July 1
“I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.” (Ezekiel 34:12, NLT)
I saw him one Sunday in the second-to-last pew. He was seated alone. Throughout the service, he followed along, but I noticed that he seemed a little withdrawn, reserved, and out of place. He didn’t speak much. He was a visitor. I had a feeling about him. God wanted me to watch out for him. After that service ended, I went to speak with him, but he was not there. He had skipped out during the last hymn, disappearing quietly out the door. Over the next few weeks, I watched for him to return. I prayed for him to find his way back. I wanted to keep my promise to God, so I watched intently.
Three weeks later, he was back. He was in the same pew. I saw him before the service, approached his pew and greeted him. He smiled but was quiet. I could tell he was thankful for my visit. That started a relationship. Every time I saw him, I greeted him. I kept my promise to God.
Over the next few months, I purposefully looked for him, greeted him, and watched over his care. Soon, he opened up, bit by precious bit. I found out that he had grown up in a church. His parents worshiped every Sunday and expected him to be there as well. When he left to go to college, he fell away from the church, from God, from religious life. Two years before, he was divorced. Six months previous, his last remaining parent had died. Searching for some meaning in his life, he came back to church. He sought out God. He desperately needed help with his grief and longed for meaningful conversation. God and I provided him a safe place in which to do so. I watched over him with intention. God took care of the rest.
The man became a faithful follower of Jesus. He rededicated his life to Christ. He started to smile again. Coming back to church now felt to him like coming back home after a long time away. The last time I saw him, he had tears in his eyes. He told me “Thank you for everything.” I told him that God was the one who had reached out to him, I was just the one blessed enough to be involved. I told him to trust in the God who dearly loved him and to lean on Jesus. The man assured me he would.
I have no doubt in my mind that God sought that man out. God wanted him to come back to the fold. God wanted a real relationship with him. God wanted to soothe his wounds and ease his pain. In a real way, God was able to bring joy and peace back into his life. At some time in your life, God sought you out as well. God desired to reconnect with you. This may have occurred after you strayed. It may have happened after a sin had forced distance between you and your Savior. No matter what the reason, God came looking for you. God sought you out. The divine wanted a deeper relationship with you.
In the days of the prophet Ezekiel, much sin had entered the lands of Israel and Judah. Even the priests were guilty of abandoning true faith. The priests had not ministered well to the faithful. They did not call for repentance for sin. Instead, they participated in the sin. Through Ezekiel the prophet, God delivered the judgment: “the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bandaged, and the lost you have not sought….” (Ezekiel 34:4). The priests were more concerned with religious duties than doing real ministry. They were going through the motions but not being faithful to God’s command. In response, God Himself went looking for the faithful in the land and among exiles. In our scripture for today, God described Himself as “a shepherd looking for his scattered flock” (Ezekiel 34:12). God’s goal was to “find His sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.” God went in pursuit of His true followers.
Don’t be surprised if some day God comes looking for you; when God desires to make Himself present in your life. When you are down, lost, or feeling alone, God will seek you out on that “dark and cloudy day”. It is God’s wish that you lean upon His everlasting arms. You need that connection with your Savior.
No matter how dark the times, God is constantly seeking out the faithful. There may come a day when God will set His sights upon you, ask you to repent, desire your re-commitment, or offer his grace and healing. When you are lying in bed feeling overwhelmed or beaten down, at the perfect time God will come calling. I pray you answer his call. Accept His love. Grasp his hand.
Pray for those around you. You do not know the depths of darkness that weighs down their hearts. Let God direct your steps to reach the lost soul. Offer yourself to ease the pain of another. Use encouragement and prayer to facilitate God’s action. Become a part of God’s mission to reach out to the scattered flock of lost and lonely souls.
Three weeks later, he was back. He was in the same pew. I saw him before the service, approached his pew and greeted him. He smiled but was quiet. I could tell he was thankful for my visit. That started a relationship. Every time I saw him, I greeted him. I kept my promise to God.
Over the next few months, I purposefully looked for him, greeted him, and watched over his care. Soon, he opened up, bit by precious bit. I found out that he had grown up in a church. His parents worshiped every Sunday and expected him to be there as well. When he left to go to college, he fell away from the church, from God, from religious life. Two years before, he was divorced. Six months previous, his last remaining parent had died. Searching for some meaning in his life, he came back to church. He sought out God. He desperately needed help with his grief and longed for meaningful conversation. God and I provided him a safe place in which to do so. I watched over him with intention. God took care of the rest.
The man became a faithful follower of Jesus. He rededicated his life to Christ. He started to smile again. Coming back to church now felt to him like coming back home after a long time away. The last time I saw him, he had tears in his eyes. He told me “Thank you for everything.” I told him that God was the one who had reached out to him, I was just the one blessed enough to be involved. I told him to trust in the God who dearly loved him and to lean on Jesus. The man assured me he would.
I have no doubt in my mind that God sought that man out. God wanted him to come back to the fold. God wanted a real relationship with him. God wanted to soothe his wounds and ease his pain. In a real way, God was able to bring joy and peace back into his life. At some time in your life, God sought you out as well. God desired to reconnect with you. This may have occurred after you strayed. It may have happened after a sin had forced distance between you and your Savior. No matter what the reason, God came looking for you. God sought you out. The divine wanted a deeper relationship with you.
In the days of the prophet Ezekiel, much sin had entered the lands of Israel and Judah. Even the priests were guilty of abandoning true faith. The priests had not ministered well to the faithful. They did not call for repentance for sin. Instead, they participated in the sin. Through Ezekiel the prophet, God delivered the judgment: “the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bandaged, and the lost you have not sought….” (Ezekiel 34:4). The priests were more concerned with religious duties than doing real ministry. They were going through the motions but not being faithful to God’s command. In response, God Himself went looking for the faithful in the land and among exiles. In our scripture for today, God described Himself as “a shepherd looking for his scattered flock” (Ezekiel 34:12). God’s goal was to “find His sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.” God went in pursuit of His true followers.
Don’t be surprised if some day God comes looking for you; when God desires to make Himself present in your life. When you are down, lost, or feeling alone, God will seek you out on that “dark and cloudy day”. It is God’s wish that you lean upon His everlasting arms. You need that connection with your Savior.
No matter how dark the times, God is constantly seeking out the faithful. There may come a day when God will set His sights upon you, ask you to repent, desire your re-commitment, or offer his grace and healing. When you are lying in bed feeling overwhelmed or beaten down, at the perfect time God will come calling. I pray you answer his call. Accept His love. Grasp his hand.
Pray for those around you. You do not know the depths of darkness that weighs down their hearts. Let God direct your steps to reach the lost soul. Offer yourself to ease the pain of another. Use encouragement and prayer to facilitate God’s action. Become a part of God’s mission to reach out to the scattered flock of lost and lonely souls.
July 3
“You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, RSV)
“After a long absence from the stage, pianist Vladimir Horowitz was to perform in Chicago. Franz Mohr, the chief concert technician for Steinway and Sons, was assigned to make sure the piano was in perfect condition. He did so to the best of his ability but wasn't able to relax until Horowitz had given a brilliant rendering of his first number. As was his custom, the pianist left the stage -- but didn't return. Mohr was summoned backstage. "Where have you been?" exclaimed Horowitz. "I cannot play again. The piano stool is far too high!" Mohr nervously inquired at to the size of the problem. Horowitz held up his hand, his thumb and forefinger about a quarter of an inch apart.” (“Today in the Word”, March 25, 1993)
Vladimir Horowitz was a perfectionist. Perfectionism is the need to be error-free. It is the extreme desire to not make a mistake or to have your surroundings be “just so”. I find it very interesting that some people think they can be perfect. Human beings are notoriously imperfect. We falter. We fail. We sin. Romans 3:23 states that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Despite this knowledge, some people strive very hard for perfection. They are called perfectionists. They are hard on themselves. They are hard to live with. Often, they not only expect perfection from themselves, they expect it from family members and children. This obsession can damage so many things. It caused Vladimir Horowitz to stop playing the piano in Chicago. It can cause you to become intolerant or cruel. Perfectionism can destroy your ability to be receive forgiveness or to give grace. It is a destructive emotion.
Since perfectionism can be so destructive, psychologically and spiritually, why did Jesus teach in his “Sermon on the Mount” that God’s followers needed to “be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)? Was Jesus expecting faithful people to be perfectionists? No. Jesus’ words are hard to comprehend, because the translation from the Greek original writing of Matthew into English is easily misunderstood. When Jesus said He wanted you to “be perfect”, He didn’t mean you should “be perfectionistic”. There is a difference. The original Greek word for “perfect” used in this verse means to be “complete”, “mature”, or “without a blemish”. It doesn’t mean you haven’t sinned. It means you have matured to the point where you understand what sin is and what to do about it. To be perfect, Jesus desired for you to be spiritually “mature” enough to deal with things like sin and grace, repentance and salvation, right and wrong, evil and righteousness. How spiritually mature are you?
“In his men's seminar, David Simmons, a former cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, tells about his childhood home. His father, a military man, was extremely demanding, rarely saying a kind word, always pushing him with harsh criticism to do better. The father had decided that he would never permit his son to feel any satisfaction from his accomplishments, reminding him there were always new goals ahead. When Dave was a little boy, his dad gave him a bicycle, unassembled, with the command that he put it together. After Dave struggled to the point of tears with the difficult instructions and many parts, his father said, "I knew you couldn't do it." Then he assembled it for him.
When Dave played football in high school, his father was unrelenting in his criticisms. In the backyard of his home, after every game, his dad would go over every play and point out Dave's errors. "Most boys got butterflies in the stomach before the game; I got them afterwards. Facing my father was more stressful than facing any opposing team." By the time he entered college, Dave hated his father and his harsh discipline. He chose to play football at the University of Georgia because its campus was further from home than any school that offered him a scholarship. After college, he became the second-round draft pick of the St. Louis cardinal's professional football club. Joe Namath (who later signed with the New York Jets), was the club's first round pick that year. "Excited, "I telephoned my father to tell him the good news. He said, 'How does it feel to be second?'"
Despite the hateful feelings he had for his father, Dave began to build a bridge to his dad. Christ had come into his life during college years, and it was God's love that made him turn to his father. During visits home he stimulated conversation with him and listened with interest to what his father had to say. He learned for the first time what his grandfather had been like--a tough lumberjack known for his quick temper. Once he destroyed a pickup truck with a sledgehammer because it wouldn't start, and he often beat his son. This new awareness affected Dave dramatically. "Knowing about my father's upbringing not only made me more sympathetic for him, but it helped me see that, under the circumstances, he might have done much worse. By the time he died, I can honestly say we were friends."” (Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, p. 171)
To be perfect in Christ, David Simmons had to learn why his father was so harsh. He had to deal with his father’s shortcomings and work through anger at his father’s attitude. David Simmons could have followed in his father’s footsteps and become a harsh critic and perfection-oriented person who was hard on himself and others. Instead, he became perfectly mature in Christ. He chose to forgive his father. He chose to work through his failings and fears. He chose to give grace, despite the abuse he received.
Spiritual maturity is not easy. It usually comes when you learn hard lessons. I have found that those who have it easy in life do not mature well in the Spirit. They often rely more on money than God. They are often unwilling to forgive others or themselves. They do not bestow grace upon others with aplomb. Jesus wanted you to be perfect before God the Father. He wanted you to learn spiritual maturity. You are well on your way if you meditate here on this website, study your Bible (and not just read it), pray with your whole heart, and spread the good news of salvation. But spiritual maturity is something you will need to strive your whole life to attain. It will involve learning your weaknesses and failing points. It will expose your sin and faulty thinking. It will cause you to deal with your past and work through your troubles. If you are willing to face the difficulties, spiritual maturity can bring you a wonderful peace with God. It will show you aspects of the faith that are hidden to others. Spiritual maturity will reveal the insights of scripture in new ways and empower your prayer to awesome heights. It will drive you to your knees begging for forgiveness. Then, it will get you ready to receive forgiveness and grace with the joy God desires.
Will you strive to “be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect”? What do you need to work through in your spiritual life to be more spiritually mature?
Vladimir Horowitz was a perfectionist. Perfectionism is the need to be error-free. It is the extreme desire to not make a mistake or to have your surroundings be “just so”. I find it very interesting that some people think they can be perfect. Human beings are notoriously imperfect. We falter. We fail. We sin. Romans 3:23 states that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Despite this knowledge, some people strive very hard for perfection. They are called perfectionists. They are hard on themselves. They are hard to live with. Often, they not only expect perfection from themselves, they expect it from family members and children. This obsession can damage so many things. It caused Vladimir Horowitz to stop playing the piano in Chicago. It can cause you to become intolerant or cruel. Perfectionism can destroy your ability to be receive forgiveness or to give grace. It is a destructive emotion.
Since perfectionism can be so destructive, psychologically and spiritually, why did Jesus teach in his “Sermon on the Mount” that God’s followers needed to “be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)? Was Jesus expecting faithful people to be perfectionists? No. Jesus’ words are hard to comprehend, because the translation from the Greek original writing of Matthew into English is easily misunderstood. When Jesus said He wanted you to “be perfect”, He didn’t mean you should “be perfectionistic”. There is a difference. The original Greek word for “perfect” used in this verse means to be “complete”, “mature”, or “without a blemish”. It doesn’t mean you haven’t sinned. It means you have matured to the point where you understand what sin is and what to do about it. To be perfect, Jesus desired for you to be spiritually “mature” enough to deal with things like sin and grace, repentance and salvation, right and wrong, evil and righteousness. How spiritually mature are you?
“In his men's seminar, David Simmons, a former cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, tells about his childhood home. His father, a military man, was extremely demanding, rarely saying a kind word, always pushing him with harsh criticism to do better. The father had decided that he would never permit his son to feel any satisfaction from his accomplishments, reminding him there were always new goals ahead. When Dave was a little boy, his dad gave him a bicycle, unassembled, with the command that he put it together. After Dave struggled to the point of tears with the difficult instructions and many parts, his father said, "I knew you couldn't do it." Then he assembled it for him.
When Dave played football in high school, his father was unrelenting in his criticisms. In the backyard of his home, after every game, his dad would go over every play and point out Dave's errors. "Most boys got butterflies in the stomach before the game; I got them afterwards. Facing my father was more stressful than facing any opposing team." By the time he entered college, Dave hated his father and his harsh discipline. He chose to play football at the University of Georgia because its campus was further from home than any school that offered him a scholarship. After college, he became the second-round draft pick of the St. Louis cardinal's professional football club. Joe Namath (who later signed with the New York Jets), was the club's first round pick that year. "Excited, "I telephoned my father to tell him the good news. He said, 'How does it feel to be second?'"
Despite the hateful feelings he had for his father, Dave began to build a bridge to his dad. Christ had come into his life during college years, and it was God's love that made him turn to his father. During visits home he stimulated conversation with him and listened with interest to what his father had to say. He learned for the first time what his grandfather had been like--a tough lumberjack known for his quick temper. Once he destroyed a pickup truck with a sledgehammer because it wouldn't start, and he often beat his son. This new awareness affected Dave dramatically. "Knowing about my father's upbringing not only made me more sympathetic for him, but it helped me see that, under the circumstances, he might have done much worse. By the time he died, I can honestly say we were friends."” (Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, p. 171)
To be perfect in Christ, David Simmons had to learn why his father was so harsh. He had to deal with his father’s shortcomings and work through anger at his father’s attitude. David Simmons could have followed in his father’s footsteps and become a harsh critic and perfection-oriented person who was hard on himself and others. Instead, he became perfectly mature in Christ. He chose to forgive his father. He chose to work through his failings and fears. He chose to give grace, despite the abuse he received.
Spiritual maturity is not easy. It usually comes when you learn hard lessons. I have found that those who have it easy in life do not mature well in the Spirit. They often rely more on money than God. They are often unwilling to forgive others or themselves. They do not bestow grace upon others with aplomb. Jesus wanted you to be perfect before God the Father. He wanted you to learn spiritual maturity. You are well on your way if you meditate here on this website, study your Bible (and not just read it), pray with your whole heart, and spread the good news of salvation. But spiritual maturity is something you will need to strive your whole life to attain. It will involve learning your weaknesses and failing points. It will expose your sin and faulty thinking. It will cause you to deal with your past and work through your troubles. If you are willing to face the difficulties, spiritual maturity can bring you a wonderful peace with God. It will show you aspects of the faith that are hidden to others. Spiritual maturity will reveal the insights of scripture in new ways and empower your prayer to awesome heights. It will drive you to your knees begging for forgiveness. Then, it will get you ready to receive forgiveness and grace with the joy God desires.
