Articulate creation

 Creation's Fives 

(Photos & collage by V. Nesdoly)

TODAY'S SPECIAL:  Exodus 7-9 and Psalm 19

TO CHEW ON: "The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork." - Psalm 19:1

In this beautiful psalm, David points out two ways God reveals Himself—through NATURE (Psalm 19:1-6) and through HIS WORD (Psalm 19:7-14). Today let's focus on the NATURE message.

Here are some things Bible writers say we can learn about God through creation:

He is a wise and powerful provider

• Job, speaking of God's wisdom and power in nature, challenges his listeners to learn about God from the beasts, the earth, and the sea creatures - Job 12:7-10.

• Later in Job, Elihu praises God in a similar way, illustrating his point with a description of the water cycle - Job 36:24-33.

• Jesus too points out this aspect of creation when He instructs, " 'Consider the lilies…' " drawing our attention to their care-less and beautiful existence -  Luke 12:27.

He is a judge

• Psalm 50:6

• Psalm 97:6.

One can easily see how people could get a judgment message from a sky that crackles with lightning, rattles with thunder, and drops hail and snow.

God is big. We are tiny

• Isaiah describes God: "He sits above the circle of the earth"… while we are the "grasshoppers" on it - Isaiah 40:21,22.

In creation we have enough evidence to believe that there is a God and to know some things about Him.

• Paul and Barnabas waste no time turning the attention of the crowd at Lystra—who want to crown them gods after Paul heals a man—to the God of creation whose witness, Paul says, is the rain and fruitful seasons - Acts 14:15-17.

• Paul speaks clearly about creation's evidence of God in Romans 1:20: "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."

I love how Paul says we can deduce things about God by what is "seen" and "the things that are made." Isn't it true! Our study of natural things—creatures, plants, elements, atoms, our own bodies—shows how wisely and creaatively God has designed them all. Design elements, that repeat across created things (like the five-pointed star shape in fish, flowers, and the core of fruits), show creation's unity—the signature of the same creator.

Man's observation of creation leaves him with no excuse before God

• Paul, in answering his own question in Romans 10:14 ("How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?") says they actually have heard: "But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed." Then he quotes Scripture:  " 'Their sound has gone out to all the earth and their words to the end of the world' " - Romans 10:18. Who is Paul quoting here? Psalm 19:4 (part of our today's reading) that speaks of the fact of God's existence going  "... to the ends of the world." 

Let's look for God and enjoy Him in creation today!

PRAYER: Dear God, I am amazed at Your wisdom, creativity, care, and majesty evidenced in creation. Thank You, however, that you didn't leave us with only that, but also gave us Your Word and Yourself in Jesus. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 19

The Bible Project VIDEO: Heaven and Earth (Theme Series)



*********
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.

Through what lens do you view life?

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers

Joseph meets Benjamin (Artist unknown)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 43-45

TO CHEW ON: "'And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God...'" Genesis 45:7-8

Relationships within families have the potential to dredge up deep emotion. We get an insight into Joseph's at least three times in the story of how he is reunited with his family as we watch him weep.

The first time was just after his brothers came to Egypt seeking food. He recognized them but they didn't recognize him (Genesis 42:8). The first time he met them he spoke roughly to them, imprisoned them for three days and, before sending them on their way, demanded they return with their younger brother. Then he overheard this conversation amongst them (spoken in their native tongue—not the language of the Egyptians - Genesis 42:23):

"Then they said to one another, 'We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.'

And Reuben answered them, saying, 'Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.'” - Genesis 42:21-22.

He realized they hadn't forgotten about him. In fact their treatment of him haunted them and they were feeling guilty. His reaction: "And he turned himself away from them and wept."

Again in today's reading, just before he told his brothers who he was, he "...wept aloud and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it" (Genesis 45:2). He wept again when he met his full brother Benjamin (Genesis 45:14).

