Tag Archives: following God

September 16 – A Prayer For Our World

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Daniel 7-9

Reading Daniel’s vision reminds me that there are forces of evil out there. There has been since Satan and his followers fell from heaven. ISIS, murderers, liars, thieves, adulterers, bullies, and the like are tools of our enemy against a Holy God.

We act like it’s about us.

But evil is Satan’s tool in his war against God. I think if we want Satan defeated in this country and in our world, if we want to put a stop to the evil around us, our prayer should be like Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9:

Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, we have sinned. We haven’t listened to You. We are ashamed of ourselves in light of Your righteousness. We are rebellious and disobedient, so You have allowed us the consequences for our sin. Even in that, we’ve not turned to You. Now, O Lord, Your Name is a reproach to those around us. The name “Christian” is hated and scorned, and meaningless. So God, not because we have any merit on our own, not because we deserve Your mercy, but for the sake of Your Name… forgive us. Bless us in the sight of nations. Let unbelievers recognize Your compassion to those who humble themselves before You, who turn from their wicked ways, and who follow You alone. Not because we deserve it. But because by doing so, people may come to You. And You deserve that.

August 22 – Yet

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Habakkuk

These days it’s easy to be fearful of what lies ahead for planet Earth. The persecution of Christians is seen in parts of the world and, the signs are such to believe it will happen here. We read about a child who is strapped with a bomb, going to a wedding and blowing himself and 51 people up as an act of terrorism. We see sin celebrated like we’ve never seen before, and Jesus reduced to just another religious leader.

How long is God going to tolerate our depravity before He punishes us? How long before we realize God’s wrath?

Habakkuk was fearful about his future, too. In 3:16 he said he had butterflies in his stomach, his lip quivered, he felt sick because he found himself waiting for “the day of distress” when God would send people to invade them. The signs were there. God’s wrath was inevitable. And Habakkuk was scared to death.

But Habakkuk ends his book with a determination I want for myself. He says no matter what happens, if the vines quit producing fruit, if there is no food, if the livestock is cut off and no cattle are in the stalls:

Yet I will exult the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength… (3:18-19a) (emphasis mine)

I don’t know what is around the corner for us here in 2016. I could make myself crazy worrying about it. But Habakkuk has a better idea.

I’m going to praise God every day. I will rejoice in the fact that my sins are forgiven and I walk with God. I will allow Him to be my strength and to direct my path. I will be faithful to Him no matter what, and will share the Gospel until I have no breath left.

That might not be easy, depending on what lies ahead. But, with Habakkuk I want to say no matter how bad it gets…

YET I will exult the Lord.

July 7 – Commitment Is Personal

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2 Kings 12-13, 2 Chronicles 24

Joash’s story always makes me sad. As long as the priest Jehoiada was there, the young king honored God and encouraged the Jews to obey Him. “Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (2 Chronicles 24:2)

The sad part begins when the priest dies and Joash is left on his own. For the first time in his life he didn’t have that old man looking over his shoulders. Joash didn’t choose well. Read it for yourself in today’s chapters.

I am reminded that faith in God is personal. I am not a Christian because my parents were. I can’t assume my children will follow the Lord just because I am devoted to God.  It’s a decision everyone must make for themselves.

Have you chosen to follow God because you realize YOU are a sinner before a Holy God? Have you repented of your own sin, and accepted Jesus death on the cross as something He did for YOU?

No one can decide that for you but you.

 

June 21 – First Love

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I Kings 10-11, 2 Chronicles 9

My sister Kathy and I were talking yesterday about the passages in Ecclesiastes I’d been reading. We were remarking about how Solomon was not only the wisest man who ever lived, he was the richest.  And as far as I can tell he was the most self-indulgent person on record, too.

Solomon had it all. And it became his ruin.

Kathy said something that has me thinking today as I read about Solomon’s turn from God. She wondered how the same man who wrote The Song Of Solomon, the man who was totally devoted to his first love, and who was loved like that in return, could end up with 700 wives and 300 more women he had sex with. How did he go from that precious first love, so pure, intense, and exclusive, to such a mind-boggling disregard for that love?

The answer is in the chapters I read today. It happened gradually. One day, one step at a time.

Most likely some of the women were gifts from neighboring kings. But Solomon welcomed them into his home. And he allowed them to bring their detestable idols with them. Everything God had warned him to avoid.

I don’t think Solomon woke up one morning and said, “I think I’ll worship Ashtoreth today.” But Scripture tells us eventually Solomon became a worshiper of that Sidonian god, and a worshiper of other imaginary gods as well.

