Healing sun

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Malachi 3-4; Psalm 64

TO CHEW ON: "But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings..." Malachi 4:2

Here we have a picture of Jesus as a sunrise. What a stunning image. Watch Him as He breaks over the horizon, His rays like wings that spread radiant light, warmth and healing.

[The word for healing used here is marpe'. It means restoration of health, remedy, cure, medicine, tranquility, deliverance, refreshing. Marpe' comes from the verb rapha' - to heal, cure, repair - "Word Wealth," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1273.]

An article in my Bible explains further, "Salvation is God's rescue of the entire person, and healing is His complete repair of that person as marpe' illustrates."

Note some instances of rapha healing in the Bible:
- It refers to the healing of a soul that has sinned in Psalm 41:4.
- It refers to the healing of a broken heart in Psalm 147:3.
- It speaks of just plain healing (physical, emotional and spiritual) through "His stripes" in Isaiah 53:5.

I love Clarke's commentary on our healing Sun verse:

"With healing in his wings - As the sun, by the rays of light and heat, revives, cheers, and fructifies the whole creation, giving, through God, light and life everywhere; so Jesus Christ, by the influences of his grace and Spirit, shall quicken, awaken, enlighten, warm, invigorate heal, purify, and refine every soul that believes in him, and, by his wings or rays, diffuse these blessings from one end of heaven to another; everywhere invigorating the seeds of righteousness, and withering and drying up the seeds of sin. The rays of this Sun are the truths of his Gospel, and the influences of his Spirit. And at present these are universally diffused"

 Let's claim that healing today for broken bodies, and sin-sorry and sad hearts while we anticipate the day when we see this Jesus-Sun face to face, and all healing will be complete:

"Your sun will never set;

      your moon will not go down.

   For the Lord will be your everlasting light.

      Your days of mourning will come to an end." - Isaiah 60:20 NLT

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for healing that characterized Your ministry on earth and for how the Gospel made alive by Your Spirit brings healing to lives and bodies still today. Help me to be an instrument of Your healing to others. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 64

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 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Singing in a pagan land

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Job 8-11; Psalm 137

TO CHEW ON: “But how can we sing the songs of the LORD
While in a pagan land?” Psalm 137:4 NLT

This psalm is heavy with homesickness. What a poignant picture it paints of captives, urged by their captors to provide entertainment with their joyous songs of religious celebration, refusing to sing. Instead they hung their harps on the trees that lined the rivers and irrigation canals of Babylon.

The songs the Babylonians asked them to sing were for religious purposes, not entertainment. These reminders of Yahweh’s greatness and goodness were meant to be the the accompaniment on their happy journeys to the Jerusalem and part of the feasts. 

There might also have been undertones of of mockery and gloating in the Babylonian requests. Many of these songs praised Zion (Jerusalem) as an exalted, beautiful, glorious place. Jerusalem had, at this point, been conquered and no longer existed in its former beauty and glory.

And so this psalm asks the rhetorical question:

“How can we sing the songs of the LORD
While in a pagan land?”

The implied answer: we can’t!

This psalm resonates with me not only because I can relate to its feelings of homesickness, but also its spiritual alienation.

We modern disciples of Jesus also live in a pagan land where the dominant culture is against much of what we stand for (and drifting farther from its Judeo-Christian roots all the time). We too might ask: “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?”

I would submit, though, that that doesn’t need to silence us. For we can also live in the reality of who we are in Christ and embrace right now, the life of the Kingdom of Heaven (where pagan values are turned on their heads: the first are last, the last first, the poor are rich, we give to get, forgive seventy times seven, and deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus, but know that this is not the end - John 14:1-3).

 And so we take down those harps, dust off those keyboards and guitars, and tune our voices because by faith we are exiles no more but pilgrims, passing through this life to our real home (1 Peter 2:11-12).

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God while I also live in my life as a pilgrim and stranger here on earth. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 137

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

When mothers arise

"Deborah" by Gustave Dore

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Judges 4:21-5:11

TO CHEW ON: "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
In the days of Jael,
The highways were deserted,
And the travelers walked along the byways,
Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel
Until I Deborah arose,
Arose a mother in Israel." Judges 5:6-7

A mother arising—I love that picture. I can identify with it, especially as it relates to mothers arising in defence of their children.

• Sarah was such a mother when she asked Abraham to expel Hagar and Ishmael from their home to guarantee that Isaac would be Abraham's sole heir (Genesis 21:9-13).

• Jochebed, Moses' mother, arose, albeit ever so secretly, to protect her infant son from Pharaoh's butchers (Exodus 2:1-3).