But I don't believe these were primarily tears of hurt and pain. For in the years between when his brothers sold him and this time of reuniting, he had worked through the bitterness, self pity, blame etc. Because now instead of scolding his brothers, he put the responsibility of what had happened to him on God: "'So now it was not you who sent me here, but God'" Genesis 45:8.

Oh to have a similarly God-centered view of life that cancels out blaming others and instead interprets all circumstances through the lens of God's sovereignty as Joseph does: "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance" - Genesis 45:7.

As a commentary on this verse in my Bible expresses it:

"Trust in God's sovereign providence. He causes all things to work for your good as you remain faithful to His calling and purpose for you" - R. Russell Bixler,  notes on Genesis, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 74.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your sovereign working in my life. Please help me to view the circumstances of my life (even the difficult, bitter ones) through the glasses of Your providential love. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 14

**********
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.

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.

We're under some pretty special care

Rock hyrax mother and child from Wikipedia

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 104:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "…The stork has her home in the fir trees. The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers." Psalm 104:17-18.

The stork is a large bird that makes a huge nest (it can be over 6 ft. in diameter and 10 ft. in depth). It needs a sturdy tree like a cedar to hold that nest (info from  Stork on  Wikipedia).

Goats have a hoof structure that makes it possible for them to climb to places most animals would never go. Thus wild goats can roam the hills for their food (info from Goat-Antelope on Wikipedia)

The rock badger of this psalm is most likely what we call the rock hyrax. These guinea pig-like rodents live in habitats with rock crevices in groups of ten to eighty, forage as a group, and use sentries—one or more animals to take up positions on vantage points—to warn the group when danger is approaching (info from Rock hyrax on Wikipedia).

In drawing our attention to these creatures the psalm writer gives us examples of what we call God's providence. [The dictionary defines providence as "The care exercised by God over the universe.]

Though the word providence isn't found in the Bible, it is the word that is traditionally used to describe God's continuing relationship to His creation. Wayne Grudem defines providence in his Systematic Theology:

"God is continually involved in all created things in such a way that he 1] keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; 2] cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and 3] directs them to fulfill his purposes" - p. 315"

God's providence doesn't include only to animals but extends to people too. Jesus said: "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" - Matthew 6:26.

In what ways do we experience God's providence? Consider these (condensed from Grudem, pp. 320-321):

• In our daily provision - Matthew 6:11; Philippians 4:19.

• In God's knowledge of and plan for our existence before we ever came into being - Psalm 139:16; Job 14:5; Galatians 1:15.

• Even our minutest actions are performed under His watchful eye and direction: - Acts 17:28; Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 10:24; 16:9.

• He sends success and failure - Psalm 75:6-7; Luke 1:52.

• He gives us our talents and abilities - 1 Corinthians 4:7; Psalm 18:34.

• He influences the decisions of our rulers - Proverbs 21:1; Ezra 6:22.

• He especially guides the desires and inclinations of believers - Philippians 2:13.

Most of the time I take all this for granted. Perhaps you do too? Today, let's pause, consider God's providence, give thanks, and worship.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the extent and detail of Your care for the universe and that it covers every aspect of my life. You are beyond amazing! Amen.

MORE: Good to be Alive by Jason Gray

 

***********

The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Providence meets faith

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 17:41-57

TO CHEW ON: “Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” 1 Samuel 17:49

What are the chances that this youthful armed-only-with-a-sling shepherd would get the best of a 9 foot, 9 inch fully armed warrior? Pretty slim, I’d say. Yet here it happens before our eyes. What’s the explanation?

Surely David was skillful with his primitive weapon, so that’s one thing. However, I believe much bigger forces were at war here as they had been numerous times before in Israel’s history.

Right now our pastor is teaching a Bible study on Judges. There too we see unlikely Israelite victories.

• Judge Ehud managed to get alone with Eglon, King of Moab, kill him with one thrust of his homemade sword, and get well away before the servants discovered the deed—a catalyst to Israel’s victory over Moab (Judges 3:15-30).

