Tag Archives: daily walk

Jan 13 – Why Bother?

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Job 35-37

Have you ever wondered why you bother being a Christian? I mean, you go to church every Sunday, maybe even teach a SS class, give sacrificially with every pay check. You don’t drink or swear. You’re honest and kind.

Then you go to the doctor and hear the “C” word. Or you lose your job when the company down-sizes. Your neighbor, who makes fun of your Christianity drives a new BMW, and your clunker needs new tires.

You might think about making choices to give in to temptation, to get drunk, have an affair, sleep in on Sunday. There, God. Take that.

Elihu, in Job 35 asks: if you sin, do you take anything away from God? And if you are righteous, do you add something to God?

We’ve got to remember God is above us, God never changes, and most of the time God’s ways are not our ways. Your obedience doesn’t make God stronger or wiser or better. And your disobedience doesn’t make Him weaker. Satan would have us look at circumstances, or our neighbor. Satan would have us envy what we do not have, and blame God for our not having it.

If you serve God in order to get what you want – don’t bother. You’re not going to change God with your obedience or disobedience. But God can – and wants to – change you. Maybe not your circumstance. You.

And that’s why I bother to be a Christian. I like the way God has changed me. As a Christian I have a relationship with this unchanging, all powerful, ever present God of mine. I can live my life with confidence that whatever happens, I have the God of Creation right here living in me. And this awesome God wants to bless me with Himself every minute of every day.

Let my neighbor have his BMW. Give me Jesus.

Jan 6 – I Will Trust God

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Job 10-13

Job is hurting. He’s at his wit’s end and doesn’t know how to make things better. He doesn’t even know why his life has turned out like it has. He feels alone, ridiculed, misunderstood. He wants to ask God some questions. He even says he’s ready to argue with God. And he can’t figure out why God is treating him like an enemy.

Sound familiar? Have you ever found yourself crying out to a silent God? Do you have the “why” questions that are not being answered? Does it feel like God has turned on you?

Job doesn’t know what we know: that his losses are of Satan, not God. He doesn’t have the privilege of opening God’s Word and reading God’s heart.

But we do.

The answers you are looking for aren’t found within you, or in some self-help book, or in Oprah. The answers are found in the pages of God’s Word.

I like Job’s point of view. He said, even if God kills me, I will trust Him.

There’s the answer you are looking for.

A mother tells her young son not to play in the street. Why? “Because I said so.” A father insists his teenage daughter be home by 11. “Trust me,” he says when she asks why.

Often, when we mature, we realize the answers to our “why” questions. And maturity comes from studying God’s Word, by getting to know God’s heart, and by trusting Him in every circumstance, allowing Him to prove He can be trusted.

Somehow, when our relationship with God is mature, the questions we have just don’t seem all that important. God replaces our uncertainty with Himself.

Then, with Job, we can say that no matter what comes, “I will trust God.”

Dear Father, I like being your child. But sometimes my curiosity, or my hurt finds me asking, “why?”. God, I want to trust you, even if I never have the answers I think I need this side of heaven. May I not let my questions get in my way of a close relationship with You. Because, Dear Lord, nothing is more important than the sweet fellowship I enjoy as your child.

Jan 3 – And He Died

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Genesis 8-11

Noah’s death is marked in chapter of 9 of Genesis with the words, “and he died.” Noah, who was one of only eight people saved from the flood. Noah, who built the ark according to instructions given by God Himself. Noah, who can be traced to be the father of us all. He lived an extraordinary life.

And he died.

God is reminding me today that that just about says it all for all of us. You will  have quite a few years less than Noah’s 950 years on this planet. But your days are equally extraordinary because you are the only you. Your experiences have never, and will never be repeated. Your choices are your choices. Your joys, your hardships, your dreams, your accomplishments, and your failures are yours alone.

And in every second of every day you live, God is seeking you as though you were the only person on Earth. Your’s is an extraordinary life.

And you will die.

And just like Noah, or Adam, or Peter, or Paul, or Suzie Q down the street, you will stand before God to account for your extraordinary life. The only thing that will matter at that point is your relationship with the living God. Did you believe or not? Did you obey or not? Are you a child of God according to Scripture (and not according to your own thinking) or not?

Dear God, I am reminded that this life I am living is going to end some day. I will die. And, although I don’t want to obsess about that event, I want to live my life with the goal before me. I want to enjoy these days as I prepare to meet You face to face. You, who died for me, who frees me from the chains of sin. You who loves me, guides me, molds me, uses me, and blesses me every day. You make my life extraordinary. And I love you.

