Archive for May, 2009

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Lest We Forget

Friday, May 8th, 2009

What’s our attitude toward the true and living God? Do we truly understand His strength? Do we stand in awe of His unconditional love for us? Does the thought of who He is nearly take our breath away? Or does our attitude toward Him fall into the “ho-hum” category, or worse yet, do we simply forget about who He is?

Psalm 106:7 says, “Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miracles. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.”

My heart breaks when I read this verse. How could the Israelites witness the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of food and water in the wilderness…and then turn their backs on the One who performed these miracles on their behalf? You’d think that, after seeing God’s power and protection so vividly demonstrated, they’d never forget Him or fall into idol worship. And yet, sadly, that’s exactly what they did.

I’m guilty, too. I read about God’s strength and love and faithfulness in His Word, but worry still creeps into my thoughts. I see evidence of His limitless power and intelligence in creation, but fear still sneaks in. I see Him answer my prayers, but doubts still linger. What’s with that?

I ought to be more than impressed by this God! I ought to be blown away by His acts of kindness and His miracles. And my behavior ought to reflect that attitude by a willingness to say yes to whatever He asks, an ability to trust Him when I don’t understand His ways, and peace and joy that passes comprehension even when life stinks.

“God, guard our minds from forgetting Your kindnesses to us. Guard us from falling into a ho-hum attitude about who You are. Continually remind us about who You are lest we forget and go our own way.”

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Announcement re: Postings

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Hi everyone! I’ve been trying to figure out a regular, do-able schedule to write these devotional thoughts so you can know when to check for new postings. I think I’ll try Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. That oughta work better than random postings.

BTW, I love reading your comments. Keep them coming!

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The Details of our Lives

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Yesterday I wrote about God being in control of every detail of Ruth’s life. He orchestrated events to fulfill His eternal purpose. I see the same is true for Joseph, although his circumstances looked much different (Psalm 105:16-22).

I wonder how Joseph felt after his brothers threw him into the pit? What were his thoughts as they sold him into slavery? What was he thinking when he was falsely accused of rape and thrown into jail? How did he feel when “they bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar” (v. 18)? Was he aware of God’s presence with him, or did he feel as though he’d been abandoned by the Divine? In the end, he says that what man intended for evil, God meant for good, and he acknowledged God’s role in his circumstances. What an amazing attitude!

When life gets rough, it’s easy for us to forget that God controls every detail. When we don’t see the bigger picture, it’s easy for us to fall into self-pity or anger or blame. Sometimes I have to consciously remind myself that God is sovereign…at all times. His purposes are far beyond my understanding.

When the details of life don’t fall into place as I wish they would, I’m forced with a choice: get stressed out, or rest in the knowledge that God is in control. The first option causes me to wrestle; the second allows me to nestle.

Can you relate?

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Coincidences?

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

“What a coincidence!”

How many times have I heard those words? The older I grow, however, the more I’m convinced there’s no such thing as a mere coincidence. God truly orchestrates the details of our lives to work out His plan and purposes. Ruth’s story is a prime example. Check this out:

Ruth 1:22 – Ruth and Naomi head back to Bethlehem. And oh, by the way, they arrive at the beginning of barley season.

Ruth 2:1 – By the way, there’s a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, and he just happens to be a relative of Naomi’s late husband.

Ruth 2:2,3 – Ruth, knowing she must provide for herself and her mother-in-law, decides to go into the fields to harvest grain. As it happens, the field she chooses belongs to Boaz.

Ruth 2:4 – Boaz happens to arrive from Bethlehem that day.

The rest of the story is history. The couple marry and later become the great-grandparents of King David who was in Christ’s lineage. Was God in control of the details of Ruth’s life? No doubt.

Is God the same today? Yes. Is He, then, in control of the details of our lives? Yes. Why, then, do we worry when things seem to go wrong? Why do we stress over difficulties? Why is fear such a big deal?

I think it’s because we’re human and have limited vision and perspective. What do you think? More on this tomorrow…

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Forever Friends

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

A popular song at weddings contains the lyrics something like this: “Whither thou goest, I will go. Whither thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people will be my people, and thy God my God.” For years I thought those words beautifully described the commitment made on one’s wedding day to one’s spouse. But then I looked up the context and realized they were originally spoken by a young woman to her mother-in-law! They describe the unconditional friendship between women!

The story’s found in Ruth 1. Naomi describes herself as a bitter woman, having experienced the death of her husband and two sons. Now she’s headed back to her homeland in a miserable state. Chances are good that she was a prickly person at this point. Difficult to love, perhaps. Not a ton of fun to be with. I might think twice before choosing to devote my life to her, but Ruth had no second thoughts.

Bless her heart, Ruth committed herself to Naomi despite her prickly personality. She had nothing to gain by doing so. Nothing. Her motives were pure, her attitude commendable in every way. “Wherever you go, I’ll go,” Ruth told Naomi. I’m your forever friend.

Ruth modeled Jesus’ love for us. Even when we’re prickly, He loves us. Even when we’re not much fun to be around, He cares for us. His love goes on and on and on. Do we model Jesus’ love as Ruth did? Do we love others unconditionally? Do we love them even though they’re prickly? Do we love them no matter what?

Personally, I think I have some room to grow in this department.

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The Trap

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Gideon returned from battle with a ton of gold. Well, not literally. But you get the idea, right?  What was he going to do with it? Ah-ha! Why not melt a few earrings gathered from his enemies and make them into an ephod?

Okay – I looked up the word ephod in a Bible dictionary. It’s simply a fancy term for coat. So, the gold was shaped into an outer garment that would have turned Wall Street green. Sadly, those who saw it did more than ooh and aah over it. Scripture says, “But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family” (Judges 8:27).

Yikes! The Israelites worshiped the silly thing, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. How could this happen? They’d just accomplished a huge victory by defeating the Midianites in a supernatural way – obviously God was very much alive and working on their behalf. You’d think they’d be completely devoted to Him for being their defense and strength. But no…they worship an object made of gold instead.

Sometimes we scratch our heads at these OT stories and the ways in which the Israelites put their affections in the wrong place. But we do the same thing, don’t we? We spend our money on toys and clothes and creams and sparkly things rather than where it will build eternal value. We spend our time on making ourselves look good and smell pretty on the outside rather than on developing a beautiful heart. We spend our energy trying to establish an impressive resume or reputation rather establishing a relationship with God who has invested everything in us. We fall into a trap that affects not only ourselves, but our families and those within our sphere of influence.

I pray that God will guard my heart, and yours, from traps. I pray that we will live moment by moment in the awareness of what He’s done on our behalf through Jesus Christ, and that we will worship Him alone.

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