02.28.09
“DESERT DISCIPLINES”
.
DESERT DISCIPLINES
.
Deut 8:1-5 NIV
8:1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
.
Luke 4:1-4 NIV
4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
For those of us who have had “disciplinarian” fathers, the idea of having a God who disciplines can evoke emotions of dread; memories of cringing and penalty. However, the language of discipline in the scriptures operate in arenas beyond mere crime and punishment. For a good father does far more than correct wrong behavior, he proactively trains his child with what he needs to thrive in the challenging environments to come.
It is within this model of training we find Israel as God’s son, experiencing the disciplining love of Yahweh God. Humbling and testing in the desert, where the very experiences of hunger and provision seal in a higher discipline; that of trust and obedience. As the book of Hebrews declares [cf. Heb.12:7-11], only true sons receive this kind of discipline/training; the lack of which marks illegitimate sonship.
Jesus knows this all too well. Having been thrust into the desert for 40 days of hunger and testing, the devil comes and challenges Jesus’ sonship. “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread,” ala, would a loving father give you a stone if you were to ask for bread? To which Jesus correctly responds, “Man does not live on bread alone,” ala there are higher disciplines my Father would work in me that I submit to completely. As the “Son of God,” Jesus was to fulfill a higher task; Messianic ministrations leading him to be stretched out and nailed to a cross.
How humbling it is to know that even Jesus God’s Son was disciplined in the desert, trained through hunger and suffering; and found to be a true Son. Whom among us could declare as He did, “Man does not live on bread alone,” while rejecting the disciplining love of God which thrusts us into the desert. But for those of us who submit and embrace, how will not our sonship be refined and revealed?
.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
This morning, will you approach the Father of Higher Love with a heart willing to submit and receive training. Will you hear the encouragements of the Son of God echoing the Father’s words, “you do not live on bread alone.”
.
As you continue with your Lenten fasting, will you center your practice in the context of training for righteousness? Will you shrug off any notion that God is somehow wickedly amused by self-deprivation; but rather give yourself anew to the intentional pursuit of trust and obedience in God’s word?
This devotional was written by Pastor Martin
02.27.09
“HOLISTIC HEARING”
.
HOLISTIC HEARING
.
Deut 6:3-9 NIV
.
3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
.
Rev 2:28-29 NIV
29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
.
Many in our day have hearing problems. Critical, life and death words spoken directly to the soul of a person goes ignored, time and time again. Not for lack of proper cochlear function, rather stemming from a defective heart. For the words may be cognitively registered, and maybe even semantically grasped. But there is no true hearing, in the biblical sense. For in both testaments, to hear is to obey.
Most early cultures did not separate the two realities; they were practically synonymous…two sides of the very same coin. If a child was to have heard their parent’s words, their obedience to said words were assumed. A sound person was understood to be one whose words and deeds were consistent; as a reflection of the holistic integrity of their person.
Our culture however reflects signs of pervasive and profound disintegration: fractured narratives, fractured communities…fractured souls. In this wasteland littered with disembodied truths and hearts, it is easy to hear and not obey. Ceaseless muttering of “yeah, yeah, I know” having the effect of verbal graffiti on pristine walls. A vicious cycle of broken promises as the wake of the refusal to couple the twin realities of hearing and obeying.
The people of God however were reminded repeatedly of their call to truly hear. For the LORD their God is one: unfactioned in community, unfractured in person, unfettered in purpose. This very same wholeness was to be their inheritance, as they loved and obeyed to mutual exclusion to all else.
It is Jesus, God’s Unique Son who shows us the way; and His Spirit who calls out for a new hearing. Repentance is God’s solution to our predicament. While all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again, our King has willingly endured the rending of body and soul; that we would be given ears once again to hear…and in the hearing made once again whole.
.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- This morning will you reflect on the unfactioned Tri-unity of God; the unfractured personhood of, and the undistracted mind of Christ; who sees and hears with perfect perception. Will you bow before this King and ask Him to touch and restore you?
- Where do you see the wake of sin in and around you, i.e. fractured relationships with God, community, and self? Will you ask God to reveal both the specific sin, and the route of repentance and wholeness?
- Will you attend to God’s voice this morning? What is God asking you to hear & obey? Will you ask Him to give you ears to truly hear?
This devotional was written by Pastor Martin
02.25.09
“DUST AND ASHES”
.