Jan 2 – The Lesson Of The Flood

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Genesis 4-7

It’s hard to read about the flood. It’s hard to imagine millions of people, including babies, drowning. It’s frightening to realize how intense is God’s anger toward sin. He even said He was sorry he’d ever created man, and he was grieved in His heart.

Some people will shake their fists at God and rant over the unfairness of a world-wide flood. Some will shake their heads and deny it ever happened. Both are wrong. And both miss the point.

If we look for signs that the earth was drenched in water, we might find it interesting. It might even confirm that the Bible is true. But even that misses the point, which is: GOD HATES SIN!

He HATES my sin. He HATES your sin. He HATES the lie I told, the “adult” entertainment you watch, my anger, your coarse language. He HATES it.

And unless we have faith in Him like Noah had, we will die in our sin, like all those people died in that awful flood.

God has provided an escape plan, however. In Noah’s day it was the ark. Today it is Jesus. But read Genesis, dear one. There was… and is… only one means of salvation. Just one.

For myself, I never want God to be sorry He created me. I never want to grieve His heart by the choices I make to sin. I want to resist sin, accept His provision of salvation, and live every day I have on this earth as one who clings to the God of my salvation.

I want the same for you.

Dear Savior, it’s a new year and many of us consider it a new beginning. I pray that as we make our way through 2016 we will do so holding on to You, pleasing You, loving You, and riding the waves in the safety of Your salvation. May we not forget how much You hate sin. And may we allow You to help us resist the temptation to sin every time. You are faithful. May we be, too.

Jan 1 – Let’s Do It Again

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Genesis 1-3

Another new year. Another opportunity to read through God’s Word. This year, I’ll be reading the NASB chronologically, and I am excited to see what God has for me to learn.

Today, as I read the first three chapters of Genesis I was impressed with how much God demonstrated His love for us during those first days of our existence. His thoughtful creation not only provides for our needs, it’s beautiful!

Tiny ladybugs to sturdy oaks. Changing seasons to twinkling stars. And in every detail we can see a God who lovingly created it all for us to use and enjoy.

God rested on the seventh day. Why? Did creating all this stuff tucker him out? Of course not. But God knew WE would get tired so He gave us the gift of a day off. And He showed us by example our need of rest. I love that!

Love is also demonstrated in the intimate way Eve was created from Adam’s rib, a bone that protected his heart. It’s such a beautiful picture of marriage, of love.

And even after they disobeyed, God Himself lovingly provided for Adam and Eve by clothing them, covering their nakedness, their sin, with the first blood sacrifice.

Reading the Bible reveals a God of love on every page. As I read from Genesis to Revelation in 2016 I want to recognize His love. I want to love Him more, serve Him better.

Will you join me? You may have read the Bible already. Maybe you just finished reading through the Bible in 2015. But let’s do it again. There is so much for us to learn, so many blessings God wants us to have.

I’ll continue to blog my thoughts, and I look forward to hearing from you. May God bless you in 2016 with a deeper relationship with Him, a burning love for Him, and a zeal to share Him with those around you.

Happy New Year, dear one. Let’s use it to read God’s Word each and every day!

 

Like A Child

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I wish we’d approach our Christianity more childlike more often. Too many of us analyze and question, dissect and twist what the Bible has to say about so many subjects. I was reading something recently and the author quoted Scripture, then proceeded to explain what he insisted it “meant”, because clearly the words of the verses he’d quoted said something that didn’t fit into his point of view.

My niece was driving, her two children safely strapped in car seats in the back. Colton, her four-year-old just started pre-school and they were talking about seasons. My niece was explaining that God designed summer sun to turn to the cooler, more colorful fall, fall to snowy winter, winter to spring and buds and flowers, spring to summer, and then it starts all over again. “Your birthday is in the winter,” she told him. “And Nora’s birthday is in the fall.”

In fact, we were celebrating his sister Nora’s third birthday that week. Colton gasped.

“Is it fall right now?” he asked. His mother told him it was.

“Call Daddy,” he commanded. “Call Daddy!”

“Why, Colton? Daddy’s at work. Why do you want me to call him?

“Daddy said we could have a baby in the fall!”

My great-nephew had overheard a conversation between his parents some weeks before. And he simply took what he’d heard his father say at face value. He’s too childlike to question or find a deeper meaning than the words his daddy had said. I think our Heavenly Father would be pleased if we’d do the same with his Words sometimes.

Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one goes to the Father except through Him. John 3:16 says God loved the whole world so much that he sent Jesus to the cross, “that WHOSOEVER believes will not perish but have everlasting life.” Romans tells us ALL have sinned, all fall short of God’s standards. And many verses tell us if we believe in Jesus, we’ll be saved.

The Bible clearly tells us there is a heaven and there is a hell. Both are real. Both are eternal. One is what we deserve. One is given when we accept Jesus and receive his grace.

Oh, I recognize that there are times when the words we read require thought, even questioning. The Bible is not “Dick and Jane”. There are times when interpreting Scripture requires reading more Scripture in order to understand it. There may be times when knowing the culture and times when passages were written gives us a clearer view. But I honestly think that’s not as necessary as often as some would believe. Sometimes the words in front of us just mean what they say.

You may be saying, well Colton took his father’s words at face value, and he was wrong. There isn’t going to be a baby in the family this fall. And you would be right to say that.

But I hope you are reading God’s Word every day, any way. In fact, I hope you are reading and re-reading the entire Bible. I would challenge you to approach it as a child, not reading so much into it, not trying to fit it into some theological box. Read it as though your Father was talking to his child. What would he say to you today?

I believe God’s words will excite you as much as fall excited my sweet great-nephew. And the truth of the matter is, we just found out that next August, we’ll be welcoming a little addition to this dear family!

Dear Author, thank you for lovingly inspiring men to write down everything you want us to know this side of heaven. Thank you for the privilege we have of reading your Word, of studying it, memorizing it, talking about it. May we prayerfully open its pages every day, expecting to hear from you. Give us discernment. Give us understanding. And draw us to you as we spend time learning what our Daddy would say to us through your Word.

I Can’t Sin (read on)

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John says anyone who has been born of God cannot sin. (I John 3) He even says, if you sin you’ve neither seen God nor know Him.

As one who is born again, born of God, I am confused because I sin. Just the other day I told a story that was half-truth, half-lie (I almost called it “creative license” but that wouldn’t be the truth)

Even Paul said he struggled with doing what he shouldn’t, and not doing what he knew he should. Jesus pointed out sin in his own disciples, even calling Peter Satan moments after telling Peter he would be the Rock.

I know some dear people who believe they lose their salvation every time they sin, because this verse says a Christian can’t sin. I’m not sure about that interpretation. But because this verse is in the Bible, it’s clear that God wants us to know His children can’t sin. So…?

If you read the whole section, and not just this one verse, it makes sense. There is an “if” there. IF we abide in Him, sin can’t exist in our lives because there is no sin in God. I believe that when we sin, it’s an indication that we have stepped away from Him. And all sin – even my embellished story – is of Satan.

If I abide in the Father by spending time with Him in His Word and prayer, if my walk with Him is intentional, if I pay attention to the warning signs He so lovingly puts in my way, and if I purposefully acknowledge His Presence with every breath I take – I cannot sin. Sin and God cannot exist together.

So this verse is true… and it’s a challenge. As I consider this portion of Scripture and the story I told the other day, I realize that during my telling God whispered in my ear, “you know that’s not what happened.” But I continued telling my tale. The thought again came to me… “why are you’re lying?” but that, too didn’t stop me. It was an entertaining story. I wanted to see how it ended.

As I look back on the decades since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was born into God’s family, I see that there have been times when my walk with the Lord was my first priority. And I see that during those times, the temptation to sin was more easily ignored. I recognize that God was actively helping me to win the battle with my enemy, and we won time and time again.

But it was at those times that I held the Lord at arms length, those times when I didn’t want to turn my back on Him exactly, but I also didn’t want to include Him in every detail of my life, that I was weak to resist temptation. It was at those time I sinned, I rationalized my sin, and I ignored the One who loves me to death.

I am challenged today to abide in God. I want Him to be such a part of my life that sin has no control over me, that I am incapable of sinning because God and I exist together. The ability to live a sinless life is available.

If.

 

Do You Need A Lift?

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In chapter 4 of his book, James is pretty clear about what being a Christian looks like. He reminds us God resists the proud, and gives strength to the humble. Then he makes a life list:

  • submit to God
  • resist the devil
  • draw near to God
  • cleanse your hands
  • purify your hearts
  • weep, mourn
  • humble yourselves
  • don’t speak evil
  • don’t assume you have tomorrow
  • do good

(the last three are implied)

I believe a person who follows these will represent Jesus. And will do so intentionally.

