Do not fret

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel  22-24; Psalm 37

TO CHEW ON: "Cease from anger and forsake wrath

Do not fret — it only causes harm (it only leads to evildoing - NASB)." Psalm 37:8

So much of our frame of mind and sense of well-being depends on our thoughts. In Psalm 37 David gives us some good thought guidelines. He begins by telling us some thought patterns to shun: anger, wrath, and fretting. In fact, he warns against fretting three times (vs. 1, vs. 7, vs. 8).

"Fret" in Hebrew is charah, a primitive root also translated angry, and kindled. Its English definitions are so telling for our context:
1] to be vexed, annoyed, troubled.
2] to become worn, chafed or corroded.
3] to bite away bit after bit of something with or as with the teeth.
4] to eat through something by or as if by corrosion.
5] to rankle, fester.
6] to become rough or agitated, as water.
Synonyms are irritate, vexation, annoyance, uneasiness.

Do you tend to fret? I know I do. When something troubles me I am like a dog with a bone, biting, chewing, gnawing, then burying but always coming back to uncover my worry so that I can bite, chew and gnaw some more.

David doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves against the negative thoughts  of anger, envy and fretting. Psalm 37 is full of good thought options. We can instead:

"Trust in the Lord" (Psalm 37:3). This is putting the weight of ourselves - our past histories, present circumstances, and future hopes, dreams, expectations, and fears - on God.

"Dwell in the land" (Psalm 37:3). Though not a thought per se, dwelling connotes a rooted, settled, contented existence.

"Delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4). We need to focus on God's good character and gifts to us and not on our lacks as compared to what someone else has.

"Commit your way to the Lord" (Psalm 37:5).  Literally, we roll ourselves and our way onto God. We let God take the wheel of life, not fixated on the route we take but giving Him the right to move us here or there,

"Rest in the Lord" (Psalm 37:7).  We are silent, still, at ease, relaxed.

"...wait patiently" (Psalm 37:7).  We aren't in a hurry to see things completed. We live by God's timetable.

"Cease from anger" (Psalm 37:8). We refrain from, let go of, withdraw from anger. This is something we can do — a willful action on our part.

We don't need to be at the whim of negative thinking. But to avoid the tyranny of our destructive thoughts we need to first recognize, then put the brakes on angry, anxious, fretful ones, and finally replace them with thoughts of trust, contentment, delight, commitment, rest, and patience.

PRAYER: Dear God, in the days ahead, even today I'm sure I'll be tempted to fret. Help me to replace fretting with constructive thoughts of You and Your goodness to me. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 37 

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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.

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.

What vine are you attached to?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16-18; Psalm 35

TO CHEW ON: "Say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Will it thrive?
Will he not pull pull up its roots
Cut off its fruit
And leave it to wither?
All of its leaves will wither,
And no great power or many people
Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots…" ' " Ezekiel 17:10


In this riddle / parable, the vine refers to Zedekiah with whom King Nebuchadnezzar replaces the legitimate King of Judah, Jehoiachin (who he carries away into exile  - Ezekiel 17:4).

Supported by Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, Zedekiah becomes a healthy vine, though humble ("…vine of low stature" - Ezekiel  17:6).

Then another king comes along "…another great eagle with large feathers…"—Egypt (Ezekiel 17:15). So the vine shifts its allegiance bowing to the new power, perhaps hoping to placate any Egyptian attempts to overrun and overpower Judah. But it doesn't work out so well. The new power plunders the vine, then neglects it so that when the "east wind" (interpreted as Nebuchadnezzar and his army) comes along it "utterly withers."

The prophetic meaning of this parable aside, it is also a picture to me of what a difference one's vine-source makes.

Here Zedekiah (the vine) looks to Babylon and then Egypt to sustain his power. His kingdom does well as long as Babylon is benevolent. But Egypt is another story. When he tries to curry favor with the new power, disaster.

I ask, from where does the vine we're attached to, I'm attached to, get its life?  Am I, at the most basic level, depending on God, attached to Jesus, so that when circumstances change in my life, the sap of my supply keeps flowing anyway?

Or am I looking to other things to sustain me—things like my health, my savings, the political peace of my country, the well-being of my family? If the "east wind" blew in my life, when it blows, will  I still be vigorous and fruit-bearing, or withered and easily uprooted?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to be securely attached to You, so that no circumstance will interrupt Your flow of life in me. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 35

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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.

Building with untempered mortar

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 13-15; Psalm 34

TO CHEW ON: “So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 13:14

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18

I read the blog of Rod Dreher (author of The Benedict Option). In a series of posts last week, he reported on accusations of sexual abuse of a teenage boy by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick 50 years ago. Though McCarrick denies that this happened, Dreher uncovers the picadilloes of McCarrick and other priests, actions that have gone on for years and which were widely known (read “Church: Cardinal McCarrick is a  Molester”).

