Faithful

A faithful eagle pair guard nest and young

TODAY’S SPECIAL:  Ezekiel 19-21; Psalm 36

TO CHEW ON: “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” Psalm 36:5
 

Faithfulness. It’s a quality as old fashioned as afghans made by grandmas – and just as comforting. Faithfulness isn’t particularly trendy or sexy. In fact it’s unfaithfulness that contributes to the Hollywood mystique and puts our society’s heroes and stars on ET.

God, on the other hand, is faithful. What does that mean?

Faithful is from emunah (eh-moo-nah) which means firmness, stability, faithfulness, fidelity, conscientiousness, steadiness, certainty, that which is permanent, enduring, steadfast. The word “Amen” (It is firmly, truly so) comes from the same root.


This psalm details some of the ways God is faithful:
- He preserves man and beast.
- He shows lovingkindness.
- He is trustworthy and provides security.
- He provides abundantly and His provisions satisfy physically, emotionally and spiritually.
- His ways are ways of life and light.

 How has God been faithful to you? Can you see His hand maneuvering your circumstances, bringing things together in wonderful little seeming-coincidences?

Or perhaps there are times in your life when (on the surface at least) God has appeared unfaithful? If you look closely, can you see evidences of His faithfulness below the surface, or working in the background of even dreadful situations?

PRAYER: Dear God, I thank You for Your faithfulness. Help me to see evidences of that faithfulness even in times when I feel forsaken. Help me to take the knowledge and experience of Your faithfulness through this year. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 36

MORE: When I think of God’s faithfulness, I think of the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Here is a little background to that song:

“The author of this hymn, Thomas Obediah Chisholm, was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. At age 16, he began teaching school, despite the paucity of his own education. He came to Christ at age 27 under the ministry of evangelist H. C. Morrison. But Chisholm’s health was unstable, and he alternated between bouts of illness and gainful employment in which he did everything from journalism to insurance to evangelistic work. Through all the ups and downs he discovered new blessings from God every morning. The third chapter of Lamentations 3 became precious to him: “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

- From Then Sings My Soul – Hymn Stories by Robert J. Morgan – p. 285, emphasis mine.

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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.

Your Source hasn’t changed

"The Gathering of the Manna"

by James Tissot 1896-1900

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 5-8; Psalm 66

TO CHEW ON: “Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:12

Imagine that first morning of going out to collect manna as usual and finding – none! What God had provided every morning six days a week for forty years stopped as suddenly as it started. I can just see the people looking all around them puzzled, scanning the more distant terrain, and someone asking, “What day is today?” thinking perhaps it was Sabbath after all.

But no, their eyes weren’t playing tricks on them and it wasn’t Sabbath. The miraculous provision of their daily food was over. From now on they would have to work the land for their three squares.

Change. It comes to us all. I wonder if the Israelites welcomed this one. No doubt some of them did, for they had had their moments of complaining about their one-item menu in the past. I’m sure, though, that others looked back on the manna years as the good old days, spoke fondly of their mother’s ingenuity in preparing it and sometimes hankered after just one more taste.

There was one constant in this, though. The One behind the provision was still God. Before He withheld the manna, He made sure there was something to take its place.

Has your current supply of manna stopped? Perhaps you’ve lost your job, or a big client hasn’t renewed a contract. You’re wondering, how will my needs be met?

This is a good time to remember your source. It’s not your boss, or your client, or the company, but God. The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills - who has promised to supply all your need according to His riches . Of course life after your current ‘manna’ may not be quite the same. Your new provision may demand a different kind of effort or a new level of responsibility. Still, God promises to supply what you need.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your presence in my life and for Your provision for me in many ways. Help me to have the flexibility to change when that is required.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 66

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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.

Food from God's kitchen

Gathering Manna - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 16-18

TO CHEW ON: "So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack." Exodus 16:18

Manna was the daily food for the Israelites that came straight from God's kitchen. It was first delivered one morning a-month-and-a-half after they left Egypt and continued for 40 years until they were on the doorstep of Canaan (Exodus 16:1, 35).