• Tentwife Jael invited fleeing army general Sisera into her tent and, after he fell asleep,  killed him by driving a tent peg through his temple - Judges 4:18-24.

• Gideon defeated an army of thousands of Midianites and Amalekites with only 300 men armed with pitchers, torches, and trumpets - Judges 7:16-25.

What’s at work in each of these incidents is people of faith and courage taking action. That faith combined with the providence of God is what led to these stunning victories.

David had zeal for God’s honour (1 Samuel 17:45-47). That zeal combined with his past experience of God’s help (1 Samuel 17:34-36) filled him with courage and faith, so that he took up what was at hand to do battle. But I believe it wasn’t only his skill that felled Goliath that day, but God’s providence that clinched his success.

My challenge from the story of David and Goliath is wrapped up in these snippets from my study notes on Judges:

“We take steps of faith and courage, and trust in the providence of God … Providence continues to be God’s gift to His people. What’s in your hand? As you partner with God, His grace will come on you. Take a risk this week. Believe God to be with you. Your “hand tool” will make a difference” - Derrick Hamre.

PRAYER:  Dear Father, thank You that as I step out in faith with You on my side, I too can win unlikely victories. Amen.

*********
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.

"Carless in the care of God"

Field crocuses - © V. Nesdoly

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 6:16-34

TO CHEW ON: “'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own trouble. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.'” Matthew 6:34

I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly familiar with “worry” that activity defined as: tormenting oneself with or suffering from disturbing thoughts; tormenting with cares, anxieties, etc.

Our passage lists common worry subjects: what to eat, drink, wear. As someone who lives in affluent Canada, I don’t worry much about those things. When our basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter are met, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs illustrates where our worries typically go next—to  security and safety, then belonging and love, then esteem, and finally self-actualization and achieving our full potential.

Whatever level our worries are focused on, Jesus tells us here to STOP worrying. I love how the Message rendering of these Matthew 6 verses directs our focus off our worries and onto Someone else.  I’ve bolded the phrases and words that show us where to look instead.

25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds….

30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes" - Matthew 6:25-26; 33-34 MSG.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to focus on You, Your reality and goodness shown every day in Your provision and care on every level. I want to live carefree in Your care. Amen. 

 *********
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.

Coincidence or providence?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 32:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord." Jeremiah 32:8b

How do we know when an idea, plan, or course of action is not merely our own, but comes from God? In Jeremiah's case it started out as an apparent coincidence. He relates his experience in Jeremiah 32.

His prophecy of the impending Chaldean takeover of Judah had offended king Zedekiah. To punish Jeremiah for saying such negative things and to keep him from spreading them, Zedekiah kept Jeremiah locked up.

One day Jeremiah reported, "The word of the Lord came to me." It's possible that he wasn't sure it was the word of the Lord at first. For this 'word' was the crazy idea that his cousin Hanamel would come to him and ask him to buy a field.

If he believed his own prophecy, buying a field at this time would make no sense, because the Chaldeans would be taking over the land. So perhaps at first he discounted the thought.

However, soon after, Hanamel was there, in the court of the prison, asking Jeremiah to buy that field. It is then he makes the statement: "Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord." These two things — the revelation, followed by its coming to pass — convinced him that God was in this.

Has something similar happened to you? It has to me. For instance while on vacation a while ago, I visited an old friend, with whom I had been out of contact for several years.

She told me that during the cleanup of a basement flood a few weeks earlier, she had come across some writing I had sent her years earlier. She sat down, read it, and was reminded of our friendship. "So when I got your call," she said, "I wasn't even that surprised."

I didn't get any prophetic meaning from my friend's advance notice of my visit, like Jeremiah did over the buying of his cousin's field (Jeremiah 32:13-15). But I did interpret it as God's little message to me, saying — See, I know about this visit. I even set it up by giving your friend this little hint you were coming. I am in such things.