Dreher was investigating allegations of McCarrick’s sexual activity with student priests (adults) as long ago as 2002 but no one would testify “on the record” and so the story went nowhere. The Catholic priest sex scandal drove Dreher to leave the Catholic church years ago in disillusionment.

At the end of another post (“Uncle Ted & the Grand Inquisitor”) Dreher quotes an email he received from a reader about his reporting on these things. It says, in part: “I simply don’t understand your eagerness with this prosecution of McCarrick. … We must protect our brand, our shield, our faith! … In short, we must handle these issues swiftly, legally, but privately. … Image is everything and when it comes to the One True Church we MUST protect her” (emphasis in the original).

The false prophets of Ezekiel’s time would agree that “Image is everything.” But it’s not everything to God. And when the protection of image comes at the price of truth, I would submit that that’s pretty much building a wall or a life with “untempered mortar.”

I ask myself, am I doing that—are you—building a life and reputation on image that’s covering up sin and rottenness?

David, in Psalm 34, tells us how to get back on track with God (the only One to whom our image really matters). It’s with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, by coming clean with tears of “sorry,” then leaving our sinful ways behind.

PRAYER: Dear Father You see everything. I can’t cover anything from You. Help me to build my life with the trusted mortar of truth, not the “untempered mortar” of lies. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 34.

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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.

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.

God is never shocked

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 9-12;  Psalm 33


TO CHEW ON: "The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations ....

From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

He fashions their hearts individually;

He considers all their works." Psalm 33:11, 14,15

On April 28, 2012 three families traveling on the highway between Fort McMurray to Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) were all but wiped out in a head-on collision. In an instant nine (and a half) dwindled to two. Only the three year-old son of Pastor Shannon Wheaton's family and Mark Penny (whose pregnant wife was killed) survived the crash. The three family members in the other vehicle were also killed. (Read about the accident here.)

Why, we ask? To us the shattering of these families makes no sense. Predictable questions rise in our minds:
- Couldn't God have prevented the accident?
- Didn't evil triumph over good here?

In answer to that last question—yes. In one way every time someone dies evil triumphs over good. For death, from whatever cause, is part of the curse that came on earth because of mankind's first choice to defy God and do our own thing, i.e. sin.

But looked at another way, such happenings never shock God. He is aware of each event. He is more than aware. In a way, He planned them (or maybe better said, 'planned for them') in the first place:

"The counsel (that is the whole program for mankind in history) stands forever;/The plans of His heart to all generations" - Psalm 33:11.

Neither is He just a God of the big plan, but He knows each individual:

"...He looks / on all the inhabitants of the earth;/He fashions their hearts individually;/He considers all their works" - Psalm 33:14,15.

If God knows, plans and ok's each event in my life, your life, the Wheaton's and Penney's lives, from the wonderful to the tragic, and He is good, you and I need to keep trusting Him even in the circumstances that seem like they got away from Him for a minute. Because they didn't.

And so we find hope and comfort in the very God who permits tragedy to touch our lives. As Gerry Bridges explains it in Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts:

"All people—believers as well as unbelievers—experience anxiety, frustration, heartache, and disappointment. Some suffer intense physical pain and catastrophic tragedies. But that which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful, and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good" - Jerry Bridges, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts, p. 33.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to trust Your sovereignty and goodness in situations that feel all wrong. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 33

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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 burden of concealment

Achan hides his loot - Artist Unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 5-8; Psalm 32

TO CHEW ON: "When I kept silent my bones grew old through my groaning all day long." Psalm 32:3


David writes Psalm 32 from a place of relief. He had covered a sin, then come clean and confessed it.  He contrasts the way it feels to be holding his secret with the relief of having confessed. Let's take a look at the effects of covering or concealing sin on David - Psalm 32:3,4:

"When I kept silent…

• "…my bones grew old…" - He felt a sense of fragility and weakness.

• "…through my groaning all day long." - He experienced day-long agony of spirit.

• "For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;" - God's presence felt heavy, not comforting.

• "My vitality was turned into the drought of summer" - he felt useless and unproductive, like a plant shrivels and grows weak without water.

A brief overview of others who practiced concealment in the Bible show more side effects of covering sin:

• Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God (Genesis 3:8), though it was and is impossible (Psalm 139:11; Luke 12:2; Revelation 6:16).

• Achan and Gehazi had to sneak around and hide their stolen treasures - Joshua 7:21; 2 Kings 5:24.

• Isaiah talks about permanent deep changes to the person who lives a life of concealment. He calls it becoming "warped" - Isaiah 47:10.

I don't know if you have ever refused to confess a known sin, but I have.  I can witness to how accurate David is in describing what it feels like.