Will you strive to “be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect”? What do you need to work through in your spiritual life to be more spiritually mature?
July 4
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, RSV)
The scripture above explains that before God, there is no distinction between people. Since the days of Adam and Eve, we are born into this world. We experience life and death. We must face God with our choices. For the Apostle Paul, who wrote this verse, people are equal in the sight of God. It’s not that there aren’t differences in color or wealth or heritage. What Paul was saying is that everyone who has chosen faith in Christ Jesus is of one family, one spiritual body, with one heavenly home. We will all be judged equally on the basis of our faith and sin and life and choices. There may be leaders and followers in the church, but all will equally be required to follow God’s ways. Nobody is exempt from following God’s word. Nobody is worth more or less as a person. Each life is precious.
The idea that every life has equal precious worth is a strong element of Christian faith. I can think of no other religion where this is as clearly prominent. Since this idea has been such a strong part of Christian faith for centuries, it also influenced the writers of the Declaration of Independence from 1776. There, Thomas Jefferson was influenced to write that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” You will notice in Jefferson’s choice of words that he believed human equality was “endowed by their Creator”, given as a gift by Almighty God. God intended for people to treat each other with equal respect and honor, a shared understanding of life and love and faith and God. In Jefferson’s original manuscript for the Declaration of Independence, he initially penned that “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…”. Again, Jefferson was of the notion that the equality of human beings was a “sacred thing”, ordained by God.
You might think that the “modern” notion of human equality is a common concept. It is not. Many religions of ancient time held that one ethnic group or sex or family or genetic grouping or organization held special status on earth and/or heaven. The equality of people before Almighty God was not a commonly held belief. The worth of each life was often determined by birth order, parentage, sex, and ethnic standing. You were “born into” your worth or worthless state. For some of these religions, even God’s view of your worth was determined by genetics. Nobody was equal. Faith in Jesus Christ radically altered that view. Paul’s words in the scripture bore fruit of that change.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28 that “all are one in Christ Jesus”. Your worth before God didn’t matter even if you were Jew or Greek, even if you were slave or free, even if you were male or female. All were one in Christ, and equal in the sight of God. God’s judgment was not determined by the color of one’s skin or the heritage of one’s parents, or the nationality of one’s family. Issues of faith and righteousness and sin and repentance and more became what was most important. One’s place is life meant less. One’s faithful character determined one’s value to God. Genetics was not as important. Even poor genetics, like being born blind, did not matter to Jesus. Faith determined one’s relationship with God and one’s future. Genetic defects did not prove one human being to be superior to another in the sight of God.
In the world today, many unfaithful human beings enjoy setting up distinctions among people. Instead of “All Lives Matter Equally”, we are bombarded with “Black Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter”. Even though it is against the law in the United States, there are hiring preferences based on one’s color or sex or other distinctions. When companies set up a board or leadership group, they often stack it with people of diversity instead of filling it with the most capable and effective people. I have been turned down for jobs because I was not black, I was not female, I didn’t fill a quota. I’m sure I also was looked upon more generously for being born white. Sadly, people look at the skin and sex of a person to determine their worth for a job or for the status in society. They do not heed God’s word and make their choices based on gifts and ability and character and faith and Spirit. Those who do not follow God’s rules have been and will always be racist and sexist and every other “ist”. They don’t see the world through God’s eyes. They make distinctions where God does not.
When I was a Licensed Pastor in St. Louis, I worked many hours in the Food Pantry at the church. One of my jobs was to take the church van twice a week to retrieve food at a local bakery warehouse. The food was too old to be considered “fresh”, but was just fine for the poor to eat. Because the warehouse often had hundreds of pounds of bakery goods to donate to the Food Pantry, I usually took one other person with me. Often, it was a volunteer or member of the church. Many times, I went with Gerry, an African American man who was also a member of the church. He was a big guy, very friendly, and absolutely trustworthy. I would trust my life with Gerry. Gerry and I were close. Gerry and I constantly talked, teased, laughed, and shared. When we were around each other, nothing seemed too difficult. His faith was so uplifting. His soul was a joy to be around.
One day, after picking up our load of baked goods at the warehouse, the manager had me sign off on the shipment. As I was doing so, Gerry and I were bantering back and forth and laughing about something at the church. At a lull in the conversation, the manager said to us, “Are you two brothers?” We acted like brothers. We were surely brothers in Christ. However, he was black, and I am white. The man didn’t see the color of our skin! He only saw the way we acted around one another…. like brothers. And we were. We were brothers in Christ, equal before the Lord!
When our world does not listen to God, people begin drawing distinctions. They begin to separate the worth of people according to things like skin color and level of intelligence. They often refuse to see the worth of each person and instead begin to foment inequalities. In places where God is not worshiped, you will find all sorts of horrors and atrocities made by people who do not want to follow God’s Word. Evil will always seek to split people up according to elitist attitudes. Evil will always cause hatred and envy and strife to be the norm. Only God can bring people together. Only God can cause true equality in the worth of persons in this world.
The idea that every life has equal precious worth is a strong element of Christian faith. I can think of no other religion where this is as clearly prominent. Since this idea has been such a strong part of Christian faith for centuries, it also influenced the writers of the Declaration of Independence from 1776. There, Thomas Jefferson was influenced to write that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” You will notice in Jefferson’s choice of words that he believed human equality was “endowed by their Creator”, given as a gift by Almighty God. God intended for people to treat each other with equal respect and honor, a shared understanding of life and love and faith and God. In Jefferson’s original manuscript for the Declaration of Independence, he initially penned that “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…”. Again, Jefferson was of the notion that the equality of human beings was a “sacred thing”, ordained by God.
You might think that the “modern” notion of human equality is a common concept. It is not. Many religions of ancient time held that one ethnic group or sex or family or genetic grouping or organization held special status on earth and/or heaven. The equality of people before Almighty God was not a commonly held belief. The worth of each life was often determined by birth order, parentage, sex, and ethnic standing. You were “born into” your worth or worthless state. For some of these religions, even God’s view of your worth was determined by genetics. Nobody was equal. Faith in Jesus Christ radically altered that view. Paul’s words in the scripture bore fruit of that change.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28 that “all are one in Christ Jesus”. Your worth before God didn’t matter even if you were Jew or Greek, even if you were slave or free, even if you were male or female. All were one in Christ, and equal in the sight of God. God’s judgment was not determined by the color of one’s skin or the heritage of one’s parents, or the nationality of one’s family. Issues of faith and righteousness and sin and repentance and more became what was most important. One’s place is life meant less. One’s faithful character determined one’s value to God. Genetics was not as important. Even poor genetics, like being born blind, did not matter to Jesus. Faith determined one’s relationship with God and one’s future. Genetic defects did not prove one human being to be superior to another in the sight of God.
In the world today, many unfaithful human beings enjoy setting up distinctions among people. Instead of “All Lives Matter Equally”, we are bombarded with “Black Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter”. Even though it is against the law in the United States, there are hiring preferences based on one’s color or sex or other distinctions. When companies set up a board or leadership group, they often stack it with people of diversity instead of filling it with the most capable and effective people. I have been turned down for jobs because I was not black, I was not female, I didn’t fill a quota. I’m sure I also was looked upon more generously for being born white. Sadly, people look at the skin and sex of a person to determine their worth for a job or for the status in society. They do not heed God’s word and make their choices based on gifts and ability and character and faith and Spirit. Those who do not follow God’s rules have been and will always be racist and sexist and every other “ist”. They don’t see the world through God’s eyes. They make distinctions where God does not.
When I was a Licensed Pastor in St. Louis, I worked many hours in the Food Pantry at the church. One of my jobs was to take the church van twice a week to retrieve food at a local bakery warehouse. The food was too old to be considered “fresh”, but was just fine for the poor to eat. Because the warehouse often had hundreds of pounds of bakery goods to donate to the Food Pantry, I usually took one other person with me. Often, it was a volunteer or member of the church. Many times, I went with Gerry, an African American man who was also a member of the church. He was a big guy, very friendly, and absolutely trustworthy. I would trust my life with Gerry. Gerry and I were close. Gerry and I constantly talked, teased, laughed, and shared. When we were around each other, nothing seemed too difficult. His faith was so uplifting. His soul was a joy to be around.
One day, after picking up our load of baked goods at the warehouse, the manager had me sign off on the shipment. As I was doing so, Gerry and I were bantering back and forth and laughing about something at the church. At a lull in the conversation, the manager said to us, “Are you two brothers?” We acted like brothers. We were surely brothers in Christ. However, he was black, and I am white. The man didn’t see the color of our skin! He only saw the way we acted around one another…. like brothers. And we were. We were brothers in Christ, equal before the Lord!
When our world does not listen to God, people begin drawing distinctions. They begin to separate the worth of people according to things like skin color and level of intelligence. They often refuse to see the worth of each person and instead begin to foment inequalities. In places where God is not worshiped, you will find all sorts of horrors and atrocities made by people who do not want to follow God’s Word. Evil will always seek to split people up according to elitist attitudes. Evil will always cause hatred and envy and strife to be the norm. Only God can bring people together. Only God can cause true equality in the worth of persons in this world.
July 7
“After sending them home, he [Jesus] went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.” (Matthew 14:23, NLT)
On April 6, 1979, Christianity Today magazine shocked its readers with the revelations from several studies that were undertaken concerning pastors and prayer. What did not surprise anyone was the fact that pastors usually pray every day. Pastors need a strong connection with God. They need to work things out with God and receive divine direction. This came through in the studies. What surprised those who led the studies as well as the readers of the magazine was that the average pastor spent only three minutes in prayer each day. Three minutes! If your medical doctor spent three minutes keeping up with new medical treatments, would you be worried? If teachers performed their obligated continuing education required to keep their teaching license by spending three minutes a day in advanced learning, would children suffer? In my estimation, after decades of ministry, three minutes of prayer is not adequate for laypeople, why would it be for pastors?
Prayer time is often a neglected spiritual aspect in the Christian life today. Muslims are ordered by God to pray five times a day at minimum. This religious ritual is called the Salat. So important is this prayer ritual that mosques all over the world issue a call to prayer at these times. Jewish people are urged to perform the Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma’ariv prayer times in the respective morning, afternoon, and evening each day. These are in addition to special prayer times for Sabbath and holy days. Many other religions hold prayer times as requirements. Christianity, however, has failed to uphold the importance of prayer. It is not that prayers aren’t central to the New Testament. Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. In Luke 22, Jesus urged His followers to pray in order to resist temptation (Luke 22:40, 46). Paul prayed often. He reminded the faithful in Thessalonica to pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He told the Ephesians to pray at all times in the Spirit, especially during times of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6). Throughout the Bible, amazing things happened when people prayed fervently. Needed rain came at the perfect time, saving the crops (James 5:18). Healing occurred (James 5:14). People were saved and protected (Jeremiah 29:12, John 17:15). The faithful received courage and strength (Luke 18:1). With so much evidence of the power of prayer, why do so many neglect their prayer time?
A member of my congregation was rushed to the hospital. They thought he was having a heart attack. What they discovered was that his heart went into arrhythmia, beating rapidly and out of sync. The member was very uncomfortable, suffering chest pains and nausea as doctors attempted to remedy the problem. The medical staff administered medicine to no effect. One doctor wanted to shock his heart back into rhythm. For more than an hour they tried to get his heart to function normally. They were extremely concerned that he was going to have a stroke. At that moment when everything was going wrong, his wife and I entered his room in the Emergency area. The doctors had retreated to consult on the next course of action. The wife had asked that I come in the room for prayer. The doctors were perturbed at the interruption, but she would not relent. I placed my hand upon his chest and prayed for God to be with the man. After about a minute of prayer, I could hear and feel a change in the man. His breathing ceased to be labored. Then, a doctor rushed in the room but stopped before interrupting us. After we finished praying, the doctor announced that while we prayed the man’s heart jumped right back into perfect rhythm. This effect lasted just long enough for the doctors to decide on the next course of action.
The doctors were surprised at the change in the heart rhythm while we prayed. I was not. I had seen prayer change things. A study of prayer that I perused many years ago noted that prayers even can act like strong antibiotics, helping weaken and destroy infection. Nobody knows how or why it works. Some have chalked it up to a placebo effect. I know better. God works powerfully through prayer in ways that medical professionals today cannot figure out. Even at the cellular level, prayer can have great effects.
I have personally experienced the following things happening when I prayed fervently in the Spirit:
Anxiety decreased.
Healing came to pass.
I received direction from God.
Spine tingling evil spirits disappeared or were kept away.
A problem was clarified.
I received warnings of evil intent.
God gave me time to prepare for important events soon to unfold.
A course of action became clear.
Prophecies came to my mind. Future events were foretold.
Forgiveness was experienced.
The Holy Spirit moved through me to another.
Grace and peace were conferred.
Evil was thwarted.
Others were protected.
I was protected.
In the scripture from Matthew 14:23, Jesus sent away the disciples while he prayed. So important was his prayer time that night, that he dedicated time to pray fervently alone. He prayed for hours into the night. This verse shows Jesus placing great importance in prayer time, especially in crucial spiritual moments. As Jesus prayed, the disciples weathered a storm. Immediately following this very prayer time, Jesus walked on the water to protect the disciples. Prayer can strengthen and protect you in ways that you may never know.
What is stopping you from praying more often? Do you want more depth or spiritual insight? Do you need to find direction or healing, protection or strength? How much time have you spent praying lately? Don’t neglect your time with God. Pray often. Pray in the Spirit. Pray like your life depends on it… because it does.
Prayer time is often a neglected spiritual aspect in the Christian life today. Muslims are ordered by God to pray five times a day at minimum. This religious ritual is called the Salat. So important is this prayer ritual that mosques all over the world issue a call to prayer at these times. Jewish people are urged to perform the Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma’ariv prayer times in the respective morning, afternoon, and evening each day. These are in addition to special prayer times for Sabbath and holy days. Many other religions hold prayer times as requirements. Christianity, however, has failed to uphold the importance of prayer. It is not that prayers aren’t central to the New Testament. Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. In Luke 22, Jesus urged His followers to pray in order to resist temptation (Luke 22:40, 46). Paul prayed often. He reminded the faithful in Thessalonica to pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He told the Ephesians to pray at all times in the Spirit, especially during times of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6). Throughout the Bible, amazing things happened when people prayed fervently. Needed rain came at the perfect time, saving the crops (James 5:18). Healing occurred (James 5:14). People were saved and protected (Jeremiah 29:12, John 17:15). The faithful received courage and strength (Luke 18:1). With so much evidence of the power of prayer, why do so many neglect their prayer time?
A member of my congregation was rushed to the hospital. They thought he was having a heart attack. What they discovered was that his heart went into arrhythmia, beating rapidly and out of sync. The member was very uncomfortable, suffering chest pains and nausea as doctors attempted to remedy the problem. The medical staff administered medicine to no effect. One doctor wanted to shock his heart back into rhythm. For more than an hour they tried to get his heart to function normally. They were extremely concerned that he was going to have a stroke. At that moment when everything was going wrong, his wife and I entered his room in the Emergency area. The doctors had retreated to consult on the next course of action. The wife had asked that I come in the room for prayer. The doctors were perturbed at the interruption, but she would not relent. I placed my hand upon his chest and prayed for God to be with the man. After about a minute of prayer, I could hear and feel a change in the man. His breathing ceased to be labored. Then, a doctor rushed in the room but stopped before interrupting us. After we finished praying, the doctor announced that while we prayed the man’s heart jumped right back into perfect rhythm. This effect lasted just long enough for the doctors to decide on the next course of action.
The doctors were surprised at the change in the heart rhythm while we prayed. I was not. I had seen prayer change things. A study of prayer that I perused many years ago noted that prayers even can act like strong antibiotics, helping weaken and destroy infection. Nobody knows how or why it works. Some have chalked it up to a placebo effect. I know better. God works powerfully through prayer in ways that medical professionals today cannot figure out. Even at the cellular level, prayer can have great effects.
I have personally experienced the following things happening when I prayed fervently in the Spirit:
Anxiety decreased.
Healing came to pass.
I received direction from God.
Spine tingling evil spirits disappeared or were kept away.