Let's not be hesitant to interpret seeming coincidences as God's providence. Then let's proceed with confidence, knowing that He is in even the mundane details of our days.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to see and recognize Your activity in my life. Amen.

MORE: Bible Coincidences

Here are some of my favourite Bible incidents that (I'm sure you would agree) are more than coincidental:

1. Abraham's servant, given the job of finding Isaac a wife, journeyed to the country of Abraham's relatives. The first girl he met was Rebekah. She offered to water his camels just after he prayed that the right girl for Isaac will do just that. (Genesis 24:1-26).

2. The Shunamite woman, whose son Elisha had raised from the dead, moved to Philistia for seven years during a famine. When she and her family returned, she went to the king to ask to have her land restored to her. It just so happened that the king was quizzing Gehazi, Elisha's servant, about the miracles Elisha had performed and Gehazi had told the king about Elisha raising the Shunaminte's son from the dead just before she was ushered in to see the king (1 Kings 8:1-6). Of course she got her land back.

3. King Ahaseurus of Persia discovered the account of Mordecai saving his life on the very night that Haman was in the palace intending to ask permission to have Mordecai killed on the gallows he had built (Esther 6).

Can you think of more?

*********
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.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

More good trouble

s

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 107:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord." Psalm 107:43

If ever there is a trouble that will cause us to cry out to God, it's one that has us hanging off the cliff edge of disaster. That's the scene of the first vignette of our reading today (Psalm 107:23-30). A seagoing businessman is carrying out his routine duties when along comes a storm that "melts his soul" and has the crew staggering like drunk men. At their wits' end, the sailors call on God, who calms the sea, allowing them to reach them to port.

Have you ever been there—at an emergency place where, unless something changes, unless God intervenes, something terrible will happen? Potential disaster whatever form that takes in our lives, can be a good thing when it draws us to God.

Trouble in the land is another goad that God may use to draw our attention to Him. Whether we are facing problems caused by the forces of nature or bad government, the psalmist reassures us God is big enough to help. He can change the course of nature (Psalm 107:33-35) and is not stymied by any ruler (Psalm 107:39-41).

Yesterday and today we've noted how God uses a variety of problems to drive us to Himself:

• Loss and homelessness (Psalm 107:2-7).

• Rebellion (Psalm 107:10-14)

• Our own foolishness (Psalm 107:17-20).

• Impending disaster (Psalm 107:23-30).

• Trouble in the land (Psalm 107:33-41).

Whatever trouble we're in today, whether it's of our own making or through the actions of others, let's prove our wisdom by going to God in it and looking for His lovingkindness to us through it.


PRAYER: Dear God, I pray that trouble will only draw me closer to You. Please remind me to seek You in it before I panic and go somewhere else to find help. Amen.

********
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 mystery of pain

"Job and his False Friends" - Jean Fouquet (1420-1477/81)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 33:1-30

TO CHEW ON: " ' Behold God works all these things.' " - Job 33:29

It's fascinating to note that in this book that may date back to the time of Abraham (its date and authorship are uncertain), Job and his friends are wrestling with the question "Why does bad stuff happen to us?" in much the same way we do today.

In our reading Elihu, a young man, speaks up after Job's three older friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have had their say and Job has answered them. Elihu gives his thoughts on why we suffer. Some of his points:

• We may never know. God isn't obliged to tell us - Job 33:13.

• "God may speak in one way or in another …. In order to turn man from his deed..." - Job 33:14-17. Elihu mentions some means God may use, like dreams and visions, to deliver His message.

• These divine communications are meant, in the end, to discipline and humble us. Sometimes, unbeknownst to us, they keep us out of harm's way - Job 33:17-18.

• Pain and illness chasten us and drive us to God - Job 33:19-24.

• God heals in response to prayer - Job 33:24-26.