Contrast those feelings with how everything changes for him following his confession:
He feels:

• a desire to be with God again - Psalm 32:6.

• security in God's presence -  Psalm 32:7.

• joy, expressed in singing and shouting - Psalm 32:7, 11.

• direction and purpose - Psalm 32:8.

• gratitude for God's mercy - Psalm 32:10.

If you are holding onto a secret sin thinking you can live like this indefinitely, stop kidding yourself. Expose your secret. Make it right with God and any person involved. Then watch the vitality and joy flow back into your relationship with God and others.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for David's vivid and accurate description of concealment. Help me to live my life clear and transparent before you and others. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 32

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

"Eat this scroll"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 1-4; Psalm 31

TO CHEW ON: "Moreover He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.' ... Moreover He said to me: 'Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.'" Ezekiel 3:1,10

I love this food/eating metaphor of how we are to relate to God's word. I think of many ways it applies:

• We eat by taking a bite of something.

Similarly we assimilate God's word in small portions.

• We chew our food, mixing it with a part of us (saliva) to make it digestible.

In the same way we think about and meditate on Bible words, mixing them with aspects of our lives to make them our own.

• We swallow food, taking it into our inner beings. In the stomach the assimilation continues, unseen, unfelt but but very real as our bodies change the food  we have eaten into energy, body parts, and fat.

Hopefully God's word gets into us energizing, restoring, and changing us in the same DNA-changing way. As God told Ezekiel, "...receive into your heart all my words..." Ezekiel 3:10.

• Physically we fill our stomachs, eating until our hunger is assuaged. God tells Ezekiel here "...fill your stomach with this scroll..."Ezekiel 3:3.

[Fill - male - means fill, fill up, be full. Male is the source of Hebrew words relating to fullness and fulfillment: filling something to the brim, causing something to be thoroughly saturated... Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 992]

Would this filling imply that there is room for nothing else in Ezekiel's stomach / heart? Maybe part of why we're spiritually malnourished is because we view God's word as a snack or appetizer instead of the main course.

• Of course our appetite and eating is not an end in itself but a means to an end. We eat so we have energy to live, work, and raise families.

Spiritually our eating has a similar purpose. God told Ezekiel, "eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel."  How do we use the spiritual energy we get from Bible study?  Is it just to satisfy ourselves? Or does it fuel testimony, witness, and kingdom work?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to ingest Your words into my life so that my very self is changed. Then help me to use that stored word as the energy for testimony, witness, and work. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 31

The Bible Project VIDEO: Ezekiel - Part 1 (Read Scripture Series)

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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.

Turn back

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Lamentations 4-5; Psalm 30

TO CHEW ON: "Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old." Lamentations 5:21

The bleak book of Lamentations ends on a bright note—the possibility of returning to God.

Stories of repentance (turning back to God) run through the Bible.

• David repented after committing adultery and murder (Psalm 51:1-19).

• Josiah repented when the priests found and read the books of the law (2 Kings 22:11,19).

• The pagan Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:6-9).

• Even evil King Ahab repented after hearing about God's coming judgment from Elijah (1 Kings 21:27).

I love the story of the Prodigal Son and the wording Luke uses to describe his return: "But when he came to himself he said...I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned...'" (Luke 15:17-18).

I'm sure you can remember your own coming to yourself, that moment when you 'repented' (turned, changed direction) from unbelief to faith, self-direction to God-direction. I know I can. I tell my story here (end of "My Rambling Story").

Of course following that one moment of big repentance when life takes a whole different direction, there are hundreds of smaller repentances. Each time we find ourselves again taking control of our lives and letting our old carnal self have the upper hand we can repent, turn back and be restored and renewed.

Jack Hayford says about repentance:

"The implications of biblical repentance are threefold:
1. Renunciation and reversal.
2. Submission and teachability.
3. Continued shapeability.


There is no birth into the kingdom without hearing the call to salvation, renouncing one's sin and turning from sin toward Christ the Saviour (Acts 3:19)" - Jack Hayford, "Repentance," New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1293.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for drawing me back go Yourself. I pray for the prodigals in my life, that You will bring them home in the same way. Amen.

MORE: Praise is Rising by Brenton Brown and Paul Baloche

"Hear the sound of hearts returning to You
We turn to You
In Your kingdom broken lives are renewed;
You make us new..."

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.

Intercession: patriotism at its highest

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Lamentations 3; Psalm 29

TO CHEW ON: "My eyes overflow with rivers of water

For the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes flow and do not cease

Without interruption

Till the Lord from heaven

Looks down and sees." Lamentations 3:48-50

Jeremiah* here shows himself a patriot whose heart breaks when God comes through with threatened judgments against Judah. What a picture of persevering intercession for his nation!

We are reminded of other leaders who prayed for their people.