Did it start out with curiosity? Solomon seems to be a man who loved learning everything he could. Maybe he thought observing his wives go through their pagan rituals was a learning experience, would help him understand his wives better. I don’t know. The Bible just says this about King Solomon:

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. (I Kings 11:4)

That makes me sad. The Bible seems to indicate that Solomon kept his first wife, his first love, separate from the others. Built her a better house. Maybe spent more time with her than with the others. Probably gave her roses on their anniversary or a box of candy on Valentines Day. But the reality is he had something else going on, too. And that something else ended up turning his heart away from God.

The Bible takes it a step further:

Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. (I Kings 11:6)

Solomon who built that incredible temple, who was so gifted with wisdom and power and material wealth. Solomon who represented God to the nations around him. Ended up being remembered for doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

Fast forward a few thousand years. What would God want me to take away from Solomon’s life? I find myself checking my relationship with my own first love.

The early church in Ephesus was a vibrant, busy congregation who persevered, did not tolerate sin, even called their preachers out when the preachers weren’t speaking the truth. But Rev 2:4 reports what God says about that church in Ephesus:

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

That’s where God is nudging me this morning. I can think about Solomon and wonder about his fall, but there is a more important truth to consider. And that is my own heart’s condition before my Lord.

The question I need to answer today is this: Is my heart “wholly devoted” to God? Or have I tolerated a bit of sin in my life? Have I begun to take those steps away from God that I consider no big deal at the moment? Do I serve Him out of love? Do I nurture that love, think about Him, talk about Him, spend time with Him? Is God the focus of my life or not?

Solomon is going to be required to give an answer for his heart’s condition before the same Holy God I’m going to give an account to. What will my answer be?

God, I want to love You like You deserve to be loved. I want to keep You the focus of my thoughts and actions. I want to walk with You, include You in every minute of every day. And I want to forsake all others, keep myself only for You, resist the devil. I want to serve You out of a heart of love and devotion. It’s You and me, Lord. Just You and me.

 

 

June 10 – Is This Sandbox All There Is?

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Proverbs 22-24

The little boy doesn’t want to stop playing in his sandbox, so he ignores his mommy when she calls. He wants to play with the neighbor kids instead of taking a bath in the middle of the day. So when his mom picks him up to carry him inside, he kicks and screams. “No! I want to play. Why can’t I play?”

The mommy puts him in the warm bath and begins to wash her little boy, but he sobs. He slaps her arm away. Then, when she smacks his bottom, he pouts. He pouts as she dries him off, and puts his new clothes on him. Brand new jeans, and a new t-shirt with his favorite Ninja Turtle on the front. But he still pouts, arms crossed tightly in front of him.

The mommy scolds him. He pouts. She tries speaking softly, soothingly, lovingly. She hugs him. He still pouts. She buckles him into the carseat and he begins to cry. “I wanna play in my sandbox,” he says over and over.

“We’re going to Grandma’s house,” the mommy says. The little boy loves going to Grandma’s. But he stubbornly says, “No! It’s not fair. I wanna play.”

When they arrive at their destination, the mommy has to pull his arms away from in front of the boy where they are still tightly crossed. She runs her fingers through his still-damp hair, and straightens his shirt.

Taking his hand firmly in hers, they walk into Grandma’s house.

“Surprise!” he hears. He sees colorful balloons and streamers, presents and cupcakes. His cousins and friends are there, laughing and welcoming him. They begin to sing, “Happy Birthday.”

The little boy looks at his mommy standing beside him with a huge smile on her face. “It’s all for you,” she says.

The sandbox is forgotten. Let the party begin.

Solomon tells us not to envy what other people have. He assures us God has something better for us who are His children. The thing is, we only see our world in the space of a sandbox. God has a much bigger view of our lives.

So when Solomon tells us the humble will receive a reward of riches, honor, and life, we might think that means we’ll get a bigger sandbox, and get to play in it longer. When Solomon says generous people will be blessed, we think that means we’ll get a raise so we can buy more toys to play with in our sandbox.

Solomon tells us not to envy sinners because the reality is, they have no hope. You see, God is getting us ready for the party He’s got planned for each one of us.

We might see it as unfair that we don’t have the state-of-the-art sandbox our neighbor has. We can’t imagine there is anything better than having that sandbox. But God sees way beyond that sandbox.

We might feel the sting of his discipline. But sometimes He has to smack our bottom to get us ready. We might pout or complain or question. But God wants to take us firmly by the hand and get us to what He knows is ahead.