A problem was clarified.
I received warnings of evil intent.
God gave me time to prepare for important events soon to unfold.
A course of action became clear.
Prophecies came to my mind. Future events were foretold.
Forgiveness was experienced.
The Holy Spirit moved through me to another.
Grace and peace were conferred.
Evil was thwarted.
Others were protected.
I was protected.
In the scripture from Matthew 14:23, Jesus sent away the disciples while he prayed. So important was his prayer time that night, that he dedicated time to pray fervently alone. He prayed for hours into the night. This verse shows Jesus placing great importance in prayer time, especially in crucial spiritual moments. As Jesus prayed, the disciples weathered a storm. Immediately following this very prayer time, Jesus walked on the water to protect the disciples. Prayer can strengthen and protect you in ways that you may never know.
What is stopping you from praying more often? Do you want more depth or spiritual insight? Do you need to find direction or healing, protection or strength? How much time have you spent praying lately? Don’t neglect your time with God. Pray often. Pray in the Spirit. Pray like your life depends on it… because it does.
July 9
“for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:14, NKJV)
Some authorities believe there are as many as 160 million Chinese Christians. Many of them must worship only in the home or in protected places as the Chinese Communist Party has restrictions and rules against religious worship. Also, there are crackdowns on Christian leaders and churches at various times and various places. In an article on the suffering of communist Christians, author Adrienne Deprisco wrote that “Chinese leader Xi Jinping clearly views open access to religion as a threat against his view of the future”(Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, January 30, 2018). In response, the government has tried to control Christianity, coopt it, manipulate it, and damage its outreach and ministries.
I have watched closely the suffering and issues facing our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ. I have a picture next to my desk of two missionary Pastors in China and pray for them often. On this web site in the past, I have reported on the removal of crosses and Christian monuments and buildings in China. I have kept an eye on the situation. Lately, I have been surprised by some things happening in that part of the world.
At the end of 2019, China experienced a plague of great proportions in the form of a new Coronavirus named Covid-19. Entire regions of China continue to suffer greatly from that virus. Then in 2020, some amazing things have been seen in China. There were floods of such epic proportions that one Western news source called them “epic” and “of biblical proportions”. Since May, 121 people have been reported missing and 21 million people have been affected! The famous Three Gorges Dam touted by the Communist regime as a wonder of the world is in danger of collapse. In May and June, violent tornadoes that are extremely rare broke out in Liaoning and then Kaiuyang. In June a tornado and violent hailstorm killed more than 98 people in Jiangsu. In April, a hailstorm of epic proportions, with hail the size of eggs, rattled Guizhou. At the end of June, Beijing was hit with another huge hailstorm. In a surprising twist, some of the pieces of hail recovered looked exactly like the shape of a coronavirus! A locust storm in Pakistan was so severe in March that the food supply to China was threatened. China sent pesticides and even 100,000 ducks to help fight the plague! In an unusual situation on May 21st, Beijing was thrust into darkness. A storm there was so severe that all the lights came on in Beijing as the city was plunged into darkness. A video on YouTube shows the city in complete darkness at 3:45 in the afternoon! On June 28th/29th, more than a foot of snow fell in Xinjiang. So far, China has experienced plagues in the forms of a virus, floods, locusts, tornadoes, hail, darkness, and more. When I told a man who is not even a Christian about what is going on in China, his immediate response to me was, “It sounds just like the plagues from the Bible!” I thought the same thing. For several years, the Chinese government has messed with Christians and people of faith. Is God hitting back?
If you ask most Christians if God is alive and active in the universe, almost all would agree that God is both. If this is true, what makes any of us think that God would sit idly by while people attack and belittle HIS children? I have heard people say that plagues and miracles of the Bible no longer occur. My experience has been different. I’ve seen miracles of healing and spiritual insight and prophecies come true. I have witnessed people make fun of God and be struck down. Would it surprise me that God is sending plagues upon China? No. God is more than capable.
In the book of Exodus, God had a message for Pharaoh. After Pharaoh’s cruel treatment of the people of Israel, Moses was to deliver an ultimatum from God. As part of that ultimatum, God said, “I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14). When Pharaoh rejected God’s message, even challenging Moses, God sent the plagues upon Egypt. There were plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, darkness, hail, boils, locusts, and death. By the time the plagues were ended, Egypt was decimated. God would not be mocked!
God is alive and aware of your situation in life. God knows when you are faithful. God knows when unfaithful people mock your faith and reject His authority. When God issued the challenge to Pharaoh through Moses, God was hoping Pharaoh would repent and end the persecutions. Even at that last minute, God was still hoping for Pharaoh to humble himself. That didn’t happen. The plagues were the end result.
God is alive and active in our universe, even now. God is affecting your world, watching over your situation, aware of your needs. God has the ability to shake up our world. God is hoping for repentance and faith but is willing to do what it takes to protect the faithful. What happened in Egypt in the days of Moses is always capable of happening in our world today! Some people never learn. Some do!
“So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.” (Deuteronomy 26:8, NKJV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loF2Guc2t9k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps_v1Y-Mzvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU1B40U922U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wpBvr4JAIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hviHTgnYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc6Rdi1A9DY
I have watched closely the suffering and issues facing our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ. I have a picture next to my desk of two missionary Pastors in China and pray for them often. On this web site in the past, I have reported on the removal of crosses and Christian monuments and buildings in China. I have kept an eye on the situation. Lately, I have been surprised by some things happening in that part of the world.
At the end of 2019, China experienced a plague of great proportions in the form of a new Coronavirus named Covid-19. Entire regions of China continue to suffer greatly from that virus. Then in 2020, some amazing things have been seen in China. There were floods of such epic proportions that one Western news source called them “epic” and “of biblical proportions”. Since May, 121 people have been reported missing and 21 million people have been affected! The famous Three Gorges Dam touted by the Communist regime as a wonder of the world is in danger of collapse. In May and June, violent tornadoes that are extremely rare broke out in Liaoning and then Kaiuyang. In June a tornado and violent hailstorm killed more than 98 people in Jiangsu. In April, a hailstorm of epic proportions, with hail the size of eggs, rattled Guizhou. At the end of June, Beijing was hit with another huge hailstorm. In a surprising twist, some of the pieces of hail recovered looked exactly like the shape of a coronavirus! A locust storm in Pakistan was so severe in March that the food supply to China was threatened. China sent pesticides and even 100,000 ducks to help fight the plague! In an unusual situation on May 21st, Beijing was thrust into darkness. A storm there was so severe that all the lights came on in Beijing as the city was plunged into darkness. A video on YouTube shows the city in complete darkness at 3:45 in the afternoon! On June 28th/29th, more than a foot of snow fell in Xinjiang. So far, China has experienced plagues in the forms of a virus, floods, locusts, tornadoes, hail, darkness, and more. When I told a man who is not even a Christian about what is going on in China, his immediate response to me was, “It sounds just like the plagues from the Bible!” I thought the same thing. For several years, the Chinese government has messed with Christians and people of faith. Is God hitting back?
If you ask most Christians if God is alive and active in the universe, almost all would agree that God is both. If this is true, what makes any of us think that God would sit idly by while people attack and belittle HIS children? I have heard people say that plagues and miracles of the Bible no longer occur. My experience has been different. I’ve seen miracles of healing and spiritual insight and prophecies come true. I have witnessed people make fun of God and be struck down. Would it surprise me that God is sending plagues upon China? No. God is more than capable.
In the book of Exodus, God had a message for Pharaoh. After Pharaoh’s cruel treatment of the people of Israel, Moses was to deliver an ultimatum from God. As part of that ultimatum, God said, “I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14). When Pharaoh rejected God’s message, even challenging Moses, God sent the plagues upon Egypt. There were plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, darkness, hail, boils, locusts, and death. By the time the plagues were ended, Egypt was decimated. God would not be mocked!
God is alive and aware of your situation in life. God knows when you are faithful. God knows when unfaithful people mock your faith and reject His authority. When God issued the challenge to Pharaoh through Moses, God was hoping Pharaoh would repent and end the persecutions. Even at that last minute, God was still hoping for Pharaoh to humble himself. That didn’t happen. The plagues were the end result.
God is alive and active in our universe, even now. God is affecting your world, watching over your situation, aware of your needs. God has the ability to shake up our world. God is hoping for repentance and faith but is willing to do what it takes to protect the faithful. What happened in Egypt in the days of Moses is always capable of happening in our world today! Some people never learn. Some do!
“So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.” (Deuteronomy 26:8, NKJV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loF2Guc2t9k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps_v1Y-Mzvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU1B40U922U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wpBvr4JAIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hviHTgnYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc6Rdi1A9DY
July 11
“Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.” (Proverbs 4:14–15, NLT)
The first season of the hit comedy series “Gilligan’s Island” introduced a character known as Wrongway Feldman. “Wrongway Feldman was a World War I pilot, who had a reputation for going the wrong way, even bombing his own airfield, thus his nickname. He was considered the most incompetent airman there ever was, or at least pretending to be that incompetent. He flew an old Bristol Scout biplane in the United States Army Air Corp during the war, and afterward, he acquired a second biplane known as The Spirit of the Bronx. Wrongway got his nickname much later while flying for Howell Aviation by setting a record for flying from Chicago to New Orleans when he was supposed to fly to Minneapolis from Chicago.” (Gilligan.fandom.com)
While it is hilarious to consider the comedic interaction of such a character as Wrongway Feldman, I want you to consider what his role represented. Feldman typified the person who had issues with directions. Either he couldn’t follow them or was hopelessly without the innate ability to sense a direction. I believe there are Christians who are like Wrongway Feldman spiritually. They might follow the wrong path in life. They might lack direction. They might make poor choices when deciding which way to go. Going a wrong direction in your life may not only cost you valuable time and jeopardize your financial stability, it can cause your relationship with God to deteriorate greatly.
Nestled in chapter four of the book of Proverbs is a little bit of wisdom for the ages. It was put there to remind every faithful person that the path you choose to follow in life can have serious consequences. If you choose the right path, you will grow and mature in beautiful ways. Choose the wrong path and all kinds of bad things will usually happen to you. Some people go through life following the paths of others. Many young people are influenced by sports figures, celebrities, or historical figures. Some of these luminaries are worth following or emulating. However, most are not. If you follow the path in life they set, you may end up in a bad place. Proverbs 4:14 urges the reader to never “follow the path of evildoers”. God does not want you to heed the instruction or desire the worldly goods of the wicked. If you do, you will only end up hurting yourself or endangering your future. Today’s scripture flat-out demands you not follow down evil paths in life. It uses words like, “Don’t even think about it” and “Turn away” and “Don’t go that way” (Proverbs 4:14-15). God commands that you never follow those directions, especially in your spiritual life.
When Carolyn attended college, her favorite professor was Dr. Karen. In Carolyn’s second year of college, she took a Gender Studies class with Dr. Karen. Carolyn took the class after hearing that Dr. Karen’s class was not only an easy subject, but it was fun and engaging. Carolyn desired an easier class, because she had just broken up with her long-time boyfriend from back home and was struggling in her personal life as well as her classwork. Carolyn thought it might be interesting to learn about feminism, women’s rights, sexual freedom, and oppression from Dr. Karen. After only a few weeks, Carolyn was enamored with the professor. She began to see her life from new perspectives. Dr. Karen taught Carolyn that men were oppressors, women as liberators, various social structures are patriarchal, and marriage is a form of slavery. The more Carolyn heard from Dr. Karen, the more she felt a real part of the women’s movement and that men in her life were the real problem.
Throughout college and long after, the social concepts taught in Dr. Karen’s Gender Studies class continued to influence Carolyn’s life. She became an ardent feminist. She fought for abortion rights, demanded an end to what she perceived as patriarchal systems, and marched for socialist causes. She no longer dates men. She has abandoned her male friends. She is hated by her male colleagues at work. She rejected her family. She no longer goes to church. She views God as a patriarchal construct of religious zealots. Carolyn has a lot of followers on Twitter. She often speaks on women’s rights issues to various groups and organizations. Carolyn is a well-regarded author. You might view Carolyn as a happy woman who is experiencing great joy in her love of women’s rights. However, Carolyn is in no way happy. In fact, she is very depressed and needs to take medicine in order to deal with her own personal demons. Despite a great following on social media, Carolyn is an angry person who feels empty inside. She will not say it openly, but she would love to have a traditional family and to be loved. However, she cannot live that way and make the money she is making as a feminist social-media influencer.
Carolyn followed the teachings of Dr. Karen. Do you see how it not only influenced her life but caused her to end up where she is today? Carolyn is considered a role-model for feminist women. She is quoted in magazines and newspapers. She is invited to meet with influential people and is a highly sought-after speaker. However, those who follow Carolyn need to realize that because her “religion” is based on feminist ideals and not on God, those who follow her will never feel a spiritual connection to the Almighty. Those who follow her will not feel a deep spiritual peace or a real joy. They might be wealthy, but they will never be whole. Carolyn’s anger and depression are rooted in the fact that she has followed a worldly path toward meaning in her life. Anyone who followers after her is bound to end up in the same place.
If you follow the wrong people in life, you will end up in wrong places. I have found that those who have a real and healthy relationship with God in Christ not only live better but deal with life in a more holistic way. The faithful find peace in the midst of chaos, hope in the midst of sadness, love in the midst of loss. I see so many people who follow one fad or another, one philosophy after another, whatever is popular at the time. They might find a lot of followers on social media, but they will never feel right with God. Your life will involve many choices and decisions. You will have to make a way in this world. Be careful which paths you choose and which people you follow closely. They will deeply impact your future. Be wary of those who use wicked worldly ways to accomplish their goals. As today’s scripture warns, “Turn away and keep moving”. If you follow the path of evildoers, you will never find true peace or happiness or wholeness or any heavenly home. You just might find a hell on earth and the same for a long time after.
Are you on the right path now in your life? Is your spiritual life going in the right direction? Every now and then, it is a good idea to assess your surroundings and make sure you are walking in the right way.
While it is hilarious to consider the comedic interaction of such a character as Wrongway Feldman, I want you to consider what his role represented. Feldman typified the person who had issues with directions. Either he couldn’t follow them or was hopelessly without the innate ability to sense a direction. I believe there are Christians who are like Wrongway Feldman spiritually. They might follow the wrong path in life. They might lack direction. They might make poor choices when deciding which way to go. Going a wrong direction in your life may not only cost you valuable time and jeopardize your financial stability, it can cause your relationship with God to deteriorate greatly.
Nestled in chapter four of the book of Proverbs is a little bit of wisdom for the ages. It was put there to remind every faithful person that the path you choose to follow in life can have serious consequences. If you choose the right path, you will grow and mature in beautiful ways. Choose the wrong path and all kinds of bad things will usually happen to you. Some people go through life following the paths of others. Many young people are influenced by sports figures, celebrities, or historical figures. Some of these luminaries are worth following or emulating. However, most are not. If you follow the path in life they set, you may end up in a bad place. Proverbs 4:14 urges the reader to never “follow the path of evildoers”. God does not want you to heed the instruction or desire the worldly goods of the wicked. If you do, you will only end up hurting yourself or endangering your future. Today’s scripture flat-out demands you not follow down evil paths in life. It uses words like, “Don’t even think about it” and “Turn away” and “Don’t go that way” (Proverbs 4:14-15). God commands that you never follow those directions, especially in your spiritual life.
When Carolyn attended college, her favorite professor was Dr. Karen. In Carolyn’s second year of college, she took a Gender Studies class with Dr. Karen. Carolyn took the class after hearing that Dr. Karen’s class was not only an easy subject, but it was fun and engaging. Carolyn desired an easier class, because she had just broken up with her long-time boyfriend from back home and was struggling in her personal life as well as her classwork. Carolyn thought it might be interesting to learn about feminism, women’s rights, sexual freedom, and oppression from Dr. Karen. After only a few weeks, Carolyn was enamored with the professor. She began to see her life from new perspectives. Dr. Karen taught Carolyn that men were oppressors, women as liberators, various social structures are patriarchal, and marriage is a form of slavery. The more Carolyn heard from Dr. Karen, the more she felt a real part of the women’s movement and that men in her life were the real problem.