• Hannah's arising in the form of pleading prayers caused God to open her womb and she became the mother of prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1:9-17).

• Bathsheba's arising took the form of a meeting with elderly King David to remind him of his promise to anoint Solomon as his successor, even as Solomon's brother Adonijah was organizing his own coronation (1 Kings 1:15-17).

But Deborahs's arising was on another level altogether. Her mother-heart embraced all the citizens of the nation as her children. The forsaken villages and deserted highways—emptied as people hid in fortifications for fear of Jabin and Sisera—outraged her. She, together with Barak and their army of 10,000 eventually routed Sisera and his iron chariots. He alone fled on foot to Jael's tent where she dealt the final blow (Judges 4:21).

As mothers we have tremendous influence. The proverb "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" is no idle saying. And that influence isn't only through the impact of our kids. It comes in other ways too. Have you noticed, for example, how many women have arisen, often out of personal tragedy, to form organizations that bring good things out of bad:

Candace (Candy) Lightner started Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) after a drunk hit-and-run driver killed her 13-year-old daughter.

Betty Fox formed the Terry Fox Foundation (an organization that raises money for cancer research) after cancer took the life of her son Terry.

Wilma Derksen was instrumental in bringing Child Find to Manitoba and started Victim's Voice, an organization that supports victims of crime, after her 13-year-old daughter Candace was abducted and murdered. (She tells her story in Have You Seen Candace?)

As mothers let's harness the powerful nurturing force within us by rising up first within our families, and then by following God's leading into other ventures in our communities and nations.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of Deborah's mother-heart for her nation. Help me to take my place with all the godly mothers who have arisen to make an impact in their homes, their communities, their nations, and the world. Amen.

MORE: Wilma's story

In the 2011 100 Huntley Street video "Wilma Derksen—A Victim's Voice," Wilma and Cliff Derksen talk with Magdalene John about the impact of Candace's death, how God helped her through this time of unthinkable tragedy, and the good things that have come out of it.



The man accused and sentenced for Candace's murder in 2011 has since been retried and in October of 2017 declared not guilty. Read the Derksen's reaction to this development in "It's over for us" - (National Post).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus is sympathetic

 

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 11:20-44

TO CHEW ON: “Jesus wept.” John 11:35

As the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35 has received its share of attention. But that’s not the reason for our focus on it today. For though brief, this verse shines a light on one of Jesus’ most endearing qualities—His sympathy.

• Matthew recognized this quality in Him. After his account of Jesus’ gentle manner in healing the man with the withered arm, and His refusal to confront His enemies prematurely, he points out how the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4 (… a bruised reed He will not break, / And smoking flax He will not quench…”) was fulfilled in Jesus - Matthew 12:18-21.

• In our reading today we see how He wept with His grieving friends, even though He knew that their grief was about to turn to incredulous joy.

• As Jerusalem came in view during His triumphal donkey ride into the city, “He saw the city and wept over it.” It seems that he had prophetic insight over Jerusalem’s fate and it broke His heart - Luke 19:41-43.

• He was thoroughly aware of human frailty when He found the disciples asleep, though He needed them to watch and pray for His sake and their own. His words show His knowledge of human nature: “'Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak'” - Matthew 26:41 (emphasis added); also in Mark 14:38.

• His sympathy as the risen Lord is the subject of a wonderful passage in Hebrews. Because He, our “High Priest” can sympathize with our weaknesses and “was in all points tempted as we are…” we are invited to come, indeed come “boldly” to Him for help when we need it. 

I love how the Message puts this:

“We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” - Hebrews 4:15-16 MSG.

As we go through today, let’s remember that Jesus’ eyes on us are full of understanding, sympathy, maybe even tears. And His hand is stretched out, inviting us to grab hold and hang on.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for these reminders of Your sympathetic heart toward us fragile and needy humans. Help me to come to You without hesitation whenever I feel needy. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Bring them to Jesus

Jesus and the Syro-Phoenecian Woman by Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 4:24-37

TO CHEW ON: "Then they brought Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him." Mark 7:32

You've got to love this mother who brought her daughter's condition to Jesus' attention and the man's friends who took the initiative to bring their hearing- and speech-impaired friend to Jesus. In the Bible, many people brought individuals to Jesus.

• At the beginning of His ministry, Matthew records: "… they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them" - Matthew 4:23.

• Another time "… they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed…" Matthew 9:32.

• A father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus - Mark 9:17-20.

• "… men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed…" and from the housetop broke through the roof to lower him before Jesus - Luke 5:18-20.

• Annoyed bystanders brought the loud blind man to Jesus when Jesus "… stood still and commanded him be brought to Him" - Luke 18:35-42.

• Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus because " 'We have found the Messiah' …" - John 1:40-42.

• Philip invited his skeptical friend Nathaniel to meet Jesus - John 1:45-46.

• Philip and Andrew were a go-between for some Greek seekers who wished to see Jesus - John 12:20-22.

• The scribes and Pharisees brought a sinful woman to Jesus as a test - John 8:2-6.

• Martha invited her mourning sister Mary to come to Jesus - John 11:28.

What can we take from this sampling of folks who brought people to Jesus? Three things come to mind:

1. Often people aren't named, just referred to as "they." Neither is much said about the person they bring. The spotlight is on Jesus. Perhaps we can conclude from this that our bringing others to Jesus is not about us at all or even about them but on God and how He is glorified through these encounters.

2. People brought others to Jesus as a solution to a variety of problems including physical, mental and emotional. We too can take any problems our friends or acquaintances have, to Jesus.

3. Even when the reason behind bringing someone to Jesus was less than pure, there was a good outcome (Luke 18:35-42; John 8:2-6). Mixed motives on our part shouldn't hold us back from bringing people and situations to Him.

We still bring people to Jesus—not bodily but in our prayers. Let's continue to do this, asking for His healing of the sick, His touch on physical deficiencies, His breaking of bondages for the demon oppressed, His forgiveness of sin, and His illumination as to who He is—all for God's glory.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to realize I need to bring the needs I encounter to You in prayer as a first action, before I give any advice or embark on any action. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The seed of tears

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 126:1-6


TO CHEW ON: "Those who sow in tears

Shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth weeping,

Bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing

Bringing his sheaves with him." - Psalm 126:5,6

Have you ever thought of your griefs and disappointments as seed? That's what Eugene Peterson suggests they are:

"All suffering, all pain, all emptiness, all disappointment is seed: Sow it in God and he will finally bring a crop of joy from it" - Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p. 100.

This seed doesn't come in paper packets or burlap sacks but falls from our eyes as tears.

An article in my Bible writes about our tears in another way, as ministry.

"Tears in Scripture play a unique role in spiritual breakthrough. Here...the planting of seeds accompanied by a spirit of brokenness will not only bring a spiritual harvest of results but will leave the sower with a spirit of rejoicing. This passage along with numerous others...pictures a variety of purposes and functions related to what might be termed "the ministry of tears." These are:

• Tears of sorrow and suffering - 2 Kings 20:5.

• Tears of joy - Genesis 33:4.

• Tears of compassion - John 11:35.

• Tears of desperation - Esther 4:1,3.

• Tears of travail or giving birth - Isaiah 42:14.

• Tears of repentance - Joel 2:12,13, Dick Eastman, "Tears and Brokenness in Victorious Warfare," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 787.

and let me add another:

• Tears that God has seen, collected and that have persuaded Him to come to my defense - Psalm 56: 8,9.

When you and I go through difficult times,  let's view our tears not as a sign of weakness or lack of faith, but part of the cycle of spiritual sowing and reaping. Peterson again:

"There is plenty of suffering on both sides, past and future. The joy comes because God knows how to wipe away tears, and, in his resurrection work, create the smile of new life. Joy is what God gives, not what we work up. Laughter is the delight that things are working together for good to those who love God, not the giggles that betray the nervousness of a precarious defense system. The joy that develops in the Christian way of discipleship is an overflow of spirits that comes from feeling good not about yourself but about God. We find that his ways are dependable, his promises sure" - p. 100, 101.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that even tears have a kingdom purpose. When sorrow, pain, or confusion come, help me to face my situation with faith and expectation, knowing that my tears have a place in Your plan. Amen.


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Weeping in the dark

"Rabboni!"  - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 20:1-18

TO CHEW ON: " ' They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him. … they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him. … Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him and I will take Him away.' " John 20:2,13,15

Mary's shock, perplexity, and desperation soak these verses. Though John's telling has her coming to the tomb alone, Mark's account includes Mary the Mother of James and Salome in this pre-dawn trek. They come with spices to anoint His body.

But the stone is rolled aside and His body gone!

I can imagine Mary's outrage as she breaks the news to Peter and John. She alone returns to the tomb with them. After they've checked the empty tomb for themselves and return home, she stays behind weeping.

But surely there must be some mistake. On looking into the burial place again she sees two angels (do you think she realized these were angels at the time?). One asks "Woman, why are you weeping?" She answers, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him."

Her interchange with the 'gardener' follows the same lines. She remains grief-absorbed until His "Mary" opens her eyes.

Mary's experience here reminds me of what we often go through in our times of desperation before Jesus shows up in one way or another. He could have saved Mary all those tears if He'd showed Himself to her and the others when they first arrived. But He didn't.