• Moses interceded for Israel when God threatened to destroy them after the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:30-32), and again when God's anger was hot at their refusal to enter Canaan (Numbers 14:17-19).

• Samuel prayed for the people when they wanted to return to God after a time of backsliding (1 Samuel 7:2-6).

• David interceded for God's mercy on the people after they were inflicted by a plague following his sin of initiating a census (1 Chronicles 21:16-19).

We don't have to be leaders to intercede for our country. Dick Eastman says of the intercessor:

"An intercessor is a man or woman—or child—who fights on behalf of others. As such, intercession is the activity that identifies us most with Christ. To be an intercessor is to be like Jesus because that is what Jesus is like. He ever lives to intercede (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34)!"

Eastman goes on to give four insights that help us understand the role of the intercessor and grasp its impact:

1. We must understand our "privilege" as intercessors. Christ is ever at God's right hand (Romans 8:34 linked above), and from this position He intercedes for the saints continuously. To be at God's right hand is spoken of in the Bible as being a great privilege and pleasure (Psalm 16:11).

2. We must understand our "position" as intercessors. We are energized (Ephesians 2:45), elevated (Ephesians 2:6: "raised... up together"), and enthroned with Christ in intercession (Mark 11:22-24).

3. We must understand our "promise" as intercessors. Our objective is to see God's Kingdom established (Isaiah 11:9).

4. We must understand our "power" as intercessors. See Luke 10:19... "Our Lord is saying that those who move in the direction of involvement and are willing to pay the price of intervention will have all the power necessary to confront demonic forces in their citadels."

— Dick Eastman, summary and quotes from Love on its Knees, pp. 21-25.

What a privilege to be able to serve one's country in this way!

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me the urgency and conviction of interceding for my nation that I see in Moses, Samuel, David and Jeremiah. Amen.

MORE: Intercession's impact

"I am convinced that when we stand before God with the record of spiritual successes and failures, we will learn that intercessory prayer had more to do with bringing about positive changes in our world than any other single spiritual activity." - Dick Eastman, Love On Its Knees, p. 17.


* "The author (of Lamentations) is not named, but traditions long before Christ claim that Jeremiah wrote it"  - Paul B. Watney,  "Introduction to Jeremiah," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1036.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 29

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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.

Suffering and lament

"Jeremiah"  by Julius Schnorr Von Karolsfeld

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Lamentations 1-2; Psalm 28

TO CHEW ON: "Judah has gone into captivity
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations;
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits." Lamentations 1:3

Lamentations is a book of laments. Four of its five poems are acrostics, perhaps the writer Jeremiah's poetic way of exploring his feelings of grief from Aleph to Tau (A to Z).

Jeremiah was mourning the fall of Jerusalem and with it the kingdom of Judah. Second Kings and Second Chronicles tell the story of her moral decline. Despite prophet warnings, the nation has continued downward, perhaps feeling too secure in God's promises of ultimate protection. Finally after a starving siege by the Babylonian army, Jerusalem fell, the city was destroyed, the temple burned, and all but her poorest  citizens marched into exile in Babylon. So Jeremiah weeps.

Some of Lamentation's themes help us understand and deal with our own griefs. (Themes are suggested by the "Introduction to Lamentations" in my Bible, by Roy Edmund Hayden, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, pp. 1037-1038):

1. Their suffering was the result of their sin (Lamentations 1:5, 8, 18, 20).
2. Their suffering was seen as coming from God rather than from men (Lamentations 1:13,15).
3. Their suffering could direct them to God.
4. Suffering, tears, and prayers belong together (Lamentations 1:12, 16, 20).

The reasons we suffer may be different from the reasons Jeremiah and the Israelites suffered. We live under a different covenant where even blatant sinners may not experience punishment for sins until after death (2 Peter 2:4-10). But often we are forced to live the consequences of past actions. And suffering is also allowed to discipline us (Hebrews 12:3-17).

In a personal application part of Lamentation's introduction, R. E. Hayden shares some helpful thoughts about suffering with us:

"We need to submit to what God is doing and attempt to learn from the experience. If it is God's discipline, it will last as long as is necessary. There is no quick-fix solution to some of these problems and no easy way out. Discipline will direct us to God, drive us to prayer, and bring us into submission. We need it" - R. E. Hayden, "Introduction to Lamentations," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1039 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, I hate suffering as much as Jeremiah did. When trouble comes, may it drive me to You. Help me then to learn all the lessons I need to learn. When I am not suffering, help me to be sensitive and comforting to those around me who are. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY:  Psalm 28

The Bible Project VIDEO: Lamentations (Read Scripture Series)

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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.

