“Lord, I seek refuge in You; let me never be disgraced. Save me by Your righteousness.” (Psalm 31:1 CSB) “But I trust in You, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ The course of my life is in Your power; deliver me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors.” (Psalm 31:14-15 CSB)
A refuge is a “go-to” place. It’s the place you go to when danger is lurking. It is a safe haven, a safe harbor against the storms, a place that is safe, where harm cannot get to you. It is a fortress and a stronghold against attack.
David knew about refuges. He spent years out in the wilderness running for his life from a madman king who wanted to destroy him. He found some great places of refuge where he and his followers could be safe from harm. But along the way he discovered something of immense importance to him: there is no comparison between an earthly refuge and the refuge that comes from knowing the Lord. He was able to sing with experience, “Lord, I seek refuge in You,” and also, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He understood experientially that God offers the best of all refuges.
That is why David could also say, “But I trust in You Lord.” The refuge that God gave him generated trust, and in trust he could always go to the God who was his refuge. That is also why David could say, “May the Lord be praised, for He has wonderfully shown His faith love to me in a city under siege.” (Psalm 31:21 CSB)
The Lord is our “Safe Haven” against all harm. He is our source of strength and our victory.
Lord, To You be all glory, honor, and power forever. For You are Lord, the Creator of all things. Amen.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
A Force to Be Reckoned With
“And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6 CSB)
James apparently had some experience with the tongue. He uses some interesting metaphors to describe its power. He saw its power as a teacher, on the positive side. He noted that a bit is a very small device that can be used to control a powerful horse. He mentioned that the pilot of a ship uses a relatively small rudder to control a huge ship that is driven by powerful winds. He compared the tongue to a small fire that ignites a devastating forest fire. He noted that man has tamed every animal on earth in some way but has not been able to tame the tongue. He reminds us that out of the same mouth comes both blessing and cursing, which ought not to be.
Make no mistake about it – the tongue, or speech, is a powerful force. Nations have been set on collision courses by it. Napoleon was a powerful orator who whipped the French nation and army into a nationalistic frenzy that stood Europe on its head. Adolph Hitler was an even more powerful orator who used his communication abilities to ignite a world war. This tiny part of the human body has done enormous damage in human history.
But the tongue is only the tool. Like everything, its value is in its use and in who is using it. A bit can control a horse to get someone to a place of ministry. A rudder can control a ship to bring food and needed supplies. A fire can either destroy a forest or cook a meal. It all depends on purpose, intent, use, and control.
To use the tongue in the ways that God intended, we must keep constant vigil on the heart and the mind. Those are the “hands” behind the use of the tongue. These must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. That is how to reckon with this powerful force. Discipline of the tongue, empowered by the Holy Spirit is how we can use it for good.
Lord, May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, and may they be used as a force for good in our world. Amen.
James apparently had some experience with the tongue. He uses some interesting metaphors to describe its power. He saw its power as a teacher, on the positive side. He noted that a bit is a very small device that can be used to control a powerful horse. He mentioned that the pilot of a ship uses a relatively small rudder to control a huge ship that is driven by powerful winds. He compared the tongue to a small fire that ignites a devastating forest fire. He noted that man has tamed every animal on earth in some way but has not been able to tame the tongue. He reminds us that out of the same mouth comes both blessing and cursing, which ought not to be.
Make no mistake about it – the tongue, or speech, is a powerful force. Nations have been set on collision courses by it. Napoleon was a powerful orator who whipped the French nation and army into a nationalistic frenzy that stood Europe on its head. Adolph Hitler was an even more powerful orator who used his communication abilities to ignite a world war. This tiny part of the human body has done enormous damage in human history.
But the tongue is only the tool. Like everything, its value is in its use and in who is using it. A bit can control a horse to get someone to a place of ministry. A rudder can control a ship to bring food and needed supplies. A fire can either destroy a forest or cook a meal. It all depends on purpose, intent, use, and control.
To use the tongue in the ways that God intended, we must keep constant vigil on the heart and the mind. Those are the “hands” behind the use of the tongue. These must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. That is how to reckon with this powerful force. Discipline of the tongue, empowered by the Holy Spirit is how we can use it for good.