•  Confession of sin is part of returning to God, in order that we may be saved from an even greater disaster - Job 33:26-28.

All these many years later, we, like Job and his peers, continue to question and seek for answers to pain, sickness, natural disasters, accidents, etc. And like these ancients, we still come to the conclusion that these things are a mystery; we don't understand.

But we can content ourselves with one thing: "God works all these things." Let that fact about the God, who has said about His people: "Behold I have loved you with an everlasting love…" (Jeremiah 31:3), be enough.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to trust Your love and good intentions toward me when I think I understand what You are allowing in my life, and when I don't. Amen.

 *********
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.

Staring down temptation

"Temptation" 
by Alexandre Bida, 1874.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 4:1-11


TO CHEW ON: "But He answered and said, 'It is written Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

What a chilling situation Jesus found Himself in: "...led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Then, after a 40-day fast, in a weakened state and without the fortification of a full belly, the devil confronted Him at His point of greatest vulnerability—physical hunger.

Jesus fended off Satan with Scripture. How did He do it? The Scripture He used was from Deuteronomy 8, where Moses was interpreting the desert experience to the Israelites. Notice that Moses was also talking in the context of physical hunger:

"So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" - Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV.

Jerry Bridges in his book Trusting God Even When Life Hurts comments on this passage:

"The 'word' in this passage is not the word of Scripture but the word of God's providence. God wanted to teach the Israelites that they were dependent upon Him for their daily bread. He did this, not by incorporating this truth into the law of Moses but by bringing adversity in the form of hunger into their lives..." (Kindle Location 1831).

Interestingly, the NASB translation bears this out. It renders Deuteronomy 8:3: "...man does not live by bread alone but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

So Jesus was reminding Satan (when Satan implied that as the Son of God, He shouldn't have to endure hunger - vs. 3) that God can be trusted even in the providences He sends.

In regard to the use of Scripture to fend off temptation, the word Jesus used for 'word' is rhema. A sidebar article in my Bible explains about the two words used for the Word of God: rhema and logos:

["Rhema is "That which is said or spoken, an utterance, in contrast to logos which is the expression of a thought, a message, a discourse. Logos is the message, rhema is the communication of the message. In reference to the Bible, logos is the Bible in its entirety; rhema is a verse from the Bible. The meaning of rhema in distinction to logos is illustrated in Ephesians 6:17 where the reference is not to the Scriptures as a whole, but to that portion which the believer wields as a sword in the time of need" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1294-5.]

It seems Jesus was essentially saying two things to counter Satan's temptation to provide for His own hunger:

• By quoting Scripture He was saying that Scripture was/is the final authority on the way things are.
• By quoting the Deuteronomy passage, He let Satan know that He lived secure in God's providence, where there was no room for self-pity and an insistence on His rights.

We can follow Jesus' example when we encounter temptation. We can have a teachable attitude in our circumstances, letting them drive us to God (instead of giving way to complaining, self-pity, or an insistence on our rights). We can also cut those temptations down to size with words from the Bible that are appropriate to the specific temptation.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have Jesus' presence-of-mind when I meet with temptation. Help me to be spiritually astute enough to know what's going on and to withstand temptation using Your example of trust and thrust. Amen.


MORE: On temptation

"Do not forecast where the temptation will come, it is the least likely thing that is the peril....Do not be morbidly introspective, looking forward with dread, but keep alert; keep your memory bright before God." 
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, April 19th reading.

**********
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 NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®,Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Is God in the storm?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 29:1-11

TO CHEW ON: “The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,

And the Lord sits as King forever.

The Lord will give strength to His people;

The Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:10-11

If you have ever been inconvenienced or endangered by a storm, fire, earthquake or other natural disaster, you’ll know it can be a terrifying, life-changing event. Who can forget the devastation of the Boxing Day Tsunami of December 2004 when entire seaside villages were swept away and whole nations traumatized, the Haiti earthquake of 2010, or the tornadoes that struck parts of the United States in November, 2013?