Abandoned

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 51-52 Psalm 27


TO CHEW ON: "When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me." Psalm 27:10

"Abandoned on a street corner by his mother at the age of 12, Pastor Bill (Wilson) sat and waited for her at that corner for 3 days. She never came back. A Christian layman who was on his way to see his son in the hospital stopped and picked him up. Anybody could have stopped, but it was the Christian man who stopped. After getting him a hot meal, this gentleman paid for Pastor Bill to attend a Sunday School camp, where he gave his life to Christ. This was the start of his incredible walk with God – one that would change thousands of lives..." - Bill Wilson, founder of the Metro World Child organization, a Christian, non-profit organization dedicated to serving inner-city children throughout New York City and various urban centers around the world.

The love and care of one's parents is pretty well a given. We view it to be foundational to growing up as normal, healthy adults. The belief that kids need their parents is behind the current outrage over the children of people crossing the Mexican US border being separated from their parents. Parents are being jailed for crossing the border illegally while the kids are kept in children's centers while their parents' fate is decided ("Separation of parents, kids at US Mexican border" - CBC news)

 How many stories haven't we heard of messed up adults whose problems are attributed to being neglected or abandoned as kids? Does our focus verse today mean that God can counteract such a basic lack in one's life?

I believe it does. Look at the stories of noteworthy Bible characters torn from parental care and love: Joseph, Daniel, Esther, the little Jewish maid of Naaman's wife.

Look at God's heart toward the abandoned as it comes out in other scripture passages:


Exodus 22:22-23:
“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry"

Deuteronomy 10:18
"He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing."


Psalm 10:14
"But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand. 
The helpless commits himself to You; 
You are the helper of the fatherless."

Psalm 68:5
"A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
 Is God in His holy habitation."

Psalm 146:9
"The LORD watches over the stranger
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."

Proverbs 15:25
"The LORD will destroy the house of the proud,
  But He will establish the boundary of the widow."

Jeremiah 49:11 
"Leave your fatherless children,
I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.”

Malachi 3:5
"And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against ... those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the LORD of hosts."

If you have been abandoned, remember that God is for you. He promises to take care of you. He will fill in the physical and emotional holes that your experiences have caused. You can say with confidence:

"When my mother and father (or my spouse, or my children) forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me."

PRAYER: Dear God thank You that You are for the abandoned, neglected, forgotten, bereaved, and passed-over ones. Help me, as Your child, to inherit Your heart of compassion, concern and care for them. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 27

MORE: Covenant House
Covenant House is an organization that houses and takes care of homeless and abandoned youth in cities around North America.

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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.

Walking in integrity

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 49-50; Psalm 26

TO CHEW ON: “But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.” Psalm 26:11


At a book launch I attended recently, one of the speakers told of a time when he was on his city’s council and citizens were speaking to a development proposal. The land considered for development included some church property. The citizen was against any changes as he and others used the land as a parking lot for a nearby sports field. “Leave it in the hands of the church that does nothing,” he said.

That is how many in our society feel about the church. They see it as irrelevant, an organization that does little more than criticize, whine, make unreasonable demands, but accomplishes nothing constructive.

The book that was launched yesterday was The Church in Surrey and White Rock: The Untold Story (Edited by Neil Bramble, Lloyd Mackey and John Redekop). It shows how the church has done and is doing much in White Rock and Surrey (B.C.’s second-largest city). Chapters on the church’s involvement with the needy, seniors, health care, education, refugees, business, the arts, and politics illustrate how integral the church can be and has been. Churches in the area have developed feeding centres, sponsored refugees, built schools and seniors’ facilities, nurtured educators, business people, and politicians… the list goes on.

Thankfully more than one community leader in attendance acknowledged the way the church and its members not only do a lot of good stuff but also affect the morals and ethics of the community.

I’m sure any community that examined the church’s involvement within it would find something similar. And so in this time when many around us believe the Christian faith and the church that represents it is irrelevant, let’s continue to demonstrate by our acts and our attitudes that this is not so. David’s simple resolve expressed in Psalm 26:11 is a good motto for us to live by in this time: “But as for us, we will walk in our integrity.”

PRAYER: Dear Father, no matter how the Christian faith is attacked and maligned, help me to walk in integrity (adherence to moral and ethical principles, in honesty) before my generation. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 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.

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.

Learn to wait

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 45-48;  Psalm 25

TO CHEW ON: "'Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day." - Psalm 25:4,5

Are you good at waiting? I confess I'm not. From a child the importance of being prompt has been drummed into me. I like meetings to start on time. I am rarely late for anything. But God is—or so it seems.

In our reading today, David talks about waiting. He uses the word wait (qavah) twice in reference to his relationship with God: "On You I wait all the day" and "….I wait for you" - Psalm 25:5,21.