Lord, May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, and may they be used as a force for good in our world. Amen.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Forever Blessed
“So now, You have been pleased to bless Your servant’s house that it may continue before you forever. For You, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever.” (1 Chronicles 17:27 CSB)
The words above came from David in a prayer of thanksgiving as he prayed before the Lord. David’s gratitude to the Lord reveals a humble heart.
We learn something significant from David’s prayer. When God blesses, His blessings are forever. They are eternal.
To “bless” means to speak or act in ways that benefit someone, or that lead to prosperity for someone. When we hear the word blessing, we often think of material blessings, such as money and possessions and wealth. Blessing of the sort David is talking about has more to do with a “spiritual prosperity” than with material gain, however. Spiritual blessing is the sort that has an eternal character to it.
God does not bless and then turn around and curse. When God blesses, He means it, and He gives us the kind of blessings that endure eternally. The physical world and its blessings may come and go, but the spiritual prosperity God gives us will last forever.
Lord, Show us the true nature of the blessings You give. We thank You for all these ways that You have blessed us. Amen.
The words above came from David in a prayer of thanksgiving as he prayed before the Lord. David’s gratitude to the Lord reveals a humble heart.
We learn something significant from David’s prayer. When God blesses, His blessings are forever. They are eternal.
To “bless” means to speak or act in ways that benefit someone, or that lead to prosperity for someone. When we hear the word blessing, we often think of material blessings, such as money and possessions and wealth. Blessing of the sort David is talking about has more to do with a “spiritual prosperity” than with material gain, however. Spiritual blessing is the sort that has an eternal character to it.
God does not bless and then turn around and curse. When God blesses, He means it, and He gives us the kind of blessings that endure eternally. The physical world and its blessings may come and go, but the spiritual prosperity God gives us will last forever.
Lord, Show us the true nature of the blessings You give. We thank You for all these ways that You have blessed us. Amen.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Think about It
“My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” (James 2:19-20 CSB)
Have you ever known someone who seems quick to speak when he or she hears a statement made? Often when that happens what is said is laced with emotion, sometimes of the anger type. These folks will also often finish your thoughts or your sentences for you.
Somewhere between “hearing” and “speaking” a reaction takes place in the mind. It is that reaction that leads to speaking. Sometimes folks hear something they don’t like, and the reaction is immediate, swift, and then – boom! – an explosion of emotion and a cacophony of words. We generally excuse this by saying, “Well, he’s just ‘wired’ that way.” Maybe so, but we should probably still not excuse it.
James advises us to adopt a practice that should be considered a “grace” practice. He uses two modifying words to help us see this. The practice is twofold: 1) quick to hear, and 2) slow to speak. What this does is to give the normal reaction between the two events time to sift, time to settle, and time to stimulate a thoughtful response in place of a reaction. Reactions generally do not help because most of them go straight to anger, which, says James, does not accomplish God’s righteousness, or, what God wants. Reactive anger is generally all us and not much of God. The grace practice is to think about it before we speak. We must be eager to listen, but we must also be slow to speak, so we can hear from the Holy Spirit in our thought processes.
For those who have a quick mind, this is easier said than done. But, practice makes perfect. Deciding that we are going to be quick to hear and slow to speak is the starting point.
Lord, Help us to practice this grace of being quick to hear and slow to speak, so that we can serve more fully according to Your will. Amen.
Have you ever known someone who seems quick to speak when he or she hears a statement made? Often when that happens what is said is laced with emotion, sometimes of the anger type. These folks will also often finish your thoughts or your sentences for you.
Somewhere between “hearing” and “speaking” a reaction takes place in the mind. It is that reaction that leads to speaking. Sometimes folks hear something they don’t like, and the reaction is immediate, swift, and then – boom! – an explosion of emotion and a cacophony of words. We generally excuse this by saying, “Well, he’s just ‘wired’ that way.” Maybe so, but we should probably still not excuse it.