In Mary's life and often in ours, that seems to be His way. He comes in His own sweet time, after leaving us to weep in the dark for a while.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, whether my time of puzzlement is short or long, please help me to never lose faith in You and Your good plans for me. Amen.

MORE: Feast of Mary Magdalene

Today the church liturgy celebrates the Feast of Mary Magdalene. The day's readings opens with this collect (the healing referred to in the prayer refers to her being set free from demon possession - Luke 8:2) :

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Job's lament

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 24:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Since times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him not see His days?" - Job 24:1

In this dark chapter Job asks questions that he probably never had when he was healthy and flourishing. His experience has made him sensitive to evil and the general suffering around him in a way he never was when his life was going smoothly.

- He asks why God tolerates the bullying of the wicked (Job 24:2).
- He names ways they oppress the poor and helpless:

• They take advantage of widows and the needy (Job 24:3-4, 9-10).

• They force the hard-working and deserving to live on gleanings, without clothing in harsh rain and mountains (Job 24:6-8).

• They murder and steal and get away with it (Job 24:13-17).

In fact to Job there is no observable difference in the fates of the evil and the good person (Job 24:22-24).

This is a pretty depressing read. Are there any redeeming features at all in Job's lament? Song writer and worship leader Brian Doerksen would say there are. In an article titled "Why laments are healthy" he says:

"I know in times of tragedy and crisis, it’s especially important that we express what’s going on in our hearts. To try and deny what we are feeling is the route that many modern believers have taken; maybe without realizing it strays from the biblical pattern laid out for us in the psalms and in the life of Jesus. In fact denial is one of the main ways that the world deals with loss and grief.

"There’s another ‘d’ word that describes the way the world deals with loss – distraction! Between denial and distraction you pretty much have the world’s way of coping with loss, disappointment and grief summed up. (The entertainment and travel industries are built on coping through escaping) But we are not called to take our cues from the world. We are saved and freed to live the life that Jesus showed us to live . . . and one of the many things I love about Jesus is that he was completely free to feel"

He sums up:

 "Worship is not always about bringing God our best and brightest. Sometimes it’s about bringing God our pain and grief. Sometimes it’s coming just the way we are!

"God wants to give us more than permission to feel – he wants to step into the middle of our feelings and be present with us; even in our suffering . . . even in the middle of our emotions. So let the tears flow . . . let the laments be sung . . . " Brian Doerksen, "Permission to feel; Why laments are healthy" - Read entire  (.pdf file, ellipses are in the original and do not indicate words left out; emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God thank You for being big enough to hear my complaints and negative feelings. Help me to be honest rather than in denial. Please help me to invite you into my times of pain and confusion and find comfort in Your presence. Amen.

MORE: How Long O Lord - Brian Doerksen

Brian Doerksen set the words of Psalm 13 to music, reviving an ancient lament.

Ministry of tears

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 126:1-6

TO CHEW ON: “Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping
Bearing seed for sowing
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing
Bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5,6

Emotion is never glossed over in the Bible. In Scripture real men and women cry. “Tears in Scripture play a unique role in spiritual breakthrough,” begins a sidebar article in my Bible.

Here are some of the varieties in the ministry of tears:
- Tears of sorrow or suffering – 2 Kings 20:5
- Tears of desperation – Esther 4:1,3
- Tears of joy – Genesis 33:4
- Tears of compassion – John 11:35
- Tears of travail or birth – Isaiah 42:14
- Tears of remorse – Matthew 26:75
- Tears of repentance – Joel 2:12-13
- Tears of planting – our focus verses above.

What tears are you shedding today? Tears of remorse over some failure or shortcoming of your own? Tears of suffering over sickness (your own or someone else's) or the death of a loved one? Tears of travail over the state of an unsaved son, daughter, parent, spouse or friend? Tears of frustration over the apparent lack of effectiveness of your life?

Whatever your tears, don’t hide them from God. He understands and in due course will answer. Your liquid prayer has its purpose in His plan.

PRAYER: Dear God, my heart breaks over many things. See my grief, helplessness, desperation, and need. Please use my tears to nurture your plans and purposes on earth. Amen

MORE: Sayings about tears

“Tears are liquid prayer.” ~ Charles Spurgeon.

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts." ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1860

"Tears are God’s gift to us. Our holy water. They heal us as they flow." ~Rita Schiano, Sweet Bitter Love, 1997, published by The Reed Edwards Company

"What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul." ~Jewish Proverb

“You number my wanderings;

Put my tears into Your bottle;

Are they not in Your book?” ~ Psalm 56:8