us. Would that not have the opportunity to change our hearts, our attitudes, our lives? How would our lives look different were we to shift our decision making solely based upon the flesh-but upon the presence of God? God if you are here, I don’t want to move from this spot! God, you’ve pointed the way to the Promised Land, but if you don’t go with us don’t make us go!

Steps to Finding the Presence of God. You might say, that’s great, but where do I start?Might I offer a few suggestions:

1. Stop – In our culture we are notoriously busy. We have so many activities and schedules upon schedules. Some of the most downloaded apps for our smartphones are all related to helping us schedule and create to-do lists to organize our busy and hectic lives. In fact I’ve even caught myself scrolling through my phone at a stoplight-as if a 30 second stoplight is too long to just sit there! The first step many of us will have to take is to stop long enough to discern the presence of God. Turn off the phone, the tv and the screens for just a minute.

2. Look – We must also take the step of looking for God’s presence. It’s not enough just to look, but to look in the right direction. During this stage in my life I encounter the public on a daily basis who walk into my furniture store looking for something. It might be a new sofa for the living room or a new mattress because the old one is worn out. As big as our store is every now and then I get people looking for something we don’t have: lawnmowers, paint, doors and windows, appliances, tv’s, you name it, I’ve been asked about it. In speaking of the presence of God are you looking in the right direction? Have you sought out a Bible-believing church? In the United States you might have to look hard in some places, but you don’t have to look that far. Getting together with God’s people is essential to experiencing God’s presence. Jesus said as much in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Are you spending time reading the Bible? If you struggle reading the Bible I would encourage you to start today. Get a translation you can understand. If you can’t read, listen to the Bible. It’s absolutely fundamental. To go a little deeper here, I’ve written on this topic, “How to Read the Bible Book by Book.”

3. Listen – When we stop in the midst of our busyness, when we start looking in the right direction, then we get ourselves in the position of hearing from God. Don’t make a mistake here. I’m not saying the presence of God is something that we can work-up. He is not bound by a step-by-step formula. I do believe, however, that when we place ourselves in position we will hear Him when He speaks through His Word, by His Spirit, and through Godly counsel He places in our lives. When we surrender our lives and our will to Him. When we allow Him to renew our minds and our spirit we can start down the road of experiencing the presence of God.

Happy New Year

Yesterday, February 5th, marked the new year in China, dubbed the “year of the pig.” I wonder if that means they will be eating a lot of barbecue this time of year? The Chinese follow a lunar calendar so their new year appears to float around our calendar a little bit. It caused me to think about why in our culture the new year always starts on January 1st. I knew it had to have something to do with the Roman Empire, and after a little research determined that January 1st was the year the Roman Consuls (basically, the two guys who together formed the executive branch of the Roman republic) took office. Sometime around 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rearranged the Roman calendar and made that day the first day of the year. It’s amazing to think that separated by over 2,000 years our country, along with many others, still follow an ancient Roman custom for the new year.

When we turn to the story of God’s people in Exodus 12, God reorients the Israelite nation around an amazing act of redemption He is about to do. He is about to perform the greatest act of judgement against Egypt during what is called Passover, which will in turn set the Israelites people free from bondage and slavery, putting them on the path to the Promised Land. In the very opening part of the instructions to their leader Moses, the Lord says, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:2).

I’ve always thought, how amazing this is, that the beginning of each new year for Israel would be a reminder of God’s great act of redemption on their behalf. Think about the feeling of renewal that occurs every new year, what if we added to that God’s love for us? What if we then took a moment each day when we woke up and just reflected on God’s great love for us?

So with that final word, “Happy New Year!”