There's a subtle difference between saying we wait on God and we wait for Him. Really, though, it's two sides of the same coin. Waiting for Him could imply that we're waiting for Him to arrive. Of course He is present everywhere all the time, so the absence (lack of presence) we feel is due to our faulty perception.

Waiting on Him implies that He's here, with us, but we need Him to show His hand, to act, to come through for us in some way.

In our reading it seems the psalmist David is waiting on God for enlightenment about how to live and for His endorsement of David's trust,  integrity and uprightness of action (or perhaps lack of action).

Other passages illustrate more riches available to those who wait on God:

• Courage - Psalm 27:14

• Inheritance - Psalm 37:9

• Defense - Psalm 59:9

• Salvation - Psalm 62:1

• Mercy and Justice - Psalm 123:2; Hosea 12:6.

• Vindication - Proverbs 20:22

• Hope - Isaiah 8:17

• Strength - Isaiah 40:31

An article about waiting in my Bible adds even more perspective:

"To wait upon the Lord is to foster a sensitivity both to His presence and His promptings which quiets our hearts, focuses our minds through thanksgiving and praise, and allows Him to reveal any subtle attitudes or forgotten sins that would dull our sensitivity to His voice (Psalm 66:18). Accept the NT call to fasten the belt of your mind (1 Peter 1:13), meditate on God's Word, and respond with focused worship. Dedicate times alone with God for waiting and for interaction with Him" Steven Fry, "The Discipline of Waiting," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 704.

PRAYER: Dear God, I am so easily impatient. Help me to learn the discipline of waiting for You and on You so I don't mess up and confuse situations with my impulsive actions. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 25

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

Enter Yahweh Sabbaoth, LORD of hosts

Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 40-44;  Psalm 24

TO CHEW ON: Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory."  Psalm 24:10

Imagine the scene. While the congregation waits inside, the King and His procession make their way to the gates. Those with Him call out to arouse the gatekeeper:

"Lift up your heads, O you gates! 

And be lifted up you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in."

The gatekeeper responds:

"Who is this King of glory?"

The answer rings from the procession:

"The LORD strong and mighty

The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

Lift up you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in."

Gatekeeper: "Who is this king of glory?"

Procession:

"The LORD of hosts

He is the king of glory."

(I think they let Him in.)

"The LORD of hosts" in Hebrew is Yahweh Sabbaoth. He is the Lord of:

• The angelic heavenly hosts such as we see in Luke 2:13.

• The army of Israel—the captain of which Joshua met before the assault against Jericho - Joshua 5:14.

• The hosts of nations - Jeremiah 3:19.

• Everything in heaven and earth "…all the host of them" - Genesis 2:1.

Have we opened the gates of our lives to Him (Revelation 3:20)? Have we willingly made Him our Lord—the One to whom we give our loyalty, obedience and worship? If we haven't let's do it now, when we can do it by our own choice and have the rest of our lives to serve Him. For we will bow before Him as Lord someday in any case (Philippians 2:9-10; Revelation 19:11-16).


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this glimpse of You as King. Help me to lift You up as the LORD Sabbaoth of my life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 24

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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.

Living out our trust in God

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 37-39; Psalm 23

TO CHEW ON: “‘For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,’ says the LORD.” Jeremiah 39:18

The words of our focus verse were given to Jeremiah for Ebed Melech. In all the palace intrigue we find in Jeremiah 37-39, this African eunuch and servant of King Zedekiah was sympathetic to Jeremiah. When the king’s princes threw him into a dungeon of muddy quicksand, Ebed Melech went to Zedekiah and begged for Jeremiah’s life.

The king allowed him to rescue Jeremiah. He with others made ropes from rags and pulled him from the miry pit.

Then Nebuchadnezzar conquered the city just as Jeremiah had predicted (the predictions and his advice that the king should surrender that got him into so much trouble with the king and his princes). All that Jeremiah had prophesied, about how the king would be treated and the city burned if they did not surrender, came true.

But God did not forget Ebed Melech, the man who trusted in Him and lived out that trust by standing up for Jeremiah. God gave him his life “as a prize.”

I am writing this on the day that the Supreme Court has announced their decision to deny Trinity Western University the right to have a law school—a decision that will impact religious freedom in Canada in many other areas as well. In the days ahead it will become increasingly unpopular and politically incorrect to hold biblically based views on morality and lifestyle. We may encounter persecution.

I take encouragement from God’s remembrance of this servant who trusted Him and lived out that trust by supporting unpopular Jeremiah. Let us likewise continue doing things that are right and supporting and helping God’s servants, no matter how unpopular their biblically based message and stance.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to trust You and live out my trust when such trust is culturally popular and also when it’s not.  Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 23

MORE: An article that explains the impact of the Supreme Court decision to the church and Canadian society: "The Supreme Court Now Decides that Faith is Banned from Canada's Public Spaces" - 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.

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.