DUST AND ASHES
.
Job 30:16-19 NIV
16 “And now my life ebbs away;
days of suffering grip me.
17 Night pierces my bones;
my gnawing pains never rest.
18 In his great power [God] becomes like clothing to me;
he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.
.
Job 42:1-6 NIV
42:1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted.
3[You asked,] ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4["You said,] ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
.
It’s funny how perspectives can change so dramatically. Ask a young boy about liking girls, and you’ll likely hear words like, “gross…cooties.” Follow up with that same boy later, and you’ll see a very different response. That which was abjectly rejected, is now passionately sought.
We something of that changing perspective with Job in these passages. In Job 30, we encounter a disgrunted Job; having lost seemingly everything: his wealth, reputation, family, and his very understanding of how the moral universe works. In bitterness and grief, Job indicts God of using His sovereign might against him rather than for him; hog tying his neck and thrusting him into the mud. Feeling forcibly reduced to the status of dust and ashes, he demands an accounting…”God, are you really good? Are you really loving? Are you really strong? If so, how could you let this happen to me?”
Fast forwarding to Job 42, Job’s heart and tone are dramatically shifted. Having encountered God in the theophanic whirlwind; having had his questions answered with God’s own set of questions (who are you? Did you create the universe? Are you God?), Job recants in abject humility. But this time, he gladly embraces the dust and ashes. His despising of himself refers to a complete recanting of all that he said of God earlier. The Hebrew word for repent, naham, refers to godly sorrow for sin; but also includes in its semantic field the notion of consolation and comfort. Job was dead wrong about God; and in his sorrow over his sin he is deeply comforted.
Job realizes that dust and ashes are not symbols of death forced upon him, rather symbols of life gladly chosen; godly sorrow which opens the door to godly comfort.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the day traditionally marking the start of the Lenten season. Forty six days in total (forty plus six Sundays) prior to Easter. It is a day, and a season set apart for repentance; a turning away from our idolatry and rebellion toward God. Not for the purposes of forced religious exercise, rather that of a chosen embrace of sorrow & comfort.
On Ash Wednesday, ashes from palm branches burned after the previous Palm Sunday are marked as a cross on the foreheads of those starting Lent. The cross reminds us that God has revealed Himself to us. He has answered our deepest questions; not via a whirlwind, rather through the Lamb of God crucified for our sins on a cross. He has demonstrated His power over death through cosmos shaking resurrection.
Will you now join us as we start Lent in dust and ashes?
.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
- This morning, will you reflect on the might and wisdom of sovereign God? He who made everything, and seen and unseen; who administers every molecule of the universe; will you humbly bow before Him in reverent worship?
- Imagine putting yourself in Job’s place. Having indicted God and asked for your day in court, you come face to face with the whirlwind. Will you hear the questions posed to you: “who do you think you are?” “did you make all this?” “who are you to judge, are you morally perfect?” “Are you God?” “Did you defeat sin and death through crucifixion and resurrection?” Will you respond as Job did, gladly repenting in dust and ashes?
- Will you dialogue with God, asking Him to untangle the knotted threads of your heart. Ask him to reveal your sin and give you godly sorrow. Ask Him for His promised comfort and renewal.
This devotional was written by Pastor Martin
02.24.09
“GROW IN THE GLOOM”
.
Mrs. Charles E. Cowman Streams in the Desert February 24
.
GROW IN THE GLOOM
.
“I have all, and abound” (Phil. 4:18).
.
In one of my garden books there is a chapter with a very interesting heading, “Flowers that Grow in the Gloom.” It deals with those patches in a garden which never catch the sunlight. And my guide tells me the sort of flowers which are not afraid of these dingy corners–may rather like them and flourish in them.
And there are similar things in the world of the spirit. They come out when material circumstances become stern and severe. They grow in the gloom. How can we otherwise explain some of the experiences of the Apostle Paul ?
Here he is in captivity at Rome. The supreme mission of his life appears to be broken. But it is just in this besetting dinginess that flowers begin to show their faces in bright and fascinating glory. He may have seen them before, growing in the open road, but never as they now appeared in incomparable strength and beauty. Words of promise opened out their treasures as he had never seen them before.