In today's reading we're given some lovely details about this food:
- It was on the ground every morning (except for the Sabbath day).
- It was small, round, as fine as frost (Exodus 16:14).
- It tasted like coriander and honey (Exodus 16:31).
- It melted in the heat (Exodus 16:21).
- It could be prepared in various ways. Our passage mentions baking and boiling (Exodus 16:23).
- It was called "manna" (literally "what?" Exodus 16:31) , referred to as "bread (Exodus 16:15, 22, 29), and compared to "wafers (Exodus 16:31).
- There was always enough for everyone.
- It normally spoiled overnight, smelled bad, and bred worms if saved (Exodus 16:20).
- But the manna gathered on the sixth day for use on the Sabbath kept just fine (Exodus 16:23-24).
- Even more strange, the omer of manna collected as a memorial lasted for years (Exodus 16:33-34).
- Moses and God took obedience to the details of its gathering and use on the Sabbath very seriously (Exodus 16:19-20; 28-29).

Manna is often viewed by scholars and Bible teachers as a symbol of the way God provides for us. My Bible's study notes refer to it this way:

"The food supply comes morning by morning in God's time, according to God's plan. The supply cannot be stored up for future use, except for the Sabbath. It is to be used only as God has specified (vs. 20) a miraculous demonstration of His provision to meet the needs of His people" J. C. Tollett,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 98.

It's a great metaphor for God's  provision in so many ways.

• Like manna, God's provision for us so often comes at the time we need it. (Jesus prayed: "… give us this day our daily bread" - Matthew 6:11).

• His provision is also often just enough for our need. I've heard many stories of people getting money in the mail or as a gift in the precise amount needed.

• But it is also under His command. Like the manna didn't keep the rules of spoilage on the sixth day, God can override the laws of time and space when He wants to, stretching oil and meal (1 Kings 17:8-16), multiplying loaves and fishes (John 6:5-13), adapting the manna He sends to our specific need.

• How we handle God's provision for us may also be a test—as we've seen several times this month. Just to review Moses' explanation of this to the Israelites: "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not" - Deuteronomy 8:2.

- But perhaps the most beautiful comparison of manna as provision comes as we reflect on Jesus and how He is spiritual manna (bread) to us.

•  He is the bread of life (John 6:35,48). He enacted  this when He broke bread with the disciples, telling them:

"Take, eat this is My body" - Mark 14:22.  

He explained what this meant: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world”  John 6:48-51.

• There's even a memorial component. As the manna was kept in remembrance, we too remember and celebrate Jesus, the bread of life, every time we take part in the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your manna provision for me, materially and spiritually. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 22
This Psalm is prophetic of Jesus' death, a reminder of all that His death mentioned above entailed. This psalm contains this verse, that reminds us that the food He gives in this way is available to all:

 "The poor shall eat and be satisfied; 
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD - Psalm 22:26.

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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.

One Shepherd

"Separating Sheep from Goats"
(Matthew 25:32) from
Treasures of the Bible

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 34:16-31

TO CHEW ON: "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My Servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd." Ezekiel 34:23


By Ezekiel's time David had been dead for hundreds of years. So what does Ezekiel mean here, speaking about God's servant David being their shepherd?

Bible students interpret "my servant David" non-literally to mean the promised Saviour or Messiah that would descend from David's line (2 Samuel 23:5; 1 Kings 2:45). It was a line God promised would never end (Psalm 89:3-4).

"This is clearly fulfilled in Jesus Christ" writes Roy Edmund Hayden in my Bible's notes on Ezekiel.

How wonderfully Jesus fulfills this prophecy. When we study His life, ministry, and teaching, we see that He is everything the irresponsible shepherds are not:

• He is compassionate with the helpless - Matthew 9:35.

• He is a seeking shepherd of both flocks—the Jews and Gentiles - Matthew 15:24; John 10:16.

• He knows His sheep - John 10:14-15, 27; Matthew 25:32).

• His sheep know Him and His voice - John 10:3,4, 5, 16, 27.

• He provides for and protects them - John 10:9,28.

• He lays down His life for them - John 10:17,18; Matthew 26:31.

• He is their just judge - Matthew 25:32-46.

Those of us who believe in Jesus all these many centuries later are also part of His flock—a flock made up of peoples from all nations (Ezekiel 34:11-13; John 10:16) and added to over centuries.