Throughout college and long after, the social concepts taught in Dr. Karen’s Gender Studies class continued to influence Carolyn’s life. She became an ardent feminist. She fought for abortion rights, demanded an end to what she perceived as patriarchal systems, and marched for socialist causes. She no longer dates men. She has abandoned her male friends. She is hated by her male colleagues at work. She rejected her family. She no longer goes to church. She views God as a patriarchal construct of religious zealots. Carolyn has a lot of followers on Twitter. She often speaks on women’s rights issues to various groups and organizations. Carolyn is a well-regarded author. You might view Carolyn as a happy woman who is experiencing great joy in her love of women’s rights. However, Carolyn is in no way happy. In fact, she is very depressed and needs to take medicine in order to deal with her own personal demons. Despite a great following on social media, Carolyn is an angry person who feels empty inside. She will not say it openly, but she would love to have a traditional family and to be loved. However, she cannot live that way and make the money she is making as a feminist social-media influencer.
Carolyn followed the teachings of Dr. Karen. Do you see how it not only influenced her life but caused her to end up where she is today? Carolyn is considered a role-model for feminist women. She is quoted in magazines and newspapers. She is invited to meet with influential people and is a highly sought-after speaker. However, those who follow Carolyn need to realize that because her “religion” is based on feminist ideals and not on God, those who follow her will never feel a spiritual connection to the Almighty. Those who follow her will not feel a deep spiritual peace or a real joy. They might be wealthy, but they will never be whole. Carolyn’s anger and depression are rooted in the fact that she has followed a worldly path toward meaning in her life. Anyone who followers after her is bound to end up in the same place.
If you follow the wrong people in life, you will end up in wrong places. I have found that those who have a real and healthy relationship with God in Christ not only live better but deal with life in a more holistic way. The faithful find peace in the midst of chaos, hope in the midst of sadness, love in the midst of loss. I see so many people who follow one fad or another, one philosophy after another, whatever is popular at the time. They might find a lot of followers on social media, but they will never feel right with God. Your life will involve many choices and decisions. You will have to make a way in this world. Be careful which paths you choose and which people you follow closely. They will deeply impact your future. Be wary of those who use wicked worldly ways to accomplish their goals. As today’s scripture warns, “Turn away and keep moving”. If you follow the path of evildoers, you will never find true peace or happiness or wholeness or any heavenly home. You just might find a hell on earth and the same for a long time after.
Are you on the right path now in your life? Is your spiritual life going in the right direction? Every now and then, it is a good idea to assess your surroundings and make sure you are walking in the right way.
July 13
“When Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!”” (Matthew 27:24, NET)
In the past three months, there have been more than two hundred riots in our country. Some riots were concerned with government overreach. Some were in response to policing gone wrong. In a few, whole buildings were torched. At more than a few, streets were blocked. In almost all the riots, demands were made that police departments be reformed, racism end, budgets be altered, community rules be rewritten, and more. In most of the instances, people and organizations and churches and police were bullied and threatened by crowds of angry marchers who were sometimes whipped up into a frenzy by manipulative sorts who had hidden agendas. Riots are dangerous places where rapes, murders, brutalities, looting, and all sorts of evil behavior rule the streets. That’s why riots often occur at night. No matter how you view it, rioters usually seek to manipulate public opinion. They don’t desire to change unjust laws like protesters. They seek to manipulate others in order to achieve their own desires. When that happens, you better believe that God’s law will usually be set aside for some kind of earthly gain.
In the scripture for today, Pontius Pilate was forced to make a decision about what to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was arrested by the Jewish authorities and handed over to Pilate for punishment. Pilate interviewed Jesus but found Him to be innocent. The Jewish authorities knew this would be the case, so they made other arrangements to force Pilate’s hand. They staged large angry crowds that threatened to riot. Pilate, upon seeing a riotous mob forming, decided to go along with the Jewish leaders. He followed the wishes of the Jewish authorities. This resulted in Jesus’ death on a cross. The riotous group, worked up into a frenzy by Jewish leaders, had manipulated Pilate into the death sentence. An innocent life was ended. Justice was not done. God’s law was set aside by the riotous actions of a crowd. Even Pilate knew he was being manipulated. His words at that moment were: “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves” (Matthew 27:24b). Though Pilate thought himself innocent, all involved were guilty of causing Jesus’ death, from the Jewish leaders to the riotous mob to Pilate himself.
Have you ever sought to involve others to get your way? You may not have formed a riotous mob, but you may be guilty of the same sin as depicted in the scripture for today. When you decide to use others to manipulate a situation, often God’s law goes out the window. God’s word is abandoned. In the end, you may get your way, but your faith will suffer the responsibility for the sin caused by your manipulation. You may win the battle by using your sly tactics, but the war against evil will be lost. You will be on the wrong side of God’s law.
In a small town on the East Coast of the United States, two young girls attended the same high school. They used to be friends. Because they both had a crush on the same boy, they became ardent enemies. After Steven stopped seeing Kristin in order to date Marcia, Kristin was livid. She felt that Marcia had broken their friendship by stealing her boyfriend. Kristin decided to get even. She began to post information online that made Marcia look elitist. Knowing Marcia’s deepest desires and hopes, Kristin attacked her friend on Social Media. She preyed upon her at school. At every turn, Kristin and her friends made Marcia suffer. Marcia ended up breaking up with Steven, got in trouble with her parents, and became friendless at school. Kristin was elated. She enjoyed watching her old friend suffer.
Six months after Marcia suffered the worst of the fallout from Kristin’s tactics, she committed suicide. Kristin, brought up in a Christian home, vowed to never tell her parents what had transpired to cause the suicide. Every time Kristin’s mother brought up Marcia’s friendship, Kristin started an argument with her mother that ended up with neither of them talking for days. When the Pastor brought up Marcia’s death with the youth group, a few of the youth in attendance looked toward Kristin. She felt so uncomfortable, she stopped going to youth group meetings. When people at school began to have hurt feelings over what was done to Marcia, Kristin was left isolated and alone. Classmates at school knew what Kristin had done. Kristin tried everything in her power to shift the blame.
All this occurred twelve years ago, but Kristin still suffers every day. She now takes antidepressants due to her constant bouts of regret and disappointment from her past. She no longer has any close friends. Boyfriends have become a series of one-night stands. Kristin no longer belongs to a church or desires to do so. Her life is adrift. Her sadness is deep. I fear for her. Without a full confession and repentance to a Graceful God and lots of counseling, her life may never again be filled with real joy or peace with her past.
When you manipulate a situation just to get what you want, God’s way always suffers. You will suffer, too. When jealousy or envy begin to creep into your thoughts, work things out with God. Once you get others involved to manipulate a situation, God will notice the change in sides with your change in tactics. Our Heavenly Father had to watch the suffering unfold when the mobs were manipulated, and Jesus was murdered. How do you think God will view it if you manipulate others in order to get your way?
I have seen many people in church manipulate others so to advance their own agenda. I have seen pastors fired due to the hidden manipulation of an evil puppet-master who could call forth his or her minions to accomplish that evil. I know of situations where pastors were illegally hacked or spied upon by those who sought to get their way. If you allow yourself to be manipulated, you will be a part of that evil. If you are one of the manipulators, you will suffer hell on earth long before suffering in the next life. Nothing good ever comes by manipulating others to get your way.
In the scripture for today, Pontius Pilate was forced to make a decision about what to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was arrested by the Jewish authorities and handed over to Pilate for punishment. Pilate interviewed Jesus but found Him to be innocent. The Jewish authorities knew this would be the case, so they made other arrangements to force Pilate’s hand. They staged large angry crowds that threatened to riot. Pilate, upon seeing a riotous mob forming, decided to go along with the Jewish leaders. He followed the wishes of the Jewish authorities. This resulted in Jesus’ death on a cross. The riotous group, worked up into a frenzy by Jewish leaders, had manipulated Pilate into the death sentence. An innocent life was ended. Justice was not done. God’s law was set aside by the riotous actions of a crowd. Even Pilate knew he was being manipulated. His words at that moment were: “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves” (Matthew 27:24b). Though Pilate thought himself innocent, all involved were guilty of causing Jesus’ death, from the Jewish leaders to the riotous mob to Pilate himself.
Have you ever sought to involve others to get your way? You may not have formed a riotous mob, but you may be guilty of the same sin as depicted in the scripture for today. When you decide to use others to manipulate a situation, often God’s law goes out the window. God’s word is abandoned. In the end, you may get your way, but your faith will suffer the responsibility for the sin caused by your manipulation. You may win the battle by using your sly tactics, but the war against evil will be lost. You will be on the wrong side of God’s law.
In a small town on the East Coast of the United States, two young girls attended the same high school. They used to be friends. Because they both had a crush on the same boy, they became ardent enemies. After Steven stopped seeing Kristin in order to date Marcia, Kristin was livid. She felt that Marcia had broken their friendship by stealing her boyfriend. Kristin decided to get even. She began to post information online that made Marcia look elitist. Knowing Marcia’s deepest desires and hopes, Kristin attacked her friend on Social Media. She preyed upon her at school. At every turn, Kristin and her friends made Marcia suffer. Marcia ended up breaking up with Steven, got in trouble with her parents, and became friendless at school. Kristin was elated. She enjoyed watching her old friend suffer.
Six months after Marcia suffered the worst of the fallout from Kristin’s tactics, she committed suicide. Kristin, brought up in a Christian home, vowed to never tell her parents what had transpired to cause the suicide. Every time Kristin’s mother brought up Marcia’s friendship, Kristin started an argument with her mother that ended up with neither of them talking for days. When the Pastor brought up Marcia’s death with the youth group, a few of the youth in attendance looked toward Kristin. She felt so uncomfortable, she stopped going to youth group meetings. When people at school began to have hurt feelings over what was done to Marcia, Kristin was left isolated and alone. Classmates at school knew what Kristin had done. Kristin tried everything in her power to shift the blame.
All this occurred twelve years ago, but Kristin still suffers every day. She now takes antidepressants due to her constant bouts of regret and disappointment from her past. She no longer has any close friends. Boyfriends have become a series of one-night stands. Kristin no longer belongs to a church or desires to do so. Her life is adrift. Her sadness is deep. I fear for her. Without a full confession and repentance to a Graceful God and lots of counseling, her life may never again be filled with real joy or peace with her past.
When you manipulate a situation just to get what you want, God’s way always suffers. You will suffer, too. When jealousy or envy begin to creep into your thoughts, work things out with God. Once you get others involved to manipulate a situation, God will notice the change in sides with your change in tactics. Our Heavenly Father had to watch the suffering unfold when the mobs were manipulated, and Jesus was murdered. How do you think God will view it if you manipulate others in order to get your way?
I have seen many people in church manipulate others so to advance their own agenda. I have seen pastors fired due to the hidden manipulation of an evil puppet-master who could call forth his or her minions to accomplish that evil. I know of situations where pastors were illegally hacked or spied upon by those who sought to get their way. If you allow yourself to be manipulated, you will be a part of that evil. If you are one of the manipulators, you will suffer hell on earth long before suffering in the next life. Nothing good ever comes by manipulating others to get your way.
July 15
“Then he [God] sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character. Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free… Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household… He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.” (Psalm 105:16–22, NLT)
A long time ago, a Christian considered what effect adversity had upon the individual. In response, he wrote down the following:
Problems often provide us with greater opportunities
Problems can promote our spiritual maturity (Ps 105:16ff)
Problems prove our integrity (1 Pt 3:15)
Problems produce a sense of dependence
Problems prepare our hearts for ministry (you become more empathetic)
As you read through this list closely, it will become clear that the author did not view problems as detrimental to faith or life. For the faithful, problems tend to strengthen the character of a person’s faith. Problems clarify what is right and wrong in the world. Problems give greater spiritual maturity. Problems often increase our willingness to empathize with others. Malcolm Muggeridge was quoted as saying, “Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.” (As printed in “Homemade”, July 1990).
The relationship between overcoming problems and spiritual maturity is noted in the Bible. For example, the author of Psalm 105 determined this as he looked back in history and viewed the life of Joseph. As part of God’s plan to save Israel, before God sent a famine to the Mediterranean world, God “sent someone to Egypt ahead” of time (Psalm 105:16). God sent Joseph, son of Jacob. Though Joseph was “sold as a slave” and reduced to a life of servitude to Pharaoh, God was working behind the scenes to mold Joseph into a true man of God. Throughout this entire period of Joseph’s life, “the Lord tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm 105:19). When the time was right, and the famine took hold; Joseph’s character and abilities were noted by Pharaoh. Joseph was not only put in charge of the king’s household from whence Joseph saved his entire family, he was given great power that was used to save thousands from starvation. Joseph’s many difficulties and problems and trials molded his faith into the perfect remedy with which to respond to an extraordinary situation.
Being a nurse, Josephine picked up on her symptoms before most would have even noticed. After a bout with the flu, she had shortness of breath. Then, a few weeks later, she began to experience sweating when she did routine work at the hospital. One morning, after just beginning her shift, she felt a severe pain in her left arm. A few other nurses attributed her arm pain to a bad night’s sleep. One suggested she probably hurt it while lifting a patient earlier when changing linen. Josephine had a feeling it was her heart. She took leave from her floor and went down to the Emergency Room. There, they found she did indeed have an arterial blockage. Sadly, they could not fix the problem with angioplasty. She required open heart surgery.
During and after her open-heart surgery, Josephine realized the importance of having someone there to help patients work through their post-operative challenges. She formed a group of heart attack and heart surgery survivors to visit patients in the hospital. They did everything from talk heart patients through upcoming rehab to helping them adjust their diet and exercise programs to compensate for the changes to the body. To date, she has received thousands of letters complementing the group’s work.
Let me tell you a little bit about Josephine. For a long time, she didn’t have time for God or prayer or worship. Her family and nursing job were everything to her. However, after experiencing all the problems with her heart and surgery and rehab, Josephine changed. She began to spend more time with her family. She began to pray and read her Bible daily. She joined a women’s bible group. And out of her great increase in empathy, she began the survivors’ group. The last time I talked to Josephine, she was a bundle of excited energy, so very hopeful about all that was happening in her life. She was nominated by two separate groups for special commendation and awards. Her greatest challenge in life so far made her not only more spiritually mature and empathetic but gave her a powerful message of hope which she shared with any who would listen.
You may think of problems in your life as terrible things to endure. Yes, they may bring difficulties and trials. Yes, those problems may cause everything from fear to worry and even the threat of death. However, adversity has a way of changing some people of faith into spiritual dynamos whose courage is an inspiration. When God wanted to greatly affect the world in the time of Israel, HE sent Joseph through trials and temptations, even testing his character. The result was a man who was in a perfect position to save the entire eastern area of the Mediterranean from a famine. Let Joseph’s adversity remind you that God will often use challenges in your life to deepen and embolden your faith. The end result will be a faith that just won’t quit!
However, be warned. Shallow Christians often do not respond in the same way to adversity. When difficulties and challenges come to some Christians, they fall apart and fall away from God. They might grow angry at God. They might become bitter and resentful. They might end up spewing their wrath and fury upon others, destroying what little true faith is left in this world.
So, when adversity crops up (and it will!), I wonder what will become of you? Will you become more spiritually attuned to God or will you turn your resentment of the situation upon others? Will you become a life-saver or a soul-crusher?
Problems often provide us with greater opportunities
Problems can promote our spiritual maturity (Ps 105:16ff)
Problems prove our integrity (1 Pt 3:15)
Problems produce a sense of dependence
Problems prepare our hearts for ministry (you become more empathetic)
As you read through this list closely, it will become clear that the author did not view problems as detrimental to faith or life. For the faithful, problems tend to strengthen the character of a person’s faith. Problems clarify what is right and wrong in the world. Problems give greater spiritual maturity. Problems often increase our willingness to empathize with others. Malcolm Muggeridge was quoted as saying, “Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.” (As printed in “Homemade”, July 1990).
The relationship between overcoming problems and spiritual maturity is noted in the Bible. For example, the author of Psalm 105 determined this as he looked back in history and viewed the life of Joseph. As part of God’s plan to save Israel, before God sent a famine to the Mediterranean world, God “sent someone to Egypt ahead” of time (Psalm 105:16). God sent Joseph, son of Jacob. Though Joseph was “sold as a slave” and reduced to a life of servitude to Pharaoh, God was working behind the scenes to mold Joseph into a true man of God. Throughout this entire period of Joseph’s life, “the Lord tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm 105:19). When the time was right, and the famine took hold; Joseph’s character and abilities were noted by Pharaoh. Joseph was not only put in charge of the king’s household from whence Joseph saved his entire family, he was given great power that was used to save thousands from starvation. Joseph’s many difficulties and problems and trials molded his faith into the perfect remedy with which to respond to an extraordinary situation.