These kinds of disasters happen every day somewhere on earth. So how can the psalmist David say, at the end of a recitation of times the “voice of the Lord” breaks through with devastation, “The Lord will bless His people with peace”?

Some things being blessed with peace in the face of natural disasters doesn’t mean:
- That those who love God will be spared these “acts of God.”
- That such events, when they hit us, won’t cause physical and emotional pain. Look at Job. After news of one calamitous event after another climaxed by the death of all of his children in a wind storm, he tore his robe and shaved his head – signs of extreme grief (Job 1:13-22).

One of the things it does mean is that even in our tragedy, God will stand with us, helping us cope and put together the pieces of our lives again. It’s all part of the process of maturing us for the destiny He has planned for us (Ephesians 2:10; Romans 8:28-29, 35-36). And should it mean that the worst that could happen does, and He takes my life or yours, then our earthly assignment is done and our heavenly one can begin!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for Your perspective on the disasters of nature. Whether it’s a storm that simply knocks out electricity for a few hours, or a flood, earthquake, or fire that takes my home or my loved one’s life, please give me Your peace. Amen.

MORE: If God allows weather which devastates and destroys homes and lives, though He has the power to stop it, isn’t He then the author of evil? It’s a question that has troubled thinkers for a very long time. That’s one of the questions author Mike Mason grapples with in his children’s fantasy The Blue Umbrella – (link goes to my review of the book, which I recommend as a good read).

Will you trust in 2012?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" - Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

In the last little while I have been reading A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider. The book (an anthology of writings by members of the The Word Guild) contains many first-person stories of difficulty, crisis, and just plain hard stuff.

One woman's three-year-old son dies unexpectedly just after being given a clean bill of health for a chronic illness. A mom of young kids gets a diagnosis of liver cancer. A businesswoman suffers a stroke at age 36. Another mom's 22-year-old son leaves home and hasn't been heard from since. So much pain! How can the wise man possibly say, "He has made everything beautiful..."?

Yet even in all the pain of these stories, each teller does come out with something beautiful. For example, the mother who loses her three-year-old says, "Not everyone loses a child, but at some point in our lives, most of us face something that devastates us ... We will grieve but we don't have to endure a life of continuous sorrow. 'God is close to the broken-hearted and He rescues those of us who are crushed in spirit' - Psalm 34:18. I don't know how He does it, but I've experienced it for myself" - Evangeline Inman, "Live Life to the Full," A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider, p. 63.

We know we too will face a variety of things in the year ahead. We anticipate the good stuff—babies being born, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, vacations. However, chances are good 2012 will also hold some hard stuff—storms, accidents, illnesses, deaths... Will we continue to trust God, and believe that He knows what He's doing when He allows these into our lives?

The old Bible commenter explains it well:

"God has made everything, as all things in creation are made by Him, for His pleasure and glory, and all well and wise. There is a beauty in them all. So all things in providence. He upholds all things. He governs and orders all things according to the counsel of His will .... Times of plucking up and breaking down, of weeping and mourning, of losing and casting away are all necessary and seasonable and beautiful .... All His judgments will be, when made manifest ... like a piece of tapestry. When only viewed in parts no beauty appears in it. But when all is put together it is most beautiful and harmonious" - Excerpts from Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible on Ecclesiastes 3:11 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to trust You implicitly as You oversee the weaving of my life's tapestry in 2012. Amen.

MORE: "Do I Trust You Lord?" by Twila Paris




Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The liturgy for this day begins with this collect:

"Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen."

God's serendipities

"Jacob and Rachel" by Rabbi Karo

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 29:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "Then he said to them, 'Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?' And they said, 'We know him.' So he said to them, 'Is he well?' And they said, 'He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.'" Genesis 29:5-6

The first people Jacob meets when he arrives in the land of his mother's people are acquainted with his uncle Laban. And how providential, that as he is speaking with them, who should arrive on the scene but that uncle's daughter Rachel shepherding her flock of sheep — the same Rachel who wins Jacob's heart and later becomes his wife.