Tap into God's mysteries

Image from Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 33-36; Psalm 22

TO CHEW ON: " 'Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.' " Jeremiah 33:3

Everywhere around us there is change in the air.

• In Canada regular elections mean that we frequently have changes in leadership with changes in leadership philosophy, from left to right or right to left policies. 

• Popular science insists that the recent increase of world temperature and the severity of weather events (storms, droughts, floods) are the result of human activity. As a result we are being pressured to change our ways and lifestyles in order to slow this "man-made global warming."

• Strange diseases and strains of infection resistant to medicine are appearing and wiping out thousands.

• Radical groups are terorizing whole nations. In the last years we've seen streams of refugees emptying out of countries in the Middle East and Africa.

In the middle of this uncertainty and flux, God's words to Jeremiah here come as a welcome invitation to us. Two words in Jeremiah 33:3 stand out:

"Call to Me and I will answer you…"

["Call (qara) means to call out, to cry out, to address, shout or speak to someone. It is often a loud cry meant to get someone's attention. It can also mean to call something by its name (as God named light and darkness - Genesis 1:5) or name places, holidays or children (Genesis 29:35) - from "Word Wealth" by Dick Mills - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1006.]

God invites us to call on Him!

"… and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."

["Mighty (batsar) could also be translated "secrets," "mysteries," or "inaccessible things."] 

God is telling Jeremiah that He will give him privileged information, showing him things that, without God's revelation, would be hidden from him.

The sidebar article in my Bible that introduced me to this thought concludes:  

"Such 'revelational insight' has always been essential for a clear understanding of victorious spiritual warfare. One cannot pray effectively without insight into how to pray as well as into what things God truly longs for us to seek after in prayer" - Dick Eastman, "Divine Revelation and Spiritual Warfare" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1007.

I love these thoughts for myself and all of us during our times of change, upheaval and uncertainty.

• God invites us to call on Him.

• He promises to show us things that only He knows, to give understanding about our times so we will know how to pray and live.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the invitation to call on You. Help me to make a habit of doing this first when I encounter things I don't understand. Please give me ears to hear Your "great and mighty things" answers and the faith to live by them. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 22

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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.

Together again

"Prodigal Son" - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 30-32; Psalm 21

TO CHEW ON: "Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice."  Jeremiah 31:4

A family feud, a rift between you and an old friend, a church split, a betrayal by a business partner… Most of us have experienced the severing of a trusted relationship and know its fallout of sadness, disillusionment and the ache of an empty place at the table, empty pews in church, the empty office.

Israel and Judah had split into two nations during the reign of Solomon's son Rehoboam. That was about 300 years before Jeremiah's time. Though the crisis pain of that split had no doubt long healed, the desire that the two nations of God's chosen people be reunited lingered. In today's reading we hear it in Jeremiah's prediction of  together again: "I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall all be my people" - Jeremiah 31:1.

Let's look at the bright picture Jeremiah paints of that reuniting:

This is a worldwide ingathering "I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth…" Jeremiah 31:8, 10.

There is repentance and renewed spiritual sensitivity: "They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them" - Jeremiah 31:9.

There is celebration, singing and dancing - "You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice …. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old together;  For I will turn their mourning to joy…" Jeremiah 31:4,13.

There is vibrant praise and worship - " ' Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise and say, "O Lord, save Your people…" ' "  Jeremiah 31:7.

There is hope: "Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt" - Jeremiah 31:4.

There is new life and productivity - "You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria …. Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden…" Jeremiah 31:5, 12.

Over it all there is a sense of God's love, protection, and care - "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you … He who scattered Israel will gather him, and Keep him as a shepherd does his flock … And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness says the Lord" - Jeremiah 31:3, 10-11,14.

The picture of God reclaiming His people Israel can be compared to what it's like when He brings humanity back to Himself, healing the rift that split us and God apart when Adam and Eve sinned.

He brings us from wherever we are and accepts us no matter what our condition. Our tears of repentance and renewed spiritual sensitivity soon change to joy, singing, celebration, praise, and worship as we realize our happy condition. Our relationship with our Creator leads to renewed life and creativity. In the Shepherd's care we find security and satisfaction.

If you haven't come home to the Father, He calls to you today: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindess I have drawn you…"

Come to Him today!.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for wanting me back and making a way. Help me today to appreciate and enjoy the benefits of being Your child. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 21

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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.

A bright future

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 26-29; Psalm 20


TO CHEW ON: "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
If you've been around church or Christians for a while, you've probably heard someone quote the verse above. Perhaps you've read or recited it to yourself, maybe in a time you felt confused, directionless, or discouraged for some reason.

It is interesting to come across it in context. We discover these words are part of a letter Jeremiah wrote to people who were being punished. They were former Jerusalem dwellers who the Babylonians had taken captive.

