November 30, 2023

Psalm 105: 4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. (NIV)

We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.*

We all know that when we’ve lost something we always find it in the last place we look – no point in looking anywhere else if you’ve found it. With that principle in mind, we might think that the psalmist, by telling us to seek the Lord’s face always, is implying that we will never find it. Now there’s a sad thought. Could it be that we misunderstand his meaning?

According to St. Augustine’s interpretation, seeking God’s face always isn’t just an ongoing earthly task but an activity that continues on into eternity. Not because God won’t let us see his face but because “God is so great that we never finish our searching. He is always new.”* 

Now we get the picture – not of something lost or hidden – but of something that we never get tired of looking at. So, now, the psalmist’s words sound like good advice, because if you’re going to get tired of seeking the Lord’s face, eternity isn’t going to be so pleasant for you.

Just how much are you looking forward to seeing the Lord’s face? Personally, the older I get, the more I long for it. Is it because I am getting older and nearer to death? Maybe there is some truth in that. But the heart of my longing is found in the words of a song: the longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. I really look forward to being in the Lord’s presence. I hope you do, too!

Heaven will seem more like a long-awaited homecoming than a visit to a new place.*

November 29, 2023

Mark 6: 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. (NIV)

Put some people in a room and they behold no more than a blind horse would.*

What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen another human do (besides in traffic)? It’s hard to decide who gets the prize, isn’t it? In the college cafeteria, I saw a guy pour a glassful of Kool-Aid in his face because he was trying to read the logo on the bottom of the glass. Come to think of it, I’ve done stupider things than that myself. People will continue to amaze us – because I am sure we haven’t seen everything yet!

This verse gives us a peek into the humanity of Jesus. We aren’t told that he was amazed at the stupidity of the people in his hometown, but don’t you think it’s implied? His fellow Nazarenes were amazed by his teaching, his wisdom, and his miracles, and yet they couldn’t piece the clues together to form the logical conclusion: Jesus was the Messiah. Instead, they couldn’t get past his past: Isn’t he the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s boy? Didn’t I go to school with his brothers and sisters? And so, Jesus, who really had seen everything, was amazed at their lack of faith.

I don’t know if I’ve ever done anything that Jesus would consider to be amazing in a positive way but I would hope that I have never amazed him by my lack of faith. Perhaps my faith has been weak at times. And certainly I have been disobedient, rebellious, and indifferent; but how could I ever have no faith at all? There has never been a time when Jesus has not lived up to my faith in him.

What about you? Have you put the clues together and concluded that Jesus can be trusted? Or have you been distracted by your mistaken expectations of who he is and what he promises? Have you ever tested him by taking a step of faith, allowing him the chance to amaze you with his faithfulness? Or will you be among those who amaze him with their lack of faith?

A faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted.*

November 28, 2023

II Kings 4: 1-7 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “. . . my husband is dead . . . and he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” Elisha replied . . . “How can I help you? . . . what do you have in your house?” “. . . nothing at all,” she said, “except a little oil.” . . . “Go . . . ask all your neighbors for empty jars. . . . Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” . . . When all the jars were full . . . Then the oil stopped flowing. . . . “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your son can live on what is left.” (NIV)

God is the God of limitless resources who can provide incredibly for us when we are in need.*

How many of you hate to ask for help? . . . Show of hands . . . For some of you it’s a cultural thing – we Americans are pretty independent (since 1776, as a matter of fact!). For some, it’s a bit of a personality disorder: I don’t need nobody for nothin’. For anyone: is there a scriptural reason why we shouldn’t ask others to lend us a hand?

This story about Elisha and a widow down-on-her-luck resonates with me right now. My husband recently passed away from pancreatic cancer. This woman was probably a lot younger than I am – she has two “boys” so I’m assuming they are still children – but had very few resources. A little oil. I don’t know what kind of oil we’re talking about – cooking? heating? light? – but it wasn’t enough for her and her sons to survive on. Until she asked for help. She shared her problem with a man of God – always a good place to start – and God used him to bless her.

Notice that Elisha didn’t just swoop in and solve her problems for her. He was a prophet, not a knight in shining armor. He empowered her to help herself by introducing her to another resource: her neighbors. She was instructed to ask all her neighbors for empty jars. We don’t know if she got around to all of them; or if all of them had empty jars to donate; or even how many neighbors she had; but she came home with jars and filled them with oil until she ran out of jars. Do you imagine that she thought then of the neighbors she didn’t want to bother? If only I had asked for more jars!

Maybe we, too, limit our blessings: by being afraid to speak up; by not putting out enough containers; by not having enough faith in God’s provision. Perhaps we underestimate the resources that are available to us. The widow had neighbors. Do you have family? friends? fellow church-members? Will you allow them to help? Are you a good steward of what you do have? Are you willing to trust in God’s provision? Are you prepared to receive God’s blessings? Never forget that he is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask – or imagine! (Ephesians 3: 20)

God used what the woman gave him and did more with it than she could have done alone.*

November 27, 2023

Psalm 62: 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (NIV)

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.*

I had to learn how to pour out my heart to God. For some of you, maybe it just comes natural but not for me. I was constrained by two self-imposed rules: 1) try really hard to only want you should want; and 2) don’t be mad or sad or glad unless God approves. Seriously . . . if you are in this boat with me . . . what do we need God for if we’re going to be all perfect before we go to him with our troubled hearts?