Our pastors and leaders are His under-shepherds now (John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:4).

And we look forward to a day when the beautiful scene Ezekiel paints, the peace and security (Ezekiel 34:25), the plenty (Ezekiel 34:26,27,29), and the freedom (Ezekiel 34:27,28) will be realized in real time (Revelation 7:16,17).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your shepherding of people over the centuries. Help me to hear Your voice and follow You through my life till the time I see You face to face. 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.

"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. 

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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.

Who will you put on today?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 13:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." Romans 13:14.

Here Paul sums up for readers two simple (and vast) instructions about living a Christian lifestyle. They are as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

1. "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ…"
The image is of clothing oneself. Clothes serve many purposes. They protect us from the elements. They cover our intimate parts, providing modesty and dignity. They also define us by the styles and fabrics we choose to wear. Paul tells these Roman Christians to dress in Jesus.

• Way back in the Old Testament, Job makes this statement that underlines clothing's protective and defining aspects: "I put on righteousness and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban" - Job 29:14.

• Paul speaks of the rite of baptism as something that initiates that putting on and declares it to the world - Galatians 3:27.

• A mind renewal is also involved. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, describes how they must "…put off … the old man … and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness" - Ephesians 4:17-24. Colossians 3:9 also talks about this renewal.

2. "…make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts."

[Provision - pronoia is forethought, planning, making preparation for, providing for.]

In other words, Paul tells these Christians and us, not to make plans to sin.

• Just don't do it says Peter - 1 Peter 2:11.

• "Walk in the Spirit (another way of describing Step 1 above) and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" - Galatians 5:16.

Two steps that are so simple and yet they involve a lifetime of practice, of putting off and putting on.

Who are you, who am I wearing today? If it's Jesus, let's not be sullying those clothes with plans to sneak into our day some old-clothes thought or habit.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to put on You and to be aware of my sneaky side that still wants to make provision for sinful thoughts and actions. 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.

Go to God first

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 107:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble
And He brings them out of their distresses." Psalm 107:28


"I've talked to God more in the last few days than ever before in my life," I heard a woman say on a news interview. She had just lived through the recent West Virginia flood.

It's not unusual for us to call out to God during disaster. The characters in Psalm 107 certainly do. In the middle of a storm at sea where the waves pitching the boat "… mount up to the heavens," then "… go down again to the depths," the sailors "… are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble" - Psalm 107:23-28.

The writer of Psalm 107 tells of God coming through for the troubled and harassed:

• He gets them out of trouble:

"He brings them out of their distresses
He calms the storm…" - Psalm 107:28,29.

• He guides:

'He guides them to their safe haven" - Psalm 107:30.

• He supplies (even supernaturally):

"He turns a wilderness into pools of water
And dry land into watersprings" - Psalm 107:35.

• He blesses:

"He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly" - Psalm 107:38.

• In fact, He even turns the natural order around for them:

"He pours contempt on princes
And causes them to wander in the wilderness
Yet He sets the poor on high" - Psalm 107:40,41.

The grand conclusion of all this is that God is a God of love and kindness:

"Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of God" - Psalm 107:43.

Whatever trouble we're in, whether it is from a natural disaster, a health crisis, a financial crunch, a storm in the family, the oppression of government, let's let this psalm inspire us to do the thing we often do last, first: Call On God. When he personally demonstrates His lovingkindess to us, perhaps we'll be inspired to pen our own version of Psalm 107.


PRAYER: Dear Father, the cynical side of me says, "This is too simplistic" and "It doesn't always work out so smoothly." So help me to trust Your lovingkindness when I'm in the middle of a crisis and don't see (or understand) Your goodness. Help me to have the simple faith of the writer of Psalm 107. 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.

Coming full-circle

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 1:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. … Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem." Ruth 1:1,19

Today we begin reading the book of Ruth. The story starts with an Israeli man Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. They leave their home town of Bethlehem for Moab because of a famine.

In Moab Elimelech dies, the boys marry Moabite girls, and then the sons die. Naomi is left husbandless, and maleless with only two foreign daughters-in-law to show for her years in Moab. It's not a good position.