James advises us to adopt a practice that should be considered a “grace” practice. He uses two modifying words to help us see this. The practice is twofold: 1) quick to hear, and 2) slow to speak. What this does is to give the normal reaction between the two events time to sift, time to settle, and time to stimulate a thoughtful response in place of a reaction. Reactions generally do not help because most of them go straight to anger, which, says James, does not accomplish God’s righteousness, or, what God wants. Reactive anger is generally all us and not much of God. The grace practice is to think about it before we speak. We must be eager to listen, but we must also be slow to speak, so we can hear from the Holy Spirit in our thought processes.
For those who have a quick mind, this is easier said than done. But, practice makes perfect. Deciding that we are going to be quick to hear and slow to speak is the starting point.
Lord, Help us to practice this grace of being quick to hear and slow to speak, so that we can serve more fully according to Your will. Amen.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Life Paradox
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 CSB)
This verse and those that follow comprise one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith: Life is discovered by giving it up. If you seek after your own life apart from God, you will lose your life. If you give up your own life to the Lord in order to follow after Him and His will rather than your own, you will find life. This is almost like saying that with slavery comes freedom. Who thinks that makes sense? But that’s what a paradox is: a truth that does not make sense logically but is nevertheless true. Paul, for example, considered himself a slave of Christ, but this same man also wrote of the great freedom that we enjoy in Christ. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” is what Paul wrote to the Galatians.
As you consider directions for today and what you hope will happen and what your goals will be, remember that the more you serve the Lord, the more life you will find life.
Guide us, Lord, into all truth, so that we may more fully understand that which is not so easy to understand, and help us make the application of Your truth day by day. Amen
This verse and those that follow comprise one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith: Life is discovered by giving it up. If you seek after your own life apart from God, you will lose your life. If you give up your own life to the Lord in order to follow after Him and His will rather than your own, you will find life. This is almost like saying that with slavery comes freedom. Who thinks that makes sense? But that’s what a paradox is: a truth that does not make sense logically but is nevertheless true. Paul, for example, considered himself a slave of Christ, but this same man also wrote of the great freedom that we enjoy in Christ. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” is what Paul wrote to the Galatians.
As you consider directions for today and what you hope will happen and what your goals will be, remember that the more you serve the Lord, the more life you will find life.
Guide us, Lord, into all truth, so that we may more fully understand that which is not so easy to understand, and help us make the application of Your truth day by day. Amen
Monday, September 29, 2008
All About Him
“But He turned and told Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.’” (Matthew 16:13-28 CSB)
Seemingly just moments earlier Jesus commended Peter for his “good confession.” Peter at least had enough spiritual discernment that he could receive a revelation from God that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. When Jesus began to explain the suffering, death, and resurrection that was ahead for Him, however, Peter rebuked Jesus and swore that he would never let that happen. Then came a stinging rebuke from Jesus, showing that Peter was on the way but not there yet, in terms of his understanding of Messiah.
Peter’s response shows that the focus of his thoughts was all on man, on earthly ways, on the restoration of the Davidic kingdom in Israel. His thinking was at least related to the Lord’s, but it was focused on man. Jesus pointed out that “the things of God,” that is, the purposes of God are the real priority. Everything else serves that.
Humanism exalts mankind. Nothing is higher than man in humanistic thinking, and it places mankind at the very center of the universe and causes everything to revolve around humankind. Because we are human, we all have a tendency to think that it’s all about us. The reality is far different, however. The universe is all about God. Humanity is part of His creation. That is not to minimize us, of course, because God did, after all, send His Son to suffer and die for us, and be raised from the dead, to point us in His direction, so that we might have the opportunity for eternal life. Yet, the fact remains: It is all about Him. He is central to all else.
May this day be all about Him rather than us. May it allow us the privilege of bringing honor and glory to our God.
The writer of Hebrews issued a challenge in 13:13: “Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace.” As the One who sacrificed Himself for us, Jesus died outside the city walls on the cross and was resurrected as well outside the city walls. The call of God is thus to go to Him outside our comfort zone and follow Him. Not humanism, but discipleship is the call of God to us.
Lord, Help us to understand the truth that everything that exists is all about You. Amen.
Seemingly just moments earlier Jesus commended Peter for his “good confession.” Peter at least had enough spiritual discernment that he could receive a revelation from God that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. When Jesus began to explain the suffering, death, and resurrection that was ahead for Him, however, Peter rebuked Jesus and swore that he would never let that happen. Then came a stinging rebuke from Jesus, showing that Peter was on the way but not there yet, in terms of his understanding of Messiah.