In this verse, David points out the key to pouring out your heart to God: trust in him at all times. You see, I didn’t trust God to still love me if I wanted or felt the wrong things. With practice, I learned how to honestly express my wants and feelings to God. The tool I used (and still do) is journaling. Through writing my prayers, I have come to understand this: no matter how selfish my wants, no matter how twisted my feelings, God will help me work through them and purify them. He doesn’t shame me or burden me with guilt. He loves me and loves to help me overcome. Journaling may not be the spiritual discipline for you but I urge you to look for a strategy that fits you.

God wants to be your refuge. He welcomes you to the safety zone where you can trust that he won’t reject you for your unworthy desires or feelings. When you pour out your heart to him, you are not revealing anything he doesn’t already know – but you just might uncover things you didn’t know about yourself. Self-awareness can lead to repentance and transformation. Big benefits for a little bit of trust!

David’s rigorous honesty reveals that journaling is a place to pour out our anguish, think the unthinkable, and presume to know what’s best. In the safe haven of being able to make such outlandish statements, we stumble across our true motives, feelings, and desires.*

November 26, 2023

John 14: 9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (NIV)

The best way to picture God is to consider his Son.*

When my twin sons were babies, most people couldn’t tell them apart. You might say if you saw one, you had seen the other. Except it wasn’t true. If you saw one, you only saw what the other looked like. They were and are two entirely separate beings. Jesus doesn’t claim to be God’s identical twin - he proclaims himself to be God. In the flesh. 

I would ask this: Can you believe in God if you don’t believe in Jesus as his only Son? If you can’t accept that they are one and the same being, have you not created a manmade version of God – which is less than he actually is?

We can learn a lot about God from the Bible – Old and New Testaments alike. But if you really want to know the face and the heart of God, you must know Jesus. His Son and Himself. Put aside your confusion about the Trinity and allow yourself to make the acquaintance of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through the life of Jesus Christ. Get to know the facts about Jesus by reading the Bible. Get to know him personally as the Spirit speaks through the word and works in you. The more you know, the more you will want to know.

We cannot know Christ, we cannot worship him as the Son of God, without accepting the Bible as an authoritative source for information about him.*

November 25, 2023

John 14: 4 “You know the way to the place where I am going.” (NIV)

Jesus rarely told people exactly what they were expecting to hear.*

After living in Florida for more than 40 years, I very well know that Interstate 75 is the way back to my native state of Kentucky. Perhaps three years was not enough time for the disciples to catch on that Jesus was the Way to the place he was going. 

Thomas voiced the question that everyone else was too embarrassed to ask: “We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?” (verse 5) Imagine if I-75 could hear and speak, and I asked, “How do I get to Kentucky from here?” Would there not be some hint of exasperation in the answer? Maybe Jesus was a little bit perturbed when he replied, “I am the way . . . No one comes to the Father except through me . . . If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” (verses 6 and 7) Had they not been listening?

In John chapter 14, we see Jesus trying to prepare his disciples for his departure. How comforting his words would have been if they had understood where he was going and that they would be joining him there as soon as he had it ready. What about us? We can quote Jesus: “I am the way,” he said. We know he has gone to heaven to prepare it for us. But do we believe that heaven is a real place, the same way we believe that Yellowstone National Park is a real place when we plan a trip there? Do we consult an atlas or a GPS to find the way there or do we think we can just pick any road to get us to our destination? 

While there may be more than one route to Yellowstone, not once does Jesus tell us that all roads lead to heaven. Don’t fall for that we’re all going to the same place but taking different roads line. And don’t be thinking that you can find a short-cut. There is only one way to the Father and that is through the Son.

To its shame, Christian history reveals unrelieved attempts to improve on the way of Christ.*

November 24, 2023

Luke 23: 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (NIV)

He offered forgiveness to people oblivious to the damage they were causing.*

Many times we have to forgive people who don’t know what they are doing. In my personal experience, the most damage was done by those who meant well – or, at worst, had no evil intentions. But the depths of Jesus’ ability to forgive takes my breath away. How could he say, “They don’t know what they’re doing?” They meant to execute him and they did. They watched him die. Could they, later, come crawling back and beg his forgiveness on the grounds that they didn’t know what they were doing?

Most people have committed a great number of inadvertent sins before they come to know Jesus. I’m comfortable with granting them the “they didn’t know what they were doing” exclusion. But the deeper we get into our faith, the less we can hope to be excused on those grounds. Every time we sin, we know it’s a sin. We may not literally be pounding the nails into the flesh of our Savior but we are just as in need of his forgiveness as those who did. That’s the beauty of Jesus’ forgiveness: it covers all our sins.