Being a nurse, Josephine picked up on her symptoms before most would have even noticed. After a bout with the flu, she had shortness of breath. Then, a few weeks later, she began to experience sweating when she did routine work at the hospital. One morning, after just beginning her shift, she felt a severe pain in her left arm. A few other nurses attributed her arm pain to a bad night’s sleep. One suggested she probably hurt it while lifting a patient earlier when changing linen. Josephine had a feeling it was her heart. She took leave from her floor and went down to the Emergency Room. There, they found she did indeed have an arterial blockage. Sadly, they could not fix the problem with angioplasty. She required open heart surgery.
During and after her open-heart surgery, Josephine realized the importance of having someone there to help patients work through their post-operative challenges. She formed a group of heart attack and heart surgery survivors to visit patients in the hospital. They did everything from talk heart patients through upcoming rehab to helping them adjust their diet and exercise programs to compensate for the changes to the body. To date, she has received thousands of letters complementing the group’s work.
Let me tell you a little bit about Josephine. For a long time, she didn’t have time for God or prayer or worship. Her family and nursing job were everything to her. However, after experiencing all the problems with her heart and surgery and rehab, Josephine changed. She began to spend more time with her family. She began to pray and read her Bible daily. She joined a women’s bible group. And out of her great increase in empathy, she began the survivors’ group. The last time I talked to Josephine, she was a bundle of excited energy, so very hopeful about all that was happening in her life. She was nominated by two separate groups for special commendation and awards. Her greatest challenge in life so far made her not only more spiritually mature and empathetic but gave her a powerful message of hope which she shared with any who would listen.
You may think of problems in your life as terrible things to endure. Yes, they may bring difficulties and trials. Yes, those problems may cause everything from fear to worry and even the threat of death. However, adversity has a way of changing some people of faith into spiritual dynamos whose courage is an inspiration. When God wanted to greatly affect the world in the time of Israel, HE sent Joseph through trials and temptations, even testing his character. The result was a man who was in a perfect position to save the entire eastern area of the Mediterranean from a famine. Let Joseph’s adversity remind you that God will often use challenges in your life to deepen and embolden your faith. The end result will be a faith that just won’t quit!
However, be warned. Shallow Christians often do not respond in the same way to adversity. When difficulties and challenges come to some Christians, they fall apart and fall away from God. They might grow angry at God. They might become bitter and resentful. They might end up spewing their wrath and fury upon others, destroying what little true faith is left in this world.
So, when adversity crops up (and it will!), I wonder what will become of you? Will you become more spiritually attuned to God or will you turn your resentment of the situation upon others? Will you become a life-saver or a soul-crusher?
July 17
“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.” (Acts 12:7–9, NRSV)
When my two boys were young, they were fascinated with dinosaurs. When they saw the movie, “Jurassic Park”, they were even more enamored with the power and prowess of those animals. They loaned books on the subject from the library. They played video games with dinosaur characters. They were enamored with the creatures. With the dinosaur craze going strong with the release of the movie “Jurassic Park”, our local museum decided to set up an animatronic dinosaur exhibit. There, one could see life-size dinosaur robots move their heads and blink their eyes in lifelike manners. The animatronic dinosaurs could make realistic sounds and movements. I was excited for the boys to go see them.
When the morning arrived for our trip to the museum, I was excited. The boys had no idea there was a dinosaur exhibit. I couldn’t wait to see the smile on their faces and feel their excitement in that moment. We arrived at the museum within minutes of its opening. I paid for our tickets and walked right to the room with the dinosaurs. The boys had seen the sign showing off the dinosaur exhibit but didn’t understand what the word “animatronic” meant, so they had no idea how amazing it was going to be! I held their hands and watched their faces as we walked into the exhibit area. Upon entering, a velociraptor model had been rigged to respond to motion. As we walked past, it moved and began to roar. My boys immediately thought the dinosaurs had come alive! My youngest son grabbed my leg and hid his face. My oldest son ran out of the building and I had to retrieve him! It took them almost a half hour to calm down and understand that the dinosaurs weren’t real but were only models and cybertronic copies.
Like my children that day at the museum, people can sometimes have a problem distinguishing what is reality. In various studies, it has been determined that most people do not see themselves in the mirror as they really appear. In their minds, based on false perception, they can look better or worse. People can deceive themselves about particular situations. You might lie to yourself about how bad a failure is, how financially secure you really are, or how you appear to others. Most anorexic people feel fat even when dangerously underweight. Those who suffer with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may lock their doors several times over before they feel safe, as if the amount of times you lock a door at one time will determine your level of safety. Advertisers will often adjust the words on their packaging to make a food sound healthy, when in fact the food is very unhealthy. People will even lie to themselves when they fear something, as if the lie will protect them from the truth. Reality can at times be very elusive!
In the scripture for today, Peter struggled to figure out what is real. After being arrested for preaching of Jesus’ resurrection, he was tossed into prison. While in his cell, “an angel of the Lord appeared” (Acts 12:7). The angel freed Peter from his chains, then helped him to escape the prison. The final verse for today tells of Peter’s bewilderment. Peter “did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real….”(Acts 12:9). Though Peter knew God and believed in angels, he still had a problem comprehending the truth in his situation. He thought his being freed from imprisonment was “a vision” or a dream. He was not aware of how real it was until he was outside of the prison and freed from confinement. Amazed at his situation, he went to the house of Christian friends. When they found out, they too didn’t believe Peter was free. It took time for them to recognize what was real.
At various places in the Bible, Satan is called “the deceiver”. This title for Satan explains his desire to play with the truth. Satan likes to obscure reality and prey upon your doubts and fears. Satan loves to deceive you with false assumptions and lies. He will tempt you with just the right words or prey upon your weaknesses. In all his ways, Satan doesn’t want you to know that God and Heaven and the faith are all real. He likes to manipulate your reality until you can’t perceive what is real any longer.
Drugs and alcohol and sin and many other things in this world will also warp or blur reality. They will fiddle with your understandings and perceptions. That is why Jesus said to His disciples and followers, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). If you lose your grip on what God knows is true and real, you can be manipulated into doing evil. In just moments, Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent in the garden of Eden. Their lives were forever altered and their relationship with God forever marred when Satan obstructed their view of reality.
Right now, you may be lying to yourself. Your thoughts and emotions might be deceiving you. Someone may be manipulating what you see or how you feel. Social media might be altering your perceptions. Advertisements or enticements might be playing with your desires, causing you to crave things you don’t need or shouldn’t have. It’s all too easy for things of this world and evil forces to distort reality. That is why God will always try to reveal the truth to your heart and mind and soul. That is why it is important to learn to distinguish what is real from what is not.
Is your view of yourself distorted in some way? Do you find it hard to deal with reality? Do others see the real you? Do you know the real God? As with Peter, let God show you what is real and clarify your perceptions. There is no other way for the truth to set you free.
When the morning arrived for our trip to the museum, I was excited. The boys had no idea there was a dinosaur exhibit. I couldn’t wait to see the smile on their faces and feel their excitement in that moment. We arrived at the museum within minutes of its opening. I paid for our tickets and walked right to the room with the dinosaurs. The boys had seen the sign showing off the dinosaur exhibit but didn’t understand what the word “animatronic” meant, so they had no idea how amazing it was going to be! I held their hands and watched their faces as we walked into the exhibit area. Upon entering, a velociraptor model had been rigged to respond to motion. As we walked past, it moved and began to roar. My boys immediately thought the dinosaurs had come alive! My youngest son grabbed my leg and hid his face. My oldest son ran out of the building and I had to retrieve him! It took them almost a half hour to calm down and understand that the dinosaurs weren’t real but were only models and cybertronic copies.
Like my children that day at the museum, people can sometimes have a problem distinguishing what is reality. In various studies, it has been determined that most people do not see themselves in the mirror as they really appear. In their minds, based on false perception, they can look better or worse. People can deceive themselves about particular situations. You might lie to yourself about how bad a failure is, how financially secure you really are, or how you appear to others. Most anorexic people feel fat even when dangerously underweight. Those who suffer with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may lock their doors several times over before they feel safe, as if the amount of times you lock a door at one time will determine your level of safety. Advertisers will often adjust the words on their packaging to make a food sound healthy, when in fact the food is very unhealthy. People will even lie to themselves when they fear something, as if the lie will protect them from the truth. Reality can at times be very elusive!
In the scripture for today, Peter struggled to figure out what is real. After being arrested for preaching of Jesus’ resurrection, he was tossed into prison. While in his cell, “an angel of the Lord appeared” (Acts 12:7). The angel freed Peter from his chains, then helped him to escape the prison. The final verse for today tells of Peter’s bewilderment. Peter “did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real….”(Acts 12:9). Though Peter knew God and believed in angels, he still had a problem comprehending the truth in his situation. He thought his being freed from imprisonment was “a vision” or a dream. He was not aware of how real it was until he was outside of the prison and freed from confinement. Amazed at his situation, he went to the house of Christian friends. When they found out, they too didn’t believe Peter was free. It took time for them to recognize what was real.
At various places in the Bible, Satan is called “the deceiver”. This title for Satan explains his desire to play with the truth. Satan likes to obscure reality and prey upon your doubts and fears. Satan loves to deceive you with false assumptions and lies. He will tempt you with just the right words or prey upon your weaknesses. In all his ways, Satan doesn’t want you to know that God and Heaven and the faith are all real. He likes to manipulate your reality until you can’t perceive what is real any longer.
Drugs and alcohol and sin and many other things in this world will also warp or blur reality. They will fiddle with your understandings and perceptions. That is why Jesus said to His disciples and followers, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). If you lose your grip on what God knows is true and real, you can be manipulated into doing evil. In just moments, Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent in the garden of Eden. Their lives were forever altered and their relationship with God forever marred when Satan obstructed their view of reality.
Right now, you may be lying to yourself. Your thoughts and emotions might be deceiving you. Someone may be manipulating what you see or how you feel. Social media might be altering your perceptions. Advertisements or enticements might be playing with your desires, causing you to crave things you don’t need or shouldn’t have. It’s all too easy for things of this world and evil forces to distort reality. That is why God will always try to reveal the truth to your heart and mind and soul. That is why it is important to learn to distinguish what is real from what is not.
Is your view of yourself distorted in some way? Do you find it hard to deal with reality? Do others see the real you? Do you know the real God? As with Peter, let God show you what is real and clarify your perceptions. There is no other way for the truth to set you free.
July 19
“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22, RSV)
As Jesus was teaching His disciples about the powers available to them in the Spirit, He told the disciples to “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). Why would Jesus tell men who had been raised Jewish and had learned about God since birth to have faith in God? This command by Jesus seems simplistic and obvious at first glance. However, as Jesus proved over and over to His disciples, they thought they had faith when in truth they lacked faith. They were convinced that they had an unshakable faith in God when their faith proved fragile instead. Today, as a modern disciple of Jesus, ponder your Savior’s command to “have faith in God”.
A pastor asked a parishioner who was also a stockbroker, “What have you done to prepare for retirement?” The man replied, “I’ve done well in the stock market, have a good-sized savings account, and have filled my IRA to the greatest extent allowed by law.” What the man didn’t say was that he had placed his faith in God to watch over him well into retirement. A Christian woman asked her husband, “if you get cancer like your father, what is to stop it from taking all our money?” He replied that they had a great insurance plan and lots of savings to pull from. The man never once mentioned his faith that God would see them through. In Minnesota last week, a man was asked the following question, “Who do you rely on to stop rioting in your city?” His response was a common one, “The police can help. The local government has plans. And the federal government will back it all up.” I wonder if he ever thought God could help. With so many unknowns in this world, Christians often follow worldly examples by placing their faith in governments, political parties, institutions, pensions, savings, and so many other earthly powers and programs. Shouldn’t we first and foremost place our faith in God? It’s not to say that we shouldn't make plans and save up for a rainy day. What I am proposing is that first and foremost, you need to place your faith in a God who will see you through.
I once met a Christian man who had endured more than three dozen surgeries in his life. Without knowing it, chemicals and tools used at his workplace caused cellular damage throughout his body. He had damage to his nervous system, spine, brain, and several organs. The terrible consequences resulted in many surgeries, debilitating pain, disability in his late thirties, and divorce. I asked him how he coped with all the heartache, and he answered me with tears in his eyes. He said, “At first, I counted on my doctors to fix the problems. When they couldn’t patch me up, I counted on disability insurance to give me a comfortable life. Disability insurance gave me barely enough to live on. Then, when the pain became too much, I counted on the medicines to take the pain away. It didn’t and caused side-effects that made it worse. Then, I realized that the costs of living with my disability took more and more of my savings. With the resulting financial difficulties, my wife divorced me. I was left with nothing to my name. I even ended up moving back in with my parents. So, in answer to your question, I found that the only way I could ever cope with all the hurt and pain was to have faith in my God. To this day, God is the only comfort in my life. I only wish I had counted on Him fully from the beginning.”
Without realizing it, you might be placing your faith in the wrong places. It’s easy to do. It’s easy to be deceived.
When Janine was in her forties, she was overheard saying, “When I’m dying, I know my husband will take good care of me.” What Janine had not planned for was a husband who would die in a car crash one year later. You can’t rely on earthly things or beings all the time. You can’t predict tomorrow. You can’t stop accidents or natural disasters from occurring. You can, however, have faith that God will see you through and live like that faith means something.
Do you have a deep and abiding faith in God? When thinking about your immediate future, do you see God as your primary and most reliable source for security? The disciples had no pension plans, but they had Jesus. They faced death without fear. The disciples had no hope that the government would protect them, but they had faith that Jesus would come through. The disciples were not rich, well-connected, or married to wealth. They, however, felt a peace that passed all understanding that the wealthy and powerful never could feel (John 14:27, Philippians 4:7). Today, Jesus is commanding you again to “Have faith in God!” Are you going to follow that command?
A pastor asked a parishioner who was also a stockbroker, “What have you done to prepare for retirement?” The man replied, “I’ve done well in the stock market, have a good-sized savings account, and have filled my IRA to the greatest extent allowed by law.” What the man didn’t say was that he had placed his faith in God to watch over him well into retirement. A Christian woman asked her husband, “if you get cancer like your father, what is to stop it from taking all our money?” He replied that they had a great insurance plan and lots of savings to pull from. The man never once mentioned his faith that God would see them through. In Minnesota last week, a man was asked the following question, “Who do you rely on to stop rioting in your city?” His response was a common one, “The police can help. The local government has plans. And the federal government will back it all up.” I wonder if he ever thought God could help. With so many unknowns in this world, Christians often follow worldly examples by placing their faith in governments, political parties, institutions, pensions, savings, and so many other earthly powers and programs. Shouldn’t we first and foremost place our faith in God? It’s not to say that we shouldn't make plans and save up for a rainy day. What I am proposing is that first and foremost, you need to place your faith in a God who will see you through.
I once met a Christian man who had endured more than three dozen surgeries in his life. Without knowing it, chemicals and tools used at his workplace caused cellular damage throughout his body. He had damage to his nervous system, spine, brain, and several organs. The terrible consequences resulted in many surgeries, debilitating pain, disability in his late thirties, and divorce. I asked him how he coped with all the heartache, and he answered me with tears in his eyes. He said, “At first, I counted on my doctors to fix the problems. When they couldn’t patch me up, I counted on disability insurance to give me a comfortable life. Disability insurance gave me barely enough to live on. Then, when the pain became too much, I counted on the medicines to take the pain away. It didn’t and caused side-effects that made it worse. Then, I realized that the costs of living with my disability took more and more of my savings. With the resulting financial difficulties, my wife divorced me. I was left with nothing to my name. I even ended up moving back in with my parents. So, in answer to your question, I found that the only way I could ever cope with all the hurt and pain was to have faith in my God. To this day, God is the only comfort in my life. I only wish I had counted on Him fully from the beginning.”
Without realizing it, you might be placing your faith in the wrong places. It’s easy to do. It’s easy to be deceived.
When Janine was in her forties, she was overheard saying, “When I’m dying, I know my husband will take good care of me.” What Janine had not planned for was a husband who would die in a car crash one year later. You can’t rely on earthly things or beings all the time. You can’t predict tomorrow. You can’t stop accidents or natural disasters from occurring. You can, however, have faith that God will see you through and live like that faith means something.