Among those treasures were such wonderful things as the grace of Christ, the love of Christ, the joy and peace of Christ; and it seemed as though they needed an “encircling gloom” to draw out their secret and their inner glory. At any rate the realm of gloom became the home of revelation, and Paul began to realize as never before the range and wealth of his spiritual inheritance. Who has not known men and women who, when they arrive at seasons of gloom and solitude, put on strength and hopefulness like a robe? You may imprison such folk where you please; but you shut up their treasure with them. You cannot shut it out. You may make their material lot a desert, but “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”–Dr. Jowett
“Every flower, even the fairest, has its shadow beneath it as it swings in the sunlight.”
Where there is much light there is much shade.
02.23.09
“BEING OVER APPEARING”
.
From Wisdom from the Psalms, February 21
.
BEING OVER APPEARING
.
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
.
Paula put up a good front. Though she couldn’t stand Beth, she never said anything bad to her. She kept quiet until she was alone with her other friends. At odd times, she would think of Beth, and resentment and contempt would rise up within her heart. Still, Paula was quite pleased with herself that she never let Beth know how she truly felt.
It is not enough that we try to put on a good front when we are around people we don’t like. We need to search our hearts for reconciliation and forgiveness. We need to tap Christ, which heals all hurts and is the source of all patience and tolerance. God is interested in both the words of our mouths and the deepest ponderings of our hearts. To appear Christlike on the surface is never enough. To be Christlike at the core of our being, that is the key.
.
Prayer:
Creator, God, I want to be a Christian to the very depths of my being. Search my heart, and transform it. Let love reign. Amen.
02.20.09
“METAMORPHOSIS”
.
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
.
The Metamorphosis
.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:3-5
.
There is a story of a boy who found a caterpillar and brought it home. Shortly thereafter, the caterpillar began building her cocoon. The boy knew that one day, when the time was right, she would emerge and spread her beautiful wings. The boy couldn’t wait! So each day he checked on his caterpillar until one day he noticed a tiny hole. It was time. But as the boy watched, he could see that the butterfly was struggling. So, with a pair of scissors, he carefully opened the cocoon to free the butterfly. The butterfly emerged, but her wings were small and shriveled and her body swollen. The butterfly never did fly.
What the boy came to learn was that a part of the metamorphosis for the butterfly was the struggle. In order for the butterfly to fly, it needed to work its way through the small hole. That is how it builds its wing and body strength to fly. Even though the boy was trying to help, in the end, he only hurt the butterfly.
A lot of times, if given the option between the difficult path versus the easy path, I readily choose the latter. It is not pleasant to suffer or struggle. But oftentimes, it is a part of the process of growth. It is true: We grow most through experiences which push us to our limits. Yet regularly, we avoid the struggle ourselves, or else as parents, we help our kids avoid the struggle. In the end, like the boy, instead of helping ourselves or others, we only cause long-term hurt.
It seems bizarre to rejoice in our sufferings, but the story of the butterfly illustrates why it is not necessarily a bad thing to go through trying times. This is where growth comes. God uses life’s difficulties to help us grow into stronger and better people. These problems develop perseverance, which in turn deepens our character. This then leads to hope, because it deepens our trust and relationship with God.
.
Going Deeper:
- What areas in your life have you been tempted to help someone else — a parent, spouse, friend or child — take a shortcut? Think through these and ask God for wisdom if this is really a time to grow.
- Is there something in your life you know you need to do, but have avoided it for fear of the struggle? What is that and how can you make a step today to move forward in faith?
.
Further Reading:
Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 40:9-11; Romans 8:28
02.19.09
“POURING OUT”
.
F.B. Meyer, Our Daily Homily, February 19
.
I have poured out my soul before the Lord.1 Sam. 1:15.
.
HANNAH’S soul was fall of complaint and grief, which flowed over into her face and made it sorrowful. But when she had poured out her soul before the Lord, emptying out all its bitterness, the peace of God took the place of her soul?anguish, she went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. What a glad exchange! How great the contrast! How much the better for herself, and for her home!
Is your face darkened by the bitterness of your soul? Perhaps the enemy has been vexing you sorely; or there is an unrealized hope, an unfulfilled purpose. in your life; or, perchance, the Lord seems to have forgotten you. Poor sufferer, there is nothing for it but to pour out your soul before the Lord. Empty out its contents in confession and prayer. God knows it all; yet tell Him, as if He knew nothing. “Ye people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us.” “In everything, by prayer and supplication make your requests known unto God.”