This story reminds me of other serendipitous encounters — like the one of Abraham's servant finding a wife for Isaac. There the servant goes to the community well at the time the women come to draw water and prays specifically that God will identify the right girl for Isaac by having her offer to water his camels when he asks for a drink for himself. Before he finishes uttering the words, along comes Rebekah. Read what happens in Genesis 24:15-21.

And then there's that amazing 'coincidence' of the Shunamite woman (the one whose son Elisha raised from the dead). On Elisha's advice she leaves the country to survive a famine. When she returns, it appears she finds squatters on her land, for she goes to the king to request her land back. She enters the palace at the exact time that the king is interviewing Gehazi (Elisha's servant) about Elisha's miracles. In fact, Gehazi has just told him about Elisha raising the Shunamite woman's son from the dead when she arrives on the scene. Of course she gets her land back - 2 Kings 8:1-6.

These stories show that God is in not only the big events of our lives but in the steps that lead to them. Each one of our steps may not be as weightily significant as these three incidents, but let's be alert to God working in the details — the chance meetings, the answers to prayer, the divine serendipities.

We can say with David:

"Show me your ways, O Lord....On you I wait all the day (Psalm 25:4,5)


"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord...My times are in Your hand (Psalm 31:14-15).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be alert to Your ordering of the details of my life and to trust Your wisdom in these things. Amen.


MORE: Forgetting

Is God in the seemingly late or missed appointments too? Take forgetting. A few weeks ago my husband and I were in the midst of applying for passports and both of us needed the signature of a guarantor. When friends invited us over for coffee, we asked whether they would act as our guarantors. They willingly said they would. However, on the day of the coffee date, both hubby and I forgot all our forms and documentation at home!

Is God is such memory blips? If He is in the meetings, surely He is in the missings too! I have no idea why we forgot our forms that day, but someday I'm sure we'll see the whole picture.

God-ordered steps

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 37:21-40

TO CHEW ON: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

And He delights in his way.

...The law of His God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slip." Psalm 37:23, 31

I love to walk and try to get out for a walk almost every day. All my walking has shown me that I prefer some surfaces to others. I'd take a predictable concrete, asphalt or packed gravel path over an icy, muddy or tree-root-ridged one any day.

Our focus verses today use walking as a metaphor for life. Specifically, they talk about the very smallest parts of the walking motion — the steps. In walking, steps are the movements we need to make to get from here to there. In life, the steps would be the smallest increments of time, the moment-to-moment. David, makes some wonderful claims about God's involvement in our steps or moments:

• "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord," or as the Amplified Bible puts it: "...directed and established of the Lord." In other words, He does more than look on or stand back to observe how we're doing. He plays an active role in orchestrating the smallest details.

• "He delights in his way..." ("... He busies Himself with his every step" - Amplified). I imagine God like a proud parent watching me take my first tottering steps of faith, cheering me on as I learn to stride, jog, and run, keeping me from a total face-plant as He hangs onto my hand when I stumble ("Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him [her] with His hand" vs. 24).  

• "The law of his God is in his heart / His steps do not slip." Verse 31 carries on with the step imagery, cluing us in to our part. It is to make sure that we who are doing the stepping know God's principles and have them engraved on our hearts to the extent that we are on God's frequency, tuned in and moving sure-footed to His rhythms. If we don't we are in danger of finding ourselves on treacherous, unpredictable footing. Our steps may slip.

Do you believe this? Do I? It's easy to say "yes," when circumstances mesh in wonderful humanly unexplainable 'coincidences.' But what about when I break my molar on a popcorn kernel, like I did over Christmas, or forget to take something I had promised to bring back with me from our holidays? Is God even in what feel like missteps? Knowing He is puts a whole new spin on what I consider to be trouble!