And what is ahead is so much better than a bigger boat, or a better job, or fame, or even health.

In my example of the little boy, it would have been so much easier on him if he’d gone without a fight. And that’s how I want to make my own journey to where God is taking me. I don’t want to fight Him, or question Him, or demand anything from Him. I want to put my hand in His and let Him lead me.

Because I believe that where He leads is so much better than this sandbox I’m living in right now.

Feb 27 -Decisions! Decisions!

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Numbers 8-10

How do you go about making decisions? I know some people who think about a situation to death, then never decide. I have been known to jump at a decision depending on how I feel at the moment. Both extremes are cause for regret.

We can learn decisions-making skills from Moses. In chapter 9, when some men posed a request concerning Passover, Moses replied, “Wait, and I will listen to what the LORD will command concerning you.” (vs 8)

The entire nation of Israel followed God’s lead every step they took on their journey to the Promised Land. If the cloud moved, they moved. If it stopped, they stopped.

So how does that translate into life in 2016? God doesn’t speak audibly, nor does He exist in a cloud. But He does communicate through His Word, He nudges us while we pray. His voice might sound like your friends’ voice while you are sitting together over coffee.

The idea for this blog came to me during my daily Bible and journalling time in December of 2012. At first it was a fleeting thought, and it was an idea that I quickly disregarded. But God had planted a seed, and the thought came again and again as I read His Word. I even found myself thinking about it during the day, so I began to pray about it. First I told God why I thought it was a bad idea. Eventually, I prayed that if this is something He wanted me to do, I’d let the outcome up to Him.

I think, according to what I read this morning in Numbers, that’s how God would like us to make our decisions. I am reminded God WANTS me to succeed in the tasks He gives me. He WANTS what’s best for me. He WANTS to use me to share Him with others.

I wish I could say I make all my decisions following this example. I’m a work in progress. And I have no idea who, if any, have been blessed or challenged by this blog over the years. That’s totally in God’s hands. I just know, for myself, I followed His lead.

I am challenged this morning to go to God first when faced with a decision. Moses said, Wait. I need to lean how to do that better. Moses went to God. I need to be reminded that no decision is too small for God to have an opinion. And I need to be obedient when He begins to move.

Where He leads me I will follow. That’s my decision.

How Do I Look?

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I’ve heard the account of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego many times and for many years. But when I recently read about Daniel’s desire to abstain from the kings food, I found myself wondering what it is I am ingesting myself. Not the chips I ate yesterday, or the big piece of angel food cake I had for dinner last night. I’m wondering what it is I’m feeding my soul.

What do I read, watch on TV? What is it a pastor or teacher or friend or blogger has said? The Bible tells me to guard my heart. How am I doing?

If I’m watching acts of sin played out on TV, what is that doing to my heart’s condition before God? If I go to a church with a “God is Love” theology without preaching the truth about his holiness, is that effecting my relationship with God? Is the music I listen to slowly separating me from God’s Presence? Relationships, thoughts, what I do in secret, are feeding my soul.

The difference in Daniel and his friends was noticeable They looked better than everyone else because of the food they rejected, the pure food they ingested. 

I wonder if people, when they look at my life, can tell I’ve feasted on God’s Word and abstained from what was offered to me by the world. I want to look different: better, more joyful, kinder, more honest. I want to BE a person others identify with my Savior.

 

 

June 14

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I Kings 15:32-34, 15-24, 16:1-34, 22:41-46; 2 Chronicles16:1-14, 20:31-34, 17:1-18:1

Israel and Judah were at war. The very family God led out of captivity with one miracle after another, the people who were provided for so amazingly during their desert wandering, the ones through whom God revealed himself to the world couldn’t make it last. Jealousy and power and idol worship were signs that these people had abandoned the God who had brought them there.

There were those who tried to lead the people back to God. Asa and his son Jehoshaphat were kings of Judah who sought God. Jehoshaphat even sent a missionary team to the cities in Judah, teaching the Jewish people God’s law once again. The surrounding nations noticed the power of God in the lives of the people of Judah and that nation enjoyed a time of peace during Jehoshaphat’s reign.

How is your family doing? I hope you haven’t followed Israel’s example and allowed jealousy or power or idol worship to cause a war among you and your loved ones.

How is your church family doing? Is there harmony in the pews or is there a little war going on behind the scenes?

We can learn from this Scripture today that serving God, keeping his Word alive in our lives bring peace. If there is trouble, remember that trouble comes when our focus begins to turn to anything other that God Himself. In our families. And in our churches.

I pray for peace in your life today.