As we pour out our bitterness, God pours in his peace. Weeping goes out of one door whilst joy enters at another. We transmit the cup of tears to the Man of Sorrows, and He hands it back to us filled with the blessings of the new covenant. Some day you will come to the spot where you wept and prayed, bringing your offering of praise and thanksgiving.
02.18.09
“PRAYERFULLY ARRANGED MARRIAGE”
.
Today God is First, by Os Hillman, February 18
.
PRAYERFULLY ARRANGED MARRIAGE
.
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
.
James Rutz, author of MegaShift, tells a wonderful story of God’s supernatural hand in answering prayer.
“I have a good friend named Barclay Tait who sells vacation real estate in Niceville, Florida. Back in 1977, he was a 36-year-old Florida basketball coach. That summer, he decided to hitch-hike to a Christian conference in Front Royal, Virginia. Arriving four days early, he went to a nearby forest and pitched his tent by a stream. On the last day, a tall, thin hiker with a notebook under his arm suddenly appeared, startling him as he read his Bible. Barclay explained that he came out there to fast and meditate.
Dave, the hiker, replied, “Well, I’m an intercessor. What would you like me to pray for?”
Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, Barclay said, “Uh, frankly, I’d like prayer for a wife.” The man wrote the request in his notebook and walked on.
By 1988, Barclay, now married to Sherry, has been divinely guided to move to Asheville, North Carolina. A chance encounter in the Holiday Inn parking lot led to an invitation to join a gathering of a Christian group outside of town. Arriving just before the 7:00 P.M. meeting, the host walks in from the kitchen and stops dead in his tracks. “I know you!” he exclaims, pointing his finger. “You’re Barclay Tait!” Barclay draws a blank.
“Just a minute. I have something I want to show you,” the host announces. He scampers upstairs, leaving the puzzled Taits standing in the middle of the suddenly hushed room. In a moment the host reappeared with a well-worn ledger book. “See here? This is where I wrote your prayer request in column one when I met you in Front Royal in 1977: ‘Barclay Tait: God’s choice for a wife.’” Barclay looked down at the journal entry. It was the most detailed, methodical prayer journal he’d ever seen.
“I prayed for you for seven years,” proclaims Dave. “Then in the middle of the night on December 30, 1984, God woke me up out of a sound sleep and said, ‘Write in your journal, “Prayer answered.” So I did. See? Here in column two, “Prayer answered.’”
Barclay and Sherry look at each other with their mouths open. They sat down, and their eyes fill with tears. Quietly, Barclay tells Dave, “That was the day we were married.”
02.17.09
“ETERNAL INVESTMENTS”
.
PowerPoint Devotionals with Jack Graham, February 17, 2009
.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”–Matthew 6:19
.
In the current financial crisis, almost everyone has been impacted in some way.
Some have seen their portfolios plummet in value. Some have seen their retirement funds dramatically decrease. And some, in fact many, have lost their jobs.
In times like these, it’s easy to see why putting our faith in financial security or a career is so dangerous–and why God warns us against it. Because neither can buy real joy or true contentment… and both can be gone in an instant!
That’s why it’s so important that you and I… as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ… invest in things of eternal value. Things that moth and rust can’t destroy and things that thieves can’t break in and steal.
One of those things is investing in the lives of others. What might that look like in your life?
Maybe it means serving your spouse in some unexpected way today. Or maybe it means getting down on the floor and playing with your children or grandchildren–giving them your undivided attention. It could mean finally befriending that neighbor across the street.
Whatever it looks like in your life, investing in the lives of others is a conscious choice you make every day.
So the question is will you invest yourself in the life of someone else today?
IT’S VITAL THAT YOU INVEST IN THINGS OF ETERNAL VALUE.
02.16.09
“GOD’S PROVISION IN YOUR LIFE”
.
Love Worth Finding Devotional, Feb. 15
.
God’s Provision in Your Life
.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11
.
A philosopher once said, “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.”
What most people want is to have some money in the bank — to have something there so whatever tomorrow brings, they’ll not have to worry about it. We call that security.
Question: Is that really security? Who is more secure — the man who has a warehouse full of stale bread that the rats or thieves can get or the man who has a father who is a very, very rich baker?
Begin your prayer time today with the Lord’s Prayer and ask Him to help you to be content. Bow before Him in humble adoration of His provision in your life. Then share the Bread of Life with someone who is hungry today.