She hears the famine is over and decides to return to Bethlehem. But I would guess the decision is not an easy one. She has pretty much nothing to show for the Moabite years.  She is returning "empty" - Ruth 1:21.

The family may have been prominent in Bethlehem for when Naomi returns, not completely empty but with one daughter-in-law, "all the city is excited because of them; and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?'"- Ruth 1:19.

Can't you just hear the subtext? "Have you noticed Naomi's wrinkled face, her grey hair? She looked so good when they left. What happened?"

I can imagine Naomi dreading exactly such a thing. But I believe God is in this. Before He can move her on she has to come full-circle, back to the place where it all started (even though it means temporary humiliation).

I am reminded of at least two other instances where Bible characters are brought full circle.

Moses' return to Mount Horeb  (or Mt. Sinai) proves God's presence is/was with him (Exodus 3:12; 19;  the names Horeb and Sinai are used interchangeably for the same mountain).

Peter's full-circle trip to the Sea of Galilee is a confirmation of his call to leave fishing and follow Jesus (Mark 1:17; John 21:19).

What is God saying to Naomi when He brings her back to Bethlehem? Perhaps that her real provision ("Bethlehem" means "house of bread") and protection (Boaz speaks to Ruth of God bringing her to Israel to live under His wings - Ruth 2:12) are in God's land with His people?


Have you noticed God taking you full-circle? He's done that with me. Whenever He does, let's pay attention. There may just be something we need to hear.



PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that no journey with You is wasted—when even I'm brought back to old starting points. Help me to learn from Your full-circle leading. 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.

Happy Father's Day!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 30:7-33

TO CHEW ON: "This is a generation that curses its father, and does not bless its mother." Proverbs 30:11

I don't think I can recall a TV show or commercial lately where fathers are honoured. The message is more likely to follow along the lines of a certain brand of credit card promotions, where the dud of a father books a flight on air mile points (to his parents' home or a vacation spot) at an inappropriate time because his inferior credit card company has blocked all the good weeks.

What follows is scenes of the family in full sweaty costume celebrating all the year's holidays in the heat of summer, or on the beach besieged by storms, or the tennis court hassled by swarms of bugs. The camera segues to one of the kids who mutters, "Dad needs to get a *Brand xyz* card," followed by him / her looking at the camera and asking, "What's in your wallet?" They're funny, but they do carry the message: Poor dad. He sure is stupid. But his smart kid isn't.

This attitude is not new. In fact it's as old as Jacob deceiving Isaac to get the blessing of the firstborn (Genesis 27).

There are many ways we can dishonour our fathers (and mothers; the Bible usually talks in terms of both parents):

1. By living lives of disobedience, rebellion, stubbornness and sensuality (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

2. By showing lack of respect (Deuteronomy 27:16).

3. By taking sides and promoting dissension and quarreling in the family (Micah 7:6).

4. By failing to provide for them when they are in need and we have the means (Mark 7:11).

The Bible teaching is unequivocal in its stand supporting fathers and parents in general.
1. The command to honour parents is one of the ten, and accompanied with the promise of long life (Deuteronomy 5:16).

2. The child who treats parents disrespectfully is living dangerously (Proverbs 30:17).

3. Robbing parents of what is their due puts children in cahoots with the destroyer (Proverbs 28:24).

4. Children betraying parents is one of the unnatural family behaviors that will typify end times (Matthew 10:21; 2 Timothy 3:2).

The application to us cuts many ways.

If you are a father, you will want to live in a way that earns the commanded respect.

If you are the wife of a father, it's important to refrain from undermining your husband to your children by going behind his back with deceitful, underhanded speech or manipulations like Rebekah did.

If you are a child and your father is still living, you can provide for him (time, attention and respect are provisions as well as financial help if he needs it and living support if he is elderly or failing).

Whether your father is dead or alive, you can focus on the good in him, refusing to dwell on the hurtful actions or lacks that may be a part of your memories.

How will you honour your father today?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for earthly fathers. Thank You for the gift of my dad and his godly example. For those of us who don't have earthly fathers, thank You for promising to be a father to the fatherless. Amen.

MORE: Steve Green sings "Find Us Faithful"

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