PRAYER: Dear God, I am both amazed and comforted that You concern Yourself, delight in, and are busy with my every moment. Help me to be a student of Your ways so that I will walk sure-footed with You. Amen

MORE: What's wrong with this statement?

"Pray for Luck


I landed my first book deal because a publisher was looking to expand into new topics — and I matched their needs perfectly at the time. By the time we were working on our next project together, their needs had shifted once again.


This time I found myself outside of their plans.


You can't underestimate the importance of timing and luck in the writing business..."

This is a quote from a book (which I will leave unnamed) about the writing business. What surprises me is that the author, who seems to credit "luck" with an inordinate amount of power, is a theologian and the book "which matched their needs perfectly" is a book about theology!

However, I ask myself, don't I often live as if my circumstances were orchestrated by a capricious, impersonal force? How much better to remind myself that a sovereign and loving God, and not luck, is ordering all my steps.

"Doubting nothing"

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 11:1-18

TO CHEW ON: “‘Then the Spirit told me to go with them doubting nothing.’” Acts 11:12

“In my lifetime I have had certain, if few, remarkable instances of the presence of God,” writes David Adams Richards in his book God Is.: My Search for Faith in a Secular World. “From my very earliest days, I recognized this presence now and again…These instances most often came in ways I least expected from the time I was a child.” (God Is. David Adams Richards, Location 732 – Kindle Version)

He goes on to relate incident after incident where happenings from his life spoke to him of divine providence with events dovetailing in amazing ways. As a youth he was in a high speed car crash but escaped without a scratch while a school buddy was killed in a freakish traffic mishap going a mere 30 miles per hour. He came across a gift he had meant to give his dying mother 20 years to the day after her death. A stray paper poking from between books on his shelf turned out to be a photograph. It was a picture of a little girl and her mother – the girl he and his wife helped look after when her immigrant mother discovered she had brain cancer. In the picture, the mother, whose cancer had just been discovered, was still beautiful. He found it years after the mother’s death, but only an hour before the girl, her father and grandmother were to arrive to visit (they had moved back to Europe).

In our reading today Peter, when called to task by the Jerusalem apostles over eating with an uncircumcised Gentile (Cornelius) had exactly such a miraculous “coincidence” to relate. His vivid vision, followed by Cornelius’s servants at the door, and the readiness of Cornelius and his family to hear what Peter had to say convinced the apostles that this new development was actually a God-thing: “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God saying ‘then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life’” vs. 18.

Have you had such evidences of God in your life? I have. For example, I often find that things I read or hear relate directly to something I am writing. I will find a quote that catches my eye in a book or internet article and the next day that very idea presents itself in the Bible reading for this devotional or some other piece I’m writing. Let’s watch for the many ways God tells us, “I am here – right beside you, going with you through this day.” Let’s gratefully accept the signs of His presence “doubting nothing.”

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank you for these little assurances of Your presence. Help me to be alert to them, and acknowledge You in them today. Amen.

MORE: David Adams Richards is an award-winning but new-to-me Canadian writer. He is most known for his fiction. His writing, which has been compared to that of William Faulkner, has won many awards (Governor General’s, Giller Prize). He makes his home in Toronto and the Miramachi area of New Brunswick.

Links to articles about God Is.

"Canada's literary community gets religion all wrong" by David Adams Richards - excerpts from God Is.

"'Who's 'conformist?' David Adams Richards on atheists" by Douglas Todd - Vancouver Sun

"AUTHOR DAVID ADAMS RICHARDS TO DISCUSS GOD IS: MY SEARCH FOR FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD IN AN ON-STAGE INTERVIEW WITH MARK TUNNEY" from News @ UNB

"Author finds God is in the details" by Stuart Laidlaw

************************

I purchased God Is. Kindle version, through Amazon.com. Clicking on the title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate pages.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.