Do you have a deep and abiding faith in God? When thinking about your immediate future, do you see God as your primary and most reliable source for security? The disciples had no pension plans, but they had Jesus. They faced death without fear. The disciples had no hope that the government would protect them, but they had faith that Jesus would come through. The disciples were not rich, well-connected, or married to wealth. They, however, felt a peace that passed all understanding that the wealthy and powerful never could feel (John 14:27, Philippians 4:7). Today, Jesus is commanding you again to “Have faith in God!” Are you going to follow that command?
July 21
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him...” (Acts 7:55–57, NIV)
Have you ever noticed that when some people do not want to listen, they will shout louder and louder? They scream louder and louder until all you can hear is their shrill noise. They hope to drown out all other words, silence all other voices. They don’t want to hear the truth. They want to dominate the discussion.
Nestled in the pages of the book In the Eye of the Storm, by Max Lucado, I read some interesting words on the topic of loud voices that drown out or silence the truth. Lucado wrote: “I have something against the lying voices that noise our world. You’ve heard them. They tell you to swap your integrity for a new sale. To barter your convictions for an easy deal. To exchange your devotion for a quick thrill.
They whisper. They woo. They taunt. They tantalize. They flirt. They flatter. “Go ahead, its OK.” “Don’t worry, no one will know.”
The world rams at your door; Jesus taps at your door. The voices scream for your allegiance; Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. The world promises flashy pleasure; Jesus promises a quiet dinner … with God.
Which voice do you hear?” (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, p. 202)
When you need to find out the truth, don’t listen to the loudest yells or the most popular wisdom. Heed God’s voice. Seek God’s wisdom. While serving as a pastor in a farming community, I was introduced to the phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. It was a common saying in that area of our world which meant to explain that often it is the noisy wheel that gets our attention. It’s the loud voice that gets heard. It’s the one who makes the fuss who gets extra consideration. The people in that church community knew that just because someone is making a lot of noise does not mean that the person is deserving of extra attention or speaks God’s truth.
A mother was having serious emotional issues. Because of them, her family was hurting. The mother tried anti-anxiety drugs. They didn’t help for long. Then, her doctor put her on anti-depressants. Those didn’t seem to work. The family situation grew worse as the mother went through bouts of anger and depression and frustration and hopelessness. When nothing seemed to work, their doctor advised them to see me for counseling.
At first, I met with the woman, then with her husband. The husband and wife had a good relationship, trusted in God, and enjoyed each other’s company. Clearly, the wife received a good amount of comfort and love from her husband. When I met with the entire family, the problems became more apparent. Their twin boys were both narcissistic. They demanded their mother’s attention. They wore her down with demands. As an example, if their mother took away their television time as a punishment for bad behavior, they would hound her constantly with statements and questions and complaints. They might yell that they hated her for being so “mean” by meting out any punishment. Then, they would find ways to be nice in order to manipulate their way back into her good graces. Because they were twins, they could make quite a huge ruckus whenever they didn’t get their way. They also colluded with one another. One would lie, and the other would vouch for him. They manipulated the household situation with their egregious behavior to the point where their mother was completely exhausted physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Only when the mother began to realize how to deal with their behavior and was receiving a lot of help could the family life return to somewhat normal.
When you have loud mouths screaming for your attention, it is often difficult to listen for “the still small voice of God” (1 Kings 19:12). When people are yelling at you, manipulating a situation you are in, getting their friends to collectively attack you, and using social media to bombard you with a biased message, it is incredibly difficult to find your way. Jesus knew this. Scripture tells how He “withdrew” to lonely places to pray, often alone, often after being with crowds all day (such as in Luke 4:42). In crucial moments, I also find it best to retreat to a quiet place to talk with God.
Don’t let loud voices control your world. Don’t let people use boisterous tactics to manipulate your situation. One of the greatest tactics of this world is to twist the truth and then slam it down your throat day and night in order to get what it wants from you. God doesn’t play that game. Jesus spoke the truth in love.
The scripture for today contains the disciple Stephen’s last moments alive. As he was defending Jesus, the Jews in Jerusalem “covered their ears” and “yelled at the top of their voices” to try and drown out the truth of his words (Acts 7:57). In doing so, the Jews manipulated the situation to their favor and succeeded in murdering Stephen. Evil won for the moment through the boisterous actions of people who wanted to hide the truth of God. Because of their worldly tactics, Stephen was murdered. That is how evil grows in this world. When the truth can’t be seen or heard because of the loud, obnoxious tactics of worldly players, the end results can never be holy.
Does any of this sound familiar in today’s world? I bet it does.
Nestled in the pages of the book In the Eye of the Storm, by Max Lucado, I read some interesting words on the topic of loud voices that drown out or silence the truth. Lucado wrote: “I have something against the lying voices that noise our world. You’ve heard them. They tell you to swap your integrity for a new sale. To barter your convictions for an easy deal. To exchange your devotion for a quick thrill.
They whisper. They woo. They taunt. They tantalize. They flirt. They flatter. “Go ahead, its OK.” “Don’t worry, no one will know.”
The world rams at your door; Jesus taps at your door. The voices scream for your allegiance; Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. The world promises flashy pleasure; Jesus promises a quiet dinner … with God.
Which voice do you hear?” (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, p. 202)
When you need to find out the truth, don’t listen to the loudest yells or the most popular wisdom. Heed God’s voice. Seek God’s wisdom. While serving as a pastor in a farming community, I was introduced to the phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. It was a common saying in that area of our world which meant to explain that often it is the noisy wheel that gets our attention. It’s the loud voice that gets heard. It’s the one who makes the fuss who gets extra consideration. The people in that church community knew that just because someone is making a lot of noise does not mean that the person is deserving of extra attention or speaks God’s truth.
A mother was having serious emotional issues. Because of them, her family was hurting. The mother tried anti-anxiety drugs. They didn’t help for long. Then, her doctor put her on anti-depressants. Those didn’t seem to work. The family situation grew worse as the mother went through bouts of anger and depression and frustration and hopelessness. When nothing seemed to work, their doctor advised them to see me for counseling.
At first, I met with the woman, then with her husband. The husband and wife had a good relationship, trusted in God, and enjoyed each other’s company. Clearly, the wife received a good amount of comfort and love from her husband. When I met with the entire family, the problems became more apparent. Their twin boys were both narcissistic. They demanded their mother’s attention. They wore her down with demands. As an example, if their mother took away their television time as a punishment for bad behavior, they would hound her constantly with statements and questions and complaints. They might yell that they hated her for being so “mean” by meting out any punishment. Then, they would find ways to be nice in order to manipulate their way back into her good graces. Because they were twins, they could make quite a huge ruckus whenever they didn’t get their way. They also colluded with one another. One would lie, and the other would vouch for him. They manipulated the household situation with their egregious behavior to the point where their mother was completely exhausted physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Only when the mother began to realize how to deal with their behavior and was receiving a lot of help could the family life return to somewhat normal.
When you have loud mouths screaming for your attention, it is often difficult to listen for “the still small voice of God” (1 Kings 19:12). When people are yelling at you, manipulating a situation you are in, getting their friends to collectively attack you, and using social media to bombard you with a biased message, it is incredibly difficult to find your way. Jesus knew this. Scripture tells how He “withdrew” to lonely places to pray, often alone, often after being with crowds all day (such as in Luke 4:42). In crucial moments, I also find it best to retreat to a quiet place to talk with God.
Don’t let loud voices control your world. Don’t let people use boisterous tactics to manipulate your situation. One of the greatest tactics of this world is to twist the truth and then slam it down your throat day and night in order to get what it wants from you. God doesn’t play that game. Jesus spoke the truth in love.
The scripture for today contains the disciple Stephen’s last moments alive. As he was defending Jesus, the Jews in Jerusalem “covered their ears” and “yelled at the top of their voices” to try and drown out the truth of his words (Acts 7:57). In doing so, the Jews manipulated the situation to their favor and succeeded in murdering Stephen. Evil won for the moment through the boisterous actions of people who wanted to hide the truth of God. Because of their worldly tactics, Stephen was murdered. That is how evil grows in this world. When the truth can’t be seen or heard because of the loud, obnoxious tactics of worldly players, the end results can never be holy.
Does any of this sound familiar in today’s world? I bet it does.
July 23
“It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,” and begin to reflect only after making a vow.” (Proverbs 20:25, NRSV)
When Keenan's girlfriend became pregnant during his first year of college, he married his girlfriend two weeks later. Keenan was raised Christian and wanted to “do the right thing”. The marriage didn’t last two years.
When Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had a hard time adjusting to the treatment. Because of the aggressiveness of the cancer, Karen had to make some big decisions. She went through two surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy to fight the cancer. In a weak moment, she made a vow to God that if she got over the cancer, she would come back to church. She did get over the cancer, but she never did come back to worship.
After a particularly bad period in his life, Joseph found himself in a literal gutter. He had been drinking so heavily, he had blacked out. This wasn’t the first time. When his family found out about his latest drinking binge, they demanded he go to rehab. They even offered to pay for inpatient rehab and to help him keep his job. While Joseph was in treatment, he made a promise not to drink any longer. He told his family that he was done with alcohol and swore his life was on the mend. Two years later, after falling off the wagon, Joseph’s liver failed. He begged his family members for support to try and get a liver transplant. They wanted no part of it. They knew an unrecovered alcoholic would never be placed on the transplant list. Joseph hated them for it.
Keenan, Karen, and Joseph all grew up Christian. All three had gone through baptism, a form of the confirmation rite, and received first communion. All three were married in a Christian church. All three considered themselves Christian. Yet, all three made the same mistake in different ways. They all made a vow that they would not keep. Joe broke his marriage vows. Karen broke a vow to God for healing. Joseph broke a promise to his family to never drink again. Joseph also broke a promise to not drink that he made to God while in his AA group meeting. Each of these three made a quick vow or promise in the heat of the moment, only to break that vow or promise a short time later. You may not think it is a big deal to break a vow or promise. You might convince yourself that people do it all the time. However, God takes seriously the vows and promises you make.
Look at the scripture chosen for this day written above. The words come from the book of Proverbs. They contain a warning that “it is a snare” to make a holy promise or to deem something sacred like an oath when one does not realize the importance of that vow. The second half of the verse adds that the problem is that people sometimes wait until later before they “reflect after making a vow” (Proverbs 20:25). Why does the scripture call it “a snare” to wait until later to reflect on your vow or promise? As I thought about this, I wrote the following examples from what I have witnessed as a pastor:
*It is all too easy after breaking a few vows or promises to break one more.
*If you don’t think about the promise you are making, you might not be taking it seriously.
*Making a promise to God without considering the consequences is like getting married without any thought as to whom or for how long.
*Fulfilling a promise or vow takes commitment. If you haven’t taken the time to make sure you are in the game, you won’t follow through when the going gets tough.
*Breaking a promise may cause you to second-guess your worth or value or goals or spiritual relationships. When this happens, Satan can easily play upon your guilt or raise havoc in your life.
Throughout my years as a full-time ordained pastor, I required those who desired to join the church, to be baptized, to be married, or to recommit themselves, to go through a period of self-examination. For some, I held classes such as pre-marital sessions or confirmation. For those who wanted to be baptized, I would spend time in prayer with that person or family. We would talk about the commitment required or the changes that must occur. I would never want a person to make a vow or promise without first considering its implications. That is especially true when you want to make a promise to God.
A promise to God is a precious and holy thing. It should never be entered into lightly. God doesn’t view it as a passing fancy or off-the-cuff remark. A promise to God is binding on earth as in heaven. Be careful when you make promises to God and others. Consider what it would mean to be a “promise-keeper”. There are great blessings that come from making and keeping your promises and vows and oaths. There are also great pitfalls and dangers and snares from making a rash promise or failing to be true to your commitments.
Do you make rash promises? Are you a good “promise-keeper”? What kinds of vows before God are you keeping even now? I pray you are true to your word. Even more so, I pray you are true to God with your promises.
When Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had a hard time adjusting to the treatment. Because of the aggressiveness of the cancer, Karen had to make some big decisions. She went through two surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy to fight the cancer. In a weak moment, she made a vow to God that if she got over the cancer, she would come back to church. She did get over the cancer, but she never did come back to worship.
After a particularly bad period in his life, Joseph found himself in a literal gutter. He had been drinking so heavily, he had blacked out. This wasn’t the first time. When his family found out about his latest drinking binge, they demanded he go to rehab. They even offered to pay for inpatient rehab and to help him keep his job. While Joseph was in treatment, he made a promise not to drink any longer. He told his family that he was done with alcohol and swore his life was on the mend. Two years later, after falling off the wagon, Joseph’s liver failed. He begged his family members for support to try and get a liver transplant. They wanted no part of it. They knew an unrecovered alcoholic would never be placed on the transplant list. Joseph hated them for it.
Keenan, Karen, and Joseph all grew up Christian. All three had gone through baptism, a form of the confirmation rite, and received first communion. All three were married in a Christian church. All three considered themselves Christian. Yet, all three made the same mistake in different ways. They all made a vow that they would not keep. Joe broke his marriage vows. Karen broke a vow to God for healing. Joseph broke a promise to his family to never drink again. Joseph also broke a promise to not drink that he made to God while in his AA group meeting. Each of these three made a quick vow or promise in the heat of the moment, only to break that vow or promise a short time later. You may not think it is a big deal to break a vow or promise. You might convince yourself that people do it all the time. However, God takes seriously the vows and promises you make.
Look at the scripture chosen for this day written above. The words come from the book of Proverbs. They contain a warning that “it is a snare” to make a holy promise or to deem something sacred like an oath when one does not realize the importance of that vow. The second half of the verse adds that the problem is that people sometimes wait until later before they “reflect after making a vow” (Proverbs 20:25). Why does the scripture call it “a snare” to wait until later to reflect on your vow or promise? As I thought about this, I wrote the following examples from what I have witnessed as a pastor:
*It is all too easy after breaking a few vows or promises to break one more.
*If you don’t think about the promise you are making, you might not be taking it seriously.
*Making a promise to God without considering the consequences is like getting married without any thought as to whom or for how long.
*Fulfilling a promise or vow takes commitment. If you haven’t taken the time to make sure you are in the game, you won’t follow through when the going gets tough.
*Breaking a promise may cause you to second-guess your worth or value or goals or spiritual relationships. When this happens, Satan can easily play upon your guilt or raise havoc in your life.
Throughout my years as a full-time ordained pastor, I required those who desired to join the church, to be baptized, to be married, or to recommit themselves, to go through a period of self-examination. For some, I held classes such as pre-marital sessions or confirmation. For those who wanted to be baptized, I would spend time in prayer with that person or family. We would talk about the commitment required or the changes that must occur. I would never want a person to make a vow or promise without first considering its implications. That is especially true when you want to make a promise to God.
A promise to God is a precious and holy thing. It should never be entered into lightly. God doesn’t view it as a passing fancy or off-the-cuff remark. A promise to God is binding on earth as in heaven. Be careful when you make promises to God and others. Consider what it would mean to be a “promise-keeper”. There are great blessings that come from making and keeping your promises and vows and oaths. There are also great pitfalls and dangers and snares from making a rash promise or failing to be true to your commitments.
Do you make rash promises? Are you a good “promise-keeper”? What kinds of vows before God are you keeping even now? I pray you are true to your word. Even more so, I pray you are true to God with your promises.
July 25
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (Psalm 119:10, ESV)
At a nursing home in Northern Ohio, the workers would sometimes leave a door propped open to more easily move between units in the building. It would save them some time in their hectic schedules. They also used this method when going off to take smoke breaks in the courtyard. The door had an alarm, but the alarm would often fail to go off if the door was propped open a certain way. On the night of January 6, 2018, resident Phyllis Campbell noticed the door propped open. She wandered out the door and then into a snowy night when it was -2 degrees Fahrenheit. They found her body the next day near a swing set in the courtyard. She had frozen to death in the freezing cold night. Charges were brought against three of the nurses because of her death.
It is horrible to think of Phyllis Campbell wandering off into the night unaware that her decision will cause her a terrible death. Sadly, she is not the only one who has wandered off into the arms of death. Children have wandered away from their parents. Animals can sometimes wander away from the safety of the pack or herd. Wandering off can not only get you lost or cause you harm, it can jeopardize your security and even threaten your life. It is said that predators in nature often look for the stragglers or the wanderers in the herd to hunt. The wanderers are the most vulnerable. Spiritually, you also are more vulnerable when you wander away from a righteous path. That, too, may become your undoing.