Peter’s response shows that the focus of his thoughts was all on man, on earthly ways, on the restoration of the Davidic kingdom in Israel. His thinking was at least related to the Lord’s, but it was focused on man. Jesus pointed out that “the things of God,” that is, the purposes of God are the real priority. Everything else serves that.
Humanism exalts mankind. Nothing is higher than man in humanistic thinking, and it places mankind at the very center of the universe and causes everything to revolve around humankind. Because we are human, we all have a tendency to think that it’s all about us. The reality is far different, however. The universe is all about God. Humanity is part of His creation. That is not to minimize us, of course, because God did, after all, send His Son to suffer and die for us, and be raised from the dead, to point us in His direction, so that we might have the opportunity for eternal life. Yet, the fact remains: It is all about Him. He is central to all else.
May this day be all about Him rather than us. May it allow us the privilege of bringing honor and glory to our God.
The writer of Hebrews issued a challenge in 13:13: “Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace.” As the One who sacrificed Himself for us, Jesus died outside the city walls on the cross and was resurrected as well outside the city walls. The call of God is thus to go to Him outside our comfort zone and follow Him. Not humanism, but discipleship is the call of God to us.
Lord, Help us to understand the truth that everything that exists is all about You. Amen.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Faith and Persistence
“’Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table!’ Then Jesus replied to her, ‘Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.’ And from that moment her daughter was cured.” (Matthew 15:27-28 CSB)
What the woman wanted was for her daughter to be cured. Her daughter was demon-possessed, tormented. So, even though she was a Canaanite woman and not one of the lost sheep of Israel Jesus was searching for, when Jesus came to Sidon she heard about it. His reputation apparently preceded Him, so she went to Him and kept crying out to Him to heal her daughter. Jesus ignored her, but she kept following and crying out. The disciples grew annoyed and asked Jesus to send her away. But she kept coming. Finally, Jesus made a metaphorical statement to her, that it was not right to take the children’s bread and give it to their dogs. Jesus was not comparing the woman to a dog. He was simply using an example to show her that His priorities were for the lost people of Israel. That is when her retort impressed Jesus with regard to her faith, with the result that He cured her daughter.
This story points out a connection between persistence and faith. We do not always connect the two. We tend to keep the concept of persistence in its box, and we keep faith in its box. We tend also to think that if our faith is strong enough, there is no need for anything else, like persistence. But what we see in this story is that Jesus was impressed with this woman’s tenacious faith. This tells us that God seems to have a great appreciation for persistent asking in faith, maybe a little like the faith we see in Jacob when, wrestling with the angel of the Lord, he refused to let go until the angel blessed him.
Persistence and faith is a combination that honors God.
Lord, May our persistent asking in faith today fully honor You. Amen.
What the woman wanted was for her daughter to be cured. Her daughter was demon-possessed, tormented. So, even though she was a Canaanite woman and not one of the lost sheep of Israel Jesus was searching for, when Jesus came to Sidon she heard about it. His reputation apparently preceded Him, so she went to Him and kept crying out to Him to heal her daughter. Jesus ignored her, but she kept following and crying out. The disciples grew annoyed and asked Jesus to send her away. But she kept coming. Finally, Jesus made a metaphorical statement to her, that it was not right to take the children’s bread and give it to their dogs. Jesus was not comparing the woman to a dog. He was simply using an example to show her that His priorities were for the lost people of Israel. That is when her retort impressed Jesus with regard to her faith, with the result that He cured her daughter.
This story points out a connection between persistence and faith. We do not always connect the two. We tend to keep the concept of persistence in its box, and we keep faith in its box. We tend also to think that if our faith is strong enough, there is no need for anything else, like persistence. But what we see in this story is that Jesus was impressed with this woman’s tenacious faith. This tells us that God seems to have a great appreciation for persistent asking in faith, maybe a little like the faith we see in Jacob when, wrestling with the angel of the Lord, he refused to let go until the angel blessed him.
Persistence and faith is a combination that honors God.
Lord, May our persistent asking in faith today fully honor You. Amen.
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