It takes an act of will to submit to God, to die to self, and be honest enough to admit our helplessness before a Holy God. There is effort involved in drawing near to God through prayer and reading His Word every day. It takes discipline to turn away from sin and determine to use our abilities to further God’s kingdom, and to do it from a pure heart with no thought of anything other than honoring God.

It takes a purposeful look at our lives, our sin, our lostness, and when we do our response can only be complete devastation, sadness, mourning, over the fact that you and I sent Jesus to the cross. We’ll look at sin differently from that moment on.

And it takes a little courage to let go of “self”, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, and trusting God with the outcome, recognizing our hopelessness apart from Him.

The rest will come as a natural outpouring from God’s grace. We won’t speak evil, we won’t take today for granted, and we won’t tire of doing what needs to be done for the good of others and for the glory of God.

Because, as James so beautifully puts it, when we humble ourselves, when we give ourselves to God to break us down…

He will lift (us) up!

Sticks, Stones, and Swearing

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Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.

I understand why adults tell children that to help them ignore mean things other children say. But is it true that words can’t hurt? Reputations have been ruined, riots have started, lives shattered, when someone says something that hurts.

James, in chapter 3, tells us our tongues can be untamable. He says our tongues control us. What comes out of the mouth reflects what is in our hearts.

Slander? Gossip? Lies? Coarse language? Dirty jokes? Venom? People say, “pissed off” quite easily these days. or “OMG”, or worse. What does that say about what is in the heart?

The question is, do I want my words to come from God’s heart, or not. James says sometimes what we say comes straight from hell. When I read that, I have to stop in my tracks and consider what is in my heart. Can a person whose heart is given completely to God say things that offend Him?

The thing about words is once they are out they can’t be taken back. Damage is done, and often irreparable. Sometimes the hurt is never healed.

Control the tongue, you control your whole self, James says. Control the tongue and reveal Christ to everyone within hearing distance.

Father, I pray for all of us today as we consider our vocabulary. Is how we express ourselves any different from how people who don’t know you express themselves? If there are those things we say that offend You, point it out to us. Convict us. And may we be quick to repent. May the words of our mouths be pleasing to you. And may others recognize that our words come from Your heart.

A Twinge or an Amputation. Your Choice.

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The older I get, the more frequently my body aches. Just yesterday I felt a twinge in my knee as I got up from the couch. It hurt when I put weight on it, so I intentionally kept my foot straight, my hips in line, as I walked. I didn’t want to do damage by twisting it. And, after a bit, it stopped hurting.

Then I read Hebrews 12:12 this morning and had to smile at God’s timing. Because I had put the whole knee-thing out of my mind and am sure I would not have given it another thought had I not seen what was written there:

“…make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.” (NKJV)

I am not kidding. Coincidence? I think not! I am blown away at how intimately interested God is in me, how personal, and how He longs to teach me every day.

So what is the lesson here? The writer of Hebrews is talking about God’s discipline of His children. I think the example in 12:12 says that when we sin, it can result in something like a twinge in the knee. God’s discipline could be in the form of guilt, or shame, or regret. But if I keep repeating the sin I cause damage. The discipline, then the consequences become more and more intense.

But if I intentionally walk straight, repent of the sin, if I resist repeating the sin, there is healing. There is forgiveness. And that’s what Jesus died to provide. That’s what God wants for us.

If you continue reading Hebrews 12 you’ll see that Esau is used as an example of this. Esau sinned for a bite of food. And in keeping with my analogy, he didn’t just get a twinge in his knee, he lost his leg. No amount of tears could bring that leg back.

Sometimes God’s discipline is a twinge. But if we choose to ignore it, we could lose the whole leg. Sometimes God’s discipline feels like guilt. But if we choose to ignore it, it could cost us so much more. And we might find ourselves living with devastating consequences of a sin that could have been stopped at the twinge.

Dearest God, I pray that we will recognize that twinge of guilt as Your discipline when we sin, or even think about sinning. Guilt doesn’t feel good. Yet so often we ignore it and continue in the sin. Thank you that you don’t amputate the first time we sin. We’d all be limbless! I pray that we will be sensitive to the way You work in our lives, that we will be quick to learn from Your discipline so that we won’t have to suffer further consequences for our bad choices. And, God, thank you for reminding me today how intimately interested you are in each one of us. I love you.