Growing up in a Christian household, Phyllis had everything she needed. Her parents loved her dearly. She had a happy childhood and was highly intelligent. She graduated High School with highest honors and attended college. At college, she was an academic standout, who was tops in her classes. After graduation from college, she was highly recruited in her field. She had her pick of jobs. She chose to work in a company that was growing rapidly. She was very successful. Three years after joining the company, she fell in love with a co-worker. They married. A few years later, she was blessed with two children. Everything seemed to be going well for Phyllis.
I met Phyllis when she turned forty-three. By then, her success was changing. Her husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Because of a series of financial mistakes, the family had money problems. When her daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness, Phyllis’ life began to unravel. Her marriage became strained. Her nights were sleepless. Her well-ordered world began to fall apart. Over the years, Phyllis had spent more and more of her time with work and her family and acquiring wealth. She had wandered away from God and the church. When she came to me for counseling, she was a mess. She had depression. She had just divorced. The threat of her daughter’s illness was at the forefront of her thoughts. She constantly paced. She was filled with anxiety. With everything falling apart, she realized that she had no real relationship with God, no prayer life, had not gone to worship in more than fifteen years, and had wandered away from her Heavenly Father. She felt like a failure in so many ways. If it wasn’t for her children, she would have ended her life.
In the midst of all that pain, Phyllis came back to church. She sought me out for counseling. For the first time in her life, Phyllis realized that the only one she could rely on in her life was God. I had her memorize Psalm 18:2: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2, ESV). She began to make a place for God in her life again. She began to pray. She came to Bible studies and learned more about God. She began to let go of her pain and hold onto God, her rock. Slowly, but surely, Phyllis began to find peace in her soul and strength to face her days.
When Phyllis wandered away from God, things in her life began to slowly unravel. When she came back to God with a genuine desire to follow Jesus, Phyllis’ mind and soul began to heal. When separated from God, Phyllis didn’t realize the many ways that her life was falling apart. She didn’t recognize that small steps away from God meant a big mistake over time. When you wander away from God, you may not realize you are in spiritual or moral or psychological or physical danger until you are so far away from God that help seems impossible. Fears can overwhelm you. The loneliness without a Divine Rock to anchor your soul can feel like you are a ship adrift in a storm on the sea. Without God to anchor your soul, you will wander away from peace and joy.
One small decision that moves you a little farther away from God may not seem like much, but a thousand such decisions can cause you to be so distant from God that you may not believe you can ever find your way back to His arms. Don’t let yourself wander away from God’s path and plan for your life. Keep God close. Follow God’s voice. Let the Eternal Shepherd watch over your life. Remain in His fold, under His watchful eye. Wandering off from God, lured by the beauty of what is around you, can cause you to end up in a place you don’t ever want to be.
The author of Psalm 119:10 wanted to keep close to God. With his whole heart, he endeavored to never “wander from God’s commandments”. To keep God near, he memorized God’s words from scripture (Psalm 119:11). He praised God often (Psalm 119:7). In each day, he set out to do nothing wrong, to follow God’s laws (Psalm 119:3,4) How about you? Have you been wandering from God lately? Has your mind been wandering when you pray? Do your thoughts wander to a temptation? Does a sin beckon you off the righteous path? Keep the faith! Follow God’s commands. You never know when you might need to be in earshot of the Good Shepherd.
It is horrible to think of Phyllis Campbell wandering off into the night unaware that her decision will cause her a terrible death. Sadly, she is not the only one who has wandered off into the arms of death. Children have wandered away from their parents. Animals can sometimes wander away from the safety of the pack or herd. Wandering off can not only get you lost or cause you harm, it can jeopardize your security and even threaten your life. It is said that predators in nature often look for the stragglers or the wanderers in the herd to hunt. The wanderers are the most vulnerable. Spiritually, you also are more vulnerable when you wander away from a righteous path. That, too, may become your undoing.
Growing up in a Christian household, Phyllis had everything she needed. Her parents loved her dearly. She had a happy childhood and was highly intelligent. She graduated High School with highest honors and attended college. At college, she was an academic standout, who was tops in her classes. After graduation from college, she was highly recruited in her field. She had her pick of jobs. She chose to work in a company that was growing rapidly. She was very successful. Three years after joining the company, she fell in love with a co-worker. They married. A few years later, she was blessed with two children. Everything seemed to be going well for Phyllis.
I met Phyllis when she turned forty-three. By then, her success was changing. Her husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Because of a series of financial mistakes, the family had money problems. When her daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness, Phyllis’ life began to unravel. Her marriage became strained. Her nights were sleepless. Her well-ordered world began to fall apart. Over the years, Phyllis had spent more and more of her time with work and her family and acquiring wealth. She had wandered away from God and the church. When she came to me for counseling, she was a mess. She had depression. She had just divorced. The threat of her daughter’s illness was at the forefront of her thoughts. She constantly paced. She was filled with anxiety. With everything falling apart, she realized that she had no real relationship with God, no prayer life, had not gone to worship in more than fifteen years, and had wandered away from her Heavenly Father. She felt like a failure in so many ways. If it wasn’t for her children, she would have ended her life.
In the midst of all that pain, Phyllis came back to church. She sought me out for counseling. For the first time in her life, Phyllis realized that the only one she could rely on in her life was God. I had her memorize Psalm 18:2: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2, ESV). She began to make a place for God in her life again. She began to pray. She came to Bible studies and learned more about God. She began to let go of her pain and hold onto God, her rock. Slowly, but surely, Phyllis began to find peace in her soul and strength to face her days.
When Phyllis wandered away from God, things in her life began to slowly unravel. When she came back to God with a genuine desire to follow Jesus, Phyllis’ mind and soul began to heal. When separated from God, Phyllis didn’t realize the many ways that her life was falling apart. She didn’t recognize that small steps away from God meant a big mistake over time. When you wander away from God, you may not realize you are in spiritual or moral or psychological or physical danger until you are so far away from God that help seems impossible. Fears can overwhelm you. The loneliness without a Divine Rock to anchor your soul can feel like you are a ship adrift in a storm on the sea. Without God to anchor your soul, you will wander away from peace and joy.
One small decision that moves you a little farther away from God may not seem like much, but a thousand such decisions can cause you to be so distant from God that you may not believe you can ever find your way back to His arms. Don’t let yourself wander away from God’s path and plan for your life. Keep God close. Follow God’s voice. Let the Eternal Shepherd watch over your life. Remain in His fold, under His watchful eye. Wandering off from God, lured by the beauty of what is around you, can cause you to end up in a place you don’t ever want to be.
The author of Psalm 119:10 wanted to keep close to God. With his whole heart, he endeavored to never “wander from God’s commandments”. To keep God near, he memorized God’s words from scripture (Psalm 119:11). He praised God often (Psalm 119:7). In each day, he set out to do nothing wrong, to follow God’s laws (Psalm 119:3,4) How about you? Have you been wandering from God lately? Has your mind been wandering when you pray? Do your thoughts wander to a temptation? Does a sin beckon you off the righteous path? Keep the faith! Follow God’s commands. You never know when you might need to be in earshot of the Good Shepherd.
July 28
“The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.” (1 Timothy 5:24, ESV)
“Members of a Virginia volunteer fire department were so proud of their expensive new Hurst tool (known as the “Jaws of Life”) that they held a special demonstration last October to show how it could cut into an automobile and rescue people trapped inside. As an appreciative crowd looked on, two fire-fighters quickly ripped a door from a 1966 Buick. They pulled its steering wheel through the windshield and knocked out all the windows.
At that point, a voice cried out, “Hey, what have you done to my car?”
“The man was livid,” reported one onlooker.
He had good reason to be upset. The firefighters, in their enthusiasm, had cut up the wrong car. Their president promised that the department would pay the owner for the loss of his car. “It was just a mistake,” the chief kept saying, “just a mistake.”” (Ronald D. White in Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, March, 1980)
To the firefighters, that 1966 Buick appeared to be the car that was supposed to be used for the demonstration of the “Jaws of Life”. Later, however, this thinking was proved to be flawed. This mistake by the Virginia volunteer firefighters would not have come to light if not for the owner of the 1966 Buick showing up to make the mistake obvious. Until that point, nobody could see the mistake that had been made. In the same way, people who have serious problems with sin often don’t show it. Though some sins become obvious quickly, others are more obscure or are only realized after a long time. The danger with some sins is that since they do not become apparent right away, they are overlooked, or they are ignored. The lack of an outward sign to the sin can hide problems in your spiritual life until you are captured by the inevitable results.
A woman came to me for counseling. She was married to an alcoholic. While he was going through rehab, she was advised by the rehab facility to talk with me about family and marital problems that resulted from her husband’s drinking. We met for two months. During that time, I helped her to deal with the past problems and trials posed by her husband’s alcoholism. She worked through them with great hope that her husband would be so much better upon his return. However, when I raised the warning that she needed to watch out for his drinking, she rebuffed me. She said that her husband was doing very well and that the doctors said he was a model patient. Thoroughly buoyed by this news, she felt their battle with alcoholism was over. I warned her against being overly optimistic and spent extra time trying to help her see that her husband needed someone to watch over his temptation to drink. She needed to hold him accountable and to watch for signs of his returning to old ways. She became so upset with this warning, she stopped coming to our sessions and even stopped coming to church.
Four years later, the woman was back in the church office. I was shocked to see her back in the church. She asked to speak with me. Of course, I invited her to chat in my office. There, she informed me that her husband had been secretly drinking for a long time after rehab. She admitted that she lied to herself about the seriousness of his alcoholism. She didn’t even find out about his drinking until his liver was found to have advanced damage from the non-stop drinking her husband did in secret.
Over the next few weeks, she and her children searched the house and found hundreds of small stashes of alcohol spread throughout the basement and garage. When her husband took up woodworking after his stint in rehab, she thought it was a great pastime to keep his mind occupied. What she discovered instead was that he had been out in his shop drinking from his hidden stashes. Only then did she realize that she had been a fool to believe he would never drink again. She apologized to me. She lost her husband to liver failure a year later.
Like that husband, there are many people who have hidden and secret sins. The wife too harbored a hidden sins of pride and fear, unable to accept the possibility of her husband's deceit. People often hide sins, even from those they love. They hide them from church friends. They hide them from co-workers. I’ve known people who had secret lovers in far away places. One man had a property that he hid from his family at which he dealt drugs. One elder from a church had a penchant for prostitutes. He visited them only while on business trips. His family had no idea until he was diagnosed with HIV. Some people, even Christians, may have hidden sins that are not visible right away. Only later that you realize how that hidden sin contributed to some negative in their lives.
Our scripture for today from 1 Timothy 5:24 warns that some sins are immediately apparent, while others can remain hidden for a long time. Initially, the scripture affirms that “the sins of some people are conspicuous”. They become apparent very quickly. They are glaringly obvious. But some sins are more veiled. They are not obvious to others. They can be hidden for a long time, until their effects are realized only later. In our scripture for today, this is acknowledged with the statement that “the sins of others appear later.” Because some sins are more hidden or veiled, you might think they are less dangerous. Actually, they are more dangerous, because the consequences don’t hit right away. When a sin is obvious, others may help you to fight it. When a sin is hidden, the faithful won’t know you need help. Veiled sins can also keep you from openly confessing your sin and making things right.
Christians may worship openly on Sunday morning, but that doesn’t mean they have been righteous on Saturday night. That doesn’t mean that they are perfect. For some, their sins are not readily apparent. Their sinful past may be well hidden. Your job is not to go find every hidden sin out there. Instead, realize that a lot of sinfulness can occur in relatively hidden places. Many sins occur in the thoughts of one’s mind, never to be mentioned in public. Many sins occur in the dark of night and are obscured in the light of day. Be careful of those “sins that appear later”. They can sneak up on you. They can hide the fact that someone you trust has an alternate agenda. Those hidden sins may come back to haunt you. They may result in consequences you never saw coming. They may jeopardize your faith without you realizing the extent of the damage.
At that point, a voice cried out, “Hey, what have you done to my car?”
“The man was livid,” reported one onlooker.
He had good reason to be upset. The firefighters, in their enthusiasm, had cut up the wrong car. Their president promised that the department would pay the owner for the loss of his car. “It was just a mistake,” the chief kept saying, “just a mistake.”” (Ronald D. White in Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, March, 1980)
To the firefighters, that 1966 Buick appeared to be the car that was supposed to be used for the demonstration of the “Jaws of Life”. Later, however, this thinking was proved to be flawed. This mistake by the Virginia volunteer firefighters would not have come to light if not for the owner of the 1966 Buick showing up to make the mistake obvious. Until that point, nobody could see the mistake that had been made. In the same way, people who have serious problems with sin often don’t show it. Though some sins become obvious quickly, others are more obscure or are only realized after a long time. The danger with some sins is that since they do not become apparent right away, they are overlooked, or they are ignored. The lack of an outward sign to the sin can hide problems in your spiritual life until you are captured by the inevitable results.
A woman came to me for counseling. She was married to an alcoholic. While he was going through rehab, she was advised by the rehab facility to talk with me about family and marital problems that resulted from her husband’s drinking. We met for two months. During that time, I helped her to deal with the past problems and trials posed by her husband’s alcoholism. She worked through them with great hope that her husband would be so much better upon his return. However, when I raised the warning that she needed to watch out for his drinking, she rebuffed me. She said that her husband was doing very well and that the doctors said he was a model patient. Thoroughly buoyed by this news, she felt their battle with alcoholism was over. I warned her against being overly optimistic and spent extra time trying to help her see that her husband needed someone to watch over his temptation to drink. She needed to hold him accountable and to watch for signs of his returning to old ways. She became so upset with this warning, she stopped coming to our sessions and even stopped coming to church.
Four years later, the woman was back in the church office. I was shocked to see her back in the church. She asked to speak with me. Of course, I invited her to chat in my office. There, she informed me that her husband had been secretly drinking for a long time after rehab. She admitted that she lied to herself about the seriousness of his alcoholism. She didn’t even find out about his drinking until his liver was found to have advanced damage from the non-stop drinking her husband did in secret.
Over the next few weeks, she and her children searched the house and found hundreds of small stashes of alcohol spread throughout the basement and garage. When her husband took up woodworking after his stint in rehab, she thought it was a great pastime to keep his mind occupied. What she discovered instead was that he had been out in his shop drinking from his hidden stashes. Only then did she realize that she had been a fool to believe he would never drink again. She apologized to me. She lost her husband to liver failure a year later.
Like that husband, there are many people who have hidden and secret sins. The wife too harbored a hidden sins of pride and fear, unable to accept the possibility of her husband's deceit. People often hide sins, even from those they love. They hide them from church friends. They hide them from co-workers. I’ve known people who had secret lovers in far away places. One man had a property that he hid from his family at which he dealt drugs. One elder from a church had a penchant for prostitutes. He visited them only while on business trips. His family had no idea until he was diagnosed with HIV. Some people, even Christians, may have hidden sins that are not visible right away. Only later that you realize how that hidden sin contributed to some negative in their lives.
Our scripture for today from 1 Timothy 5:24 warns that some sins are immediately apparent, while others can remain hidden for a long time. Initially, the scripture affirms that “the sins of some people are conspicuous”. They become apparent very quickly. They are glaringly obvious. But some sins are more veiled. They are not obvious to others. They can be hidden for a long time, until their effects are realized only later. In our scripture for today, this is acknowledged with the statement that “the sins of others appear later.” Because some sins are more hidden or veiled, you might think they are less dangerous. Actually, they are more dangerous, because the consequences don’t hit right away. When a sin is obvious, others may help you to fight it. When a sin is hidden, the faithful won’t know you need help. Veiled sins can also keep you from openly confessing your sin and making things right.
Christians may worship openly on Sunday morning, but that doesn’t mean they have been righteous on Saturday night. That doesn’t mean that they are perfect. For some, their sins are not readily apparent. Their sinful past may be well hidden. Your job is not to go find every hidden sin out there. Instead, realize that a lot of sinfulness can occur in relatively hidden places. Many sins occur in the thoughts of one’s mind, never to be mentioned in public. Many sins occur in the dark of night and are obscured in the light of day. Be careful of those “sins that appear later”. They can sneak up on you. They can hide the fact that someone you trust has an alternate agenda. Those hidden sins may come back to haunt you. They may result in consequences you never saw coming. They may jeopardize your faith without you realizing the extent of the damage.