These words assured the exiles back then, and us now, that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, God's intentions toward us are good. His ways in our lives move us toward a bright future.

But that future seems contingent on some actions on our part — actions that no doubt arise out of our confusion, difficulties and troubles: "Call upon Me...go and pray to Me...seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

A sidebar article in my Bible says about these verses;

"Implied in this passage is a quest for God that includes a level of intensity beyond what might be termed ordinary prayer. The word 'search' along with the phrase "with all your heart" suggests an earnestness that borders on desperation" Dick Eastman, "Seeking God and Spiritual Warfare," New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 999.

I am reminded of other passages that speak of our search: Hosea 6:3; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:7-8.

There is no question: I want that hopeful future God has in mind for me. No doubt you do too. So let's do what it takes to get it, in terms of praying, seeking and searching to find, not a bright career or a satisfying human relationship, or power, or wealth, but Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for all the ways You draw me to Yourself — even using problems, difficulties and punishment to accomplish Your plans in my life. May these things drive me to seek You with all my heart.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 20

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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.

Are we perverting God's word?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 23-25; Psalm 19

TO CHEW ON: "'And the oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more. For every man's word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.'" Jeremiah 23:36

In his diatribe against the false prophets of Judah, Jeremiah lays bare what these prophets are all about. He accuses them of being self-appointed (Jeremiah 23:21), of prophesying lies as they interpret any old dream as a message from God (Jeremiah 23:25), of putting their words in God's mouth (Jeremiah 23:31,32), of being a burden to God instead of speaking God's burden (oracle) (Jeremiah 23:33 especially clear in the Amplified), and of perverting God's words (Jeremiah 23:36). Let's look closely at that last.

The Bible is clear about how sacred God's word is and not to be treated flippantly.
- It is not to be added to or subtracted from (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:19).
- It is to be obeyed (Deuteronomy 12:32).
- How we observe it will have eternal consequences (Matthew 5:19).

But could we be guilty of perverting it as those Old Testament prophets were? I can think of several practices which might result in such perversion:

- Emphasizing or giving more weight to one section of the Bible over another. (An example: the Red Letter Movement.)

- Using Bible texts to prove a doctrine which isn't otherwise generally supported in scripture. (An example: Using 1 Corinthians 13:8 as a proof-text that the charismatic gifts, particularly the gift of tongues, have ceased.)

- Overlaying our Bible interpretation with systems of numbers, colours and symbols, making the plain narrative into a puzzle that only the initiated can decipher.

- Picking and choosing which parts of the Bible to obey.

Can you think of more?

I appreciate the five types of people T. Norton Sterrett suggests will properly interpret the Bible. Those with:

1. A new heart (1 Corinthians 2:14).
2. A hungry heart (1 Peter 2:2).
3. An obedient heart (Psalm 119:98-100).
4. A disciplined heart (in its persistence) (Matthew 7:7).
5. A teachable heart (Isaiah 50:4).
- T. Norton Sterrett, How To Understand Your Bible, p. 19-21, 1974 edition.

In today's atmosphere of "My truth is as good as yours," let's continue to let these attitudes guide our reading and following of the Bible.

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please be my Bible teacher (John 14:26; 16:13). Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 19

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

Potter picture

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 18-22; Psalm 18

TO CHEW ON: "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make." Jeremiah 18:4


The Bible writers often use everyday objects and activities to teach lessons of the Spirit. Here Jeremiah bases his prophecy and plea to Israel on a visit God instructs him to make to a pottery shop. As he watches the craftsman shape the glistening clay spinning under his hands, then change the pot's form when the clay refuses to cooperate, God gives him a message for Israel. He draws their attention to similarities between the potter working with the clay, and God working with people.

- Just as the potter is sovereign over the clay, doing with it as he pleases, so God is sovereign over the "house of Israel."

- What the potter makes depends on the clay. When the vessel he is making doesn't stand up to the process but becomes marred, he shapes it into a different one. Similarly, what God can do with Israel depends on her response to Him.

My Bible study notes sum up these lessons well: "As the quality of the clay limits what the potter can do with it, so the quality of a people limits what God can do with them." Spirit Filled Life Bible p. 985.

We can apply this potter picture to our own lives as we ask questions like:

• Am I resistant or malleable clay in God's hands? 

• Do I insist on fulfilling my own plans and ambitions, or do I submit those to Him. When circumstances in my life don't turn out as I plan, do I get all frustrated? 

• Do I realize that God may be shaping me for some task of which I'm not aware? 

• Am I letting the Master Potter shape my life into whatever jar, cup, plate or pitcher most useful for the purposes of His kingdom?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where the clay of my life is stubborn or marred with impurities. I want my life to be good clay, that You can shape for Your kingdom purposes. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 18

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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.