Another breath-taking aspect of Jesus’ forgiveness is its immediacy. I am not one to hold a grudge, but even at that, I usually need a little time to get over an offense before I can fully forgive. Jesus forgave in the midst of the offense. He didn’t have to wait for his hurt feelings to heal. He certainly didn’t wait for the offenders to apologize and ask for his forgiveness. He just looked at them, saw their need for forgiveness, and gave it to them.

And now, his forgiveness extends to us. He hung on the cross - became sin - so that he could offer instant forgiveness to all who believe. Even if ignorance is no excuse.

The further advanced any one is in the knowledge of God, the less is he excused.*

November 23, 2023

Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (NIV)

You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.*

I am not a runner but I can guess at some of the conditions that might hinder someone from running their best: Overweight; wrong shoes; lack of preparation; bad attitude. Some obstacles are easier to overcome than others. Getting properly shod is more quickly accomplished than reaching a healthier weight. Preparation might be less of an issue if you work at improving your attitude. But apparently, in the race of life marked out before us, there are things that hinder us – and then there is sin that easily entangles us . . . like too-long shoelaces that cause us to trip and fall.

In a footrace, it is up to the individual to rid himself of everything that hinders him; but in our spiritual race, we are not alone. The great cloud of witnesses – those heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11 – are our inspiring examples of throwing off hindrances and running with perseverance. No challenge to your faith surpasses what they have overcome. And we have one extreme advantage over those winners: Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (verse 2). Consider what he endured so that you don’t “grow weary and lose heart.” (verse 3)

One more bit of encouraging news: in the race of life, it is not the fastest runner who wins. The winner is the one who perseveres, staying on the course marked out for him until the end. Fix your eyes on Jesus – the trophy for those who finish well.

We cannot run somebody else’s race.*

November 22, 2023

Lamentations 3: 40-42 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven, and say: “We have sinned and rebelled . . .” (NIV)

Personal transformation is the Spirit’s work.*

The Old Testament is rich with examples of how God tested his people. Through hardships, obstacles, and enemies, he tested their faith, challenged their obedience, and examined their hearts. Through the fires of testing, God refines his people to remove the impurities, leaving them all shiny like gold. Jeremiah’s words here, though, compel us to test ourselves. Just how do we go about doing that?

First, some commonsense advice: before you take a test, you study. Your textbook, the Bible, is lengthy and profound so you’d better get started. If you have just begun to familiarize yourself with the material, don’t panic. You are only responsible for the information that you have now. But don’t become complacent. God doesn’t expect you to stay in the first grade. The writer of Hebrews has some pretty strong words to say about those who lack progress in spiritual maturity: “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (5: 13, 14)

And so, the second step in preparing for your test is to ask yourself: am I still a bottle-fed baby or have I graduated to meat? Perhaps you’re still at the pureed fruits and vegetables stage. That’s progress. But no matter where you are in your walk of faith, the ultimate pre-test requirement is this: “Do not conform . . . to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is . . .” (Romans 12: 2) How do I do that? you ask. Check out I Corinthians 2: 10. “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” Yes, you get to cheat on this test. The Holy Spirit will sit next to you and help you with the answers!

Finally, Jeremiah suggests that we not stop with examining our ways. Our testing should be accompanied by returning to the Lord (we all wander away); lifting our hearts and our hands (worship); and confessing our sinfulness. Test yourself and see your need to repent.

Looking up and crying out to God for mercy would be useless until there was an inward look to see where the real problem existed.*

November 21, 2023

II Chronicles 7: 1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. (NIV)

Instead of animals broken for sacrifice, he wants hearts broken over sin. God doesn’t need sacrifices, but he does want hearts.*

God fulfilled his promise to David to allow his son Solomon to build a temple for the Name of the Lord. After seven years of construction and preparation, Solomon dedicated the temple to the Lord. Following his prayer of dedication, fire came down and consumed the offerings and sacrifices, and God’s glory filled the temple. God’s glory was so bright that the priests couldn’t enter. How gratifying to have such a response to your prayers and your offerings! Clearly God was pleased with what was offered that day.

Throughout the Old Testament, we read about offerings that are without defect or blemish. With what kind of sacrifices and offerings could we please God today?

• Psalm 51: 17 – a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart 
• Proverbs 21: 3 – doing what is right and just 
• 2 Corinthians 8: 12 – willingness 
• Hebrews 13: 15, 16 – praise (the fruit of lips that confess his name); doing good and sharing with others 
• Mark 12: 33 – love God with all your heart, understanding, and strength; love your neighbor as you love yourself

Perhaps Paul sums it up best in Romans 12: 1, when he urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. We make references to the internal elements of our gifts to God: spirit, heart, willingness, love; but doing what is right and just, praise, doing good, and sharing with others – these are all completed by actions of our bodies. Everything that we are is contained within our bodies. In order for our offerings to be pleasing to God, we must give him our insides and our outsides. It’s all part of the package.

Why do we draw artificial lines between the inner life and the outer life? Jesus deserves to be Lord of every part.*