July 30
“I, the Lord, am its [the vineyard of Israel’s] keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”” (Isaiah 27:3–5, ESV)
In examining Isaiah 27, the Oxford Bible Commentary explained that “God is the protector of the vineyard” (of Israel). God “acts as the guard who ensures that the vineyard comes to no harm”. So often, we don’t understand the awesome shield and safety God places around us. I wonder how many times harm would have befallen you if God hadn’t intervened? I wonder if you ever knew.
“Paul Tan, in his Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, says that on the evening of March 1, 1950, choir practice was scheduled in a local church in Beatrice, Nebraska. When the pastor and his wife and daughter were ready to leave for the 7:30 meeting, they discovered that the little girl had soiled her dress and needed to be changed. So they had to come late. A high school sophomore named Ladona had trouble with her geometry problems and stayed to finish her work, even though she usually got there early. Two sisters were delayed because their car wouldn’t start. Mrs. Schuster normally arrived at 7:20, but that night her mother needed her, so she had to stop there first. One man took a nap and overslept. And so, one after another, the members were detained for various reasons. At 7:25, due to leaking gas, the church blew up! When everyone arrived a short time later, they were amazed to see how their lives had been spared. The fact that all of them failed to come on time—something that had never happened before—had to be more than coincidence. As far as they were concerned, the Lord had been their shield and protector.” (As adapted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations)
In the scripture for today, the prophet Isaiah talks about a vineyard that is protected by God. God is the vineyard’s “keeper” (Isaiah 27:3). God tends to the needs of the vineyard, even watering it. God would fight to keep “thorns and briers” away from the vines (Isaiah 27:4). By way of example, the scripture is using the vineyard as an analogy for Israel and God’s people. God protects Israel. God watches over the faithful. In response, God asks that the faithful “make peace” with God. God desires that they keep the commandments holy. Also, God desires that they “lay hold of” God’s protection. In other words, the people of God need to “hold tight” to God’s protection, letting Him keep them safe.
I have found that many people have a difficult time holding tight to God’s protection. Some would rather cling to the safety of money or insurance or powerful allies or military might than grasp tight to the everlasting arms of the Lord. Some would rather gather up their own “security blankets” rather than trust in God to come through. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t care about your own safety and security. What I am saying is that God is your ultimate protector. When your world is shaken up, go to God’s strong arms. Rest in the promises of the Savior! Let Jesus calm the storms in your life like he calmed the Sea of Galilee. There is no safer place than in the presence of Almighty God.
The end of the scripture comes with a repeated phrase, “Let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me” (Isaiah 27:5). I believe this phrase is doubled for emphasis. You see, the protection that God gives rests on a person’s “peace with God”. If you and God are not in a solid relationship, where you have made things right with God, you may not have the protection of God. If you have decided to ignore faith and place your trust in worldly places, God will pull back from you. God will not give you the protection you need. You will be on your own against the principalities and powers of darkness in this world (Ephesians 6:12).
If you desire the best protection in this world, remember to make peace with God. Make your relationship with God a priority. Put your trust in our Lord. Learn to “hold tight” to God’s arms. Let Him protect your way. You may never know how many times He saves you, but you can be sure He will find a way to watch over you.
How about we end today’s meditation with you reading out loud the following prayer…..
Lord, protect me from the evil of this world. There are so many temptations and spiritual vices around me. My thoughts, at times, betray me. I cannot understand everything that is happening in my life right now. My eyesight is limited. My abilities are not infinite. I may falter. I may fail. Teach me again how much I need to cling to your strength. Help me to see my need for you. Though I may rely on things of this world out of necessity, may I rely on You for ultimate security. There is no better place to be than holding on to your Everlasting arms while trusting in the promises of Jesus. Guide my decisions by your Holy Spirit. Cleanse my life from any sin. On this day, I want to be sure that You and I are at peace; one with each other; our relationship on firm ground. I desire your presence in my day. I want you near. I put my life in your hands again. Because of Jesus, I promise to be faithful…. Amen.
“Paul Tan, in his Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, says that on the evening of March 1, 1950, choir practice was scheduled in a local church in Beatrice, Nebraska. When the pastor and his wife and daughter were ready to leave for the 7:30 meeting, they discovered that the little girl had soiled her dress and needed to be changed. So they had to come late. A high school sophomore named Ladona had trouble with her geometry problems and stayed to finish her work, even though she usually got there early. Two sisters were delayed because their car wouldn’t start. Mrs. Schuster normally arrived at 7:20, but that night her mother needed her, so she had to stop there first. One man took a nap and overslept. And so, one after another, the members were detained for various reasons. At 7:25, due to leaking gas, the church blew up! When everyone arrived a short time later, they were amazed to see how their lives had been spared. The fact that all of them failed to come on time—something that had never happened before—had to be more than coincidence. As far as they were concerned, the Lord had been their shield and protector.” (As adapted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations)
In the scripture for today, the prophet Isaiah talks about a vineyard that is protected by God. God is the vineyard’s “keeper” (Isaiah 27:3). God tends to the needs of the vineyard, even watering it. God would fight to keep “thorns and briers” away from the vines (Isaiah 27:4). By way of example, the scripture is using the vineyard as an analogy for Israel and God’s people. God protects Israel. God watches over the faithful. In response, God asks that the faithful “make peace” with God. God desires that they keep the commandments holy. Also, God desires that they “lay hold of” God’s protection. In other words, the people of God need to “hold tight” to God’s protection, letting Him keep them safe.
I have found that many people have a difficult time holding tight to God’s protection. Some would rather cling to the safety of money or insurance or powerful allies or military might than grasp tight to the everlasting arms of the Lord. Some would rather gather up their own “security blankets” rather than trust in God to come through. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t care about your own safety and security. What I am saying is that God is your ultimate protector. When your world is shaken up, go to God’s strong arms. Rest in the promises of the Savior! Let Jesus calm the storms in your life like he calmed the Sea of Galilee. There is no safer place than in the presence of Almighty God.
The end of the scripture comes with a repeated phrase, “Let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me” (Isaiah 27:5). I believe this phrase is doubled for emphasis. You see, the protection that God gives rests on a person’s “peace with God”. If you and God are not in a solid relationship, where you have made things right with God, you may not have the protection of God. If you have decided to ignore faith and place your trust in worldly places, God will pull back from you. God will not give you the protection you need. You will be on your own against the principalities and powers of darkness in this world (Ephesians 6:12).
If you desire the best protection in this world, remember to make peace with God. Make your relationship with God a priority. Put your trust in our Lord. Learn to “hold tight” to God’s arms. Let Him protect your way. You may never know how many times He saves you, but you can be sure He will find a way to watch over you.
How about we end today’s meditation with you reading out loud the following prayer…..
Lord, protect me from the evil of this world. There are so many temptations and spiritual vices around me. My thoughts, at times, betray me. I cannot understand everything that is happening in my life right now. My eyesight is limited. My abilities are not infinite. I may falter. I may fail. Teach me again how much I need to cling to your strength. Help me to see my need for you. Though I may rely on things of this world out of necessity, may I rely on You for ultimate security. There is no better place to be than holding on to your Everlasting arms while trusting in the promises of Jesus. Guide my decisions by your Holy Spirit. Cleanse my life from any sin. On this day, I want to be sure that You and I are at peace; one with each other; our relationship on firm ground. I desire your presence in my day. I want you near. I put my life in your hands again. Because of Jesus, I promise to be faithful…. Amen.
October 31
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.”
(1 John 4:1–3, NLT)
(1 John 4:1–3, NLT)
When you make a commitment to God through Jesus Christ, you become a Christian. As you live out the promises and obedience given that relationship, you become a faithful and true Christian. The basis for the word "Christian" is Christ, the Messiah. Thus, when you live for Jesus' sake, you become a "Christian" through that relationship with Jesus. An "Serbian" owes a commitment to Serbia. A "Mohammedan" is an ancient term for one who follows Mohammed. A "Christian" owes his or her life to Christ. That relationship should be the center of one's life and form the crux of who you are.
After becoming a true Christian with a deep relationship with Christ, it is important to follow the scripture above. 1 John 4:1 warns us "not to believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit". There are many spiritual and religious people in the world, but not all of them are of God. Not all of them have a true commitment to Christ. In the days in which this scripture was originally written, there were people who claimed to believe in Jesus as the Christ, but they did not believe he was "born of Mary". He did not suffer and die on a cross. He was a spiritual being, but not a physical one. These people were mostly Gnostics. They believed they knew Jesus, but they could not accept his real death on a cross. When John wrote the words above, he asked the real Christians to "test" others who spoke about our faith. John wanted them to make sure that the "spirit they have comes from God" (1 John 4:2). He even targets the Gnostics by writing: "if a person claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God" (1 John 4:2-3). In verse 2 above, the false prophets (Gnostics) denied Jesus had a "real body". Thus, they were not of God. They were from the "Antichrist" (1 John 4:3), sent to mess up the connection with the believer and the real Christ Jesus.
According to the scripture above, you can have a "Spirit of God" or you can have the "spirit of the Antichrist". Your job is to "test the spirits". An important aspect of being faithful to Jesus Christ involves checking to make sure that those you trust spiritually are those who have the Spirit of God. From priests to pastors to spiritual mentors and friends, you need to spiritually steer clear of those who do not have the "Spirit of God" in them. They can be friends, but not Christian friends. They can give advice, but not godly advice. God can work through them, but God is not in them.
Carolyn was always a spiritual person. She grew up attending worship in a Catholic Church. During her teens, she drifted away from the Catholic Church, remaining a Christian in name only. She was a wonderful person who was well liked by her friends. She had lots of friends. In her early twenties, Carolyn fell in love with a Peter, whom she met at a concert. The two hit it off and became inseparable. They married in 1969 and began a beautiful life together.
Seven years into the marriage, Carolyn and Peter began to have marriage problems. They fought the same old fights over and over. Wondering what to do, Carolyn expressed her frustration to her closest friend. This friend stated that men are born to cheat. They aren't wired like women. She talked about men being biologically antithetical to marriage. Can you tell her best friend was divorced? Carolyn began to drift away from her husband, spending more time with her best friend. After divorcing her husband, Carolyn began to get involved with an Eastern Meditation group. They taught that life was all spiritual and the purpose of life was to become one with "the spirit". The group met together regularly, some even moving in together in a large commune. Carolyn loved her new life, and highly respected the gurus who taught the group.
Ten years later, Carolyn's life was a mess. After her closest friend died, she began to question her life choices. She was poor and desperate. All her time and money was spent supporting the spiritual group she had migrated into. Desperately seeking some help, she visited a Catholic mission not far away. There, she met a priest who took her under his wing. He helped her find housing. A congregation helped her re-acclimate to her new life. A husband and wife stopped in often to check on her. For the first time in a long time, Carolyn felt spiritually connected again. To this day, she is very active in her parish in California.
There were many spiritual voices in Carolyn's life. Some weren't from God. Some were. Sadly, she wandered away from the people sent by God. She took spiritual advice and counseling from those who were not bearing the "Spirit of God". Many years of her life were wasted because of those who did not have a connection with Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular thinking, all religions and spiritual groups are NOT the same. True Christianity saves lives. I thank God for the priest who gave Carolyn a connection with God, for the people from her parish who took her in, for those who showed her love, and for Christ who redeemed her.
If you listen to spiritual advice from those who do not have the "Spirit of God", you will find yourself drifting away from God. Your life will suffer for the loss of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. You were meant to be godly. You were meant to rely on the "Spirit of God". God ordained your life to have a relationship with Jesus. God sends HIS Spirit to comfort and direct you. Before you make your choices in life or listen to spiritual advice, you NEED to find those who have the "Spirit of God" in them. The person with the "spirit of the Antichrist" is always ready to give spiritual advice and lead you down the wrong paths in life. According to this scripture, you need to figure out which spiritual people are trustworthy in Christ Jesus.
I celebrate the Spirit of God that is in you and brought you to reading this. I'm excited about what wonderful additions you will bring to God's work and world. God will bless you and protect you as you walk this spiritual walk of life. Just be wise in taking advice. You want the advice to come from God, not from somewhere else!
After becoming a true Christian with a deep relationship with Christ, it is important to follow the scripture above. 1 John 4:1 warns us "not to believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit". There are many spiritual and religious people in the world, but not all of them are of God. Not all of them have a true commitment to Christ. In the days in which this scripture was originally written, there were people who claimed to believe in Jesus as the Christ, but they did not believe he was "born of Mary". He did not suffer and die on a cross. He was a spiritual being, but not a physical one. These people were mostly Gnostics. They believed they knew Jesus, but they could not accept his real death on a cross. When John wrote the words above, he asked the real Christians to "test" others who spoke about our faith. John wanted them to make sure that the "spirit they have comes from God" (1 John 4:2). He even targets the Gnostics by writing: "if a person claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God" (1 John 4:2-3). In verse 2 above, the false prophets (Gnostics) denied Jesus had a "real body". Thus, they were not of God. They were from the "Antichrist" (1 John 4:3), sent to mess up the connection with the believer and the real Christ Jesus.
According to the scripture above, you can have a "Spirit of God" or you can have the "spirit of the Antichrist". Your job is to "test the spirits". An important aspect of being faithful to Jesus Christ involves checking to make sure that those you trust spiritually are those who have the Spirit of God. From priests to pastors to spiritual mentors and friends, you need to spiritually steer clear of those who do not have the "Spirit of God" in them. They can be friends, but not Christian friends. They can give advice, but not godly advice. God can work through them, but God is not in them.
Carolyn was always a spiritual person. She grew up attending worship in a Catholic Church. During her teens, she drifted away from the Catholic Church, remaining a Christian in name only. She was a wonderful person who was well liked by her friends. She had lots of friends. In her early twenties, Carolyn fell in love with a Peter, whom she met at a concert. The two hit it off and became inseparable. They married in 1969 and began a beautiful life together.
Seven years into the marriage, Carolyn and Peter began to have marriage problems. They fought the same old fights over and over. Wondering what to do, Carolyn expressed her frustration to her closest friend. This friend stated that men are born to cheat. They aren't wired like women. She talked about men being biologically antithetical to marriage. Can you tell her best friend was divorced? Carolyn began to drift away from her husband, spending more time with her best friend. After divorcing her husband, Carolyn began to get involved with an Eastern Meditation group. They taught that life was all spiritual and the purpose of life was to become one with "the spirit". The group met together regularly, some even moving in together in a large commune. Carolyn loved her new life, and highly respected the gurus who taught the group.
Ten years later, Carolyn's life was a mess. After her closest friend died, she began to question her life choices. She was poor and desperate. All her time and money was spent supporting the spiritual group she had migrated into. Desperately seeking some help, she visited a Catholic mission not far away. There, she met a priest who took her under his wing. He helped her find housing. A congregation helped her re-acclimate to her new life. A husband and wife stopped in often to check on her. For the first time in a long time, Carolyn felt spiritually connected again. To this day, she is very active in her parish in California.
There were many spiritual voices in Carolyn's life. Some weren't from God. Some were. Sadly, she wandered away from the people sent by God. She took spiritual advice and counseling from those who were not bearing the "Spirit of God". Many years of her life were wasted because of those who did not have a connection with Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular thinking, all religions and spiritual groups are NOT the same. True Christianity saves lives. I thank God for the priest who gave Carolyn a connection with God, for the people from her parish who took her in, for those who showed her love, and for Christ who redeemed her.
If you listen to spiritual advice from those who do not have the "Spirit of God", you will find yourself drifting away from God. Your life will suffer for the loss of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. You were meant to be godly. You were meant to rely on the "Spirit of God". God ordained your life to have a relationship with Jesus. God sends HIS Spirit to comfort and direct you. Before you make your choices in life or listen to spiritual advice, you NEED to find those who have the "Spirit of God" in them. The person with the "spirit of the Antichrist" is always ready to give spiritual advice and lead you down the wrong paths in life. According to this scripture, you need to figure out which spiritual people are trustworthy in Christ Jesus.
I celebrate the Spirit of God that is in you and brought you to reading this. I'm excited about what wonderful additions you will bring to God's work and world. God will bless you and protect you as you walk this spiritual walk of life. Just be wise in taking advice. You want the advice to come from God, not from somewhere else!