September 30, 2017

The Ransomed Will Return

“The ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads, gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”  Isa. 51:11

Redeemed, rescued, delivered, and ransomed – these are the people of the Lord.  The implication is we are in trouble and have need of rescue, which is accurate.  We were such a people before we had an encounter with Jesus and were able to believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. 

God sent Jesus so that we who were lost could be found.  We could be ransomed.  We can return as a new creation in Christ Jesus and we return with singing and great rejoicing over what the Lord has done for us.  We return with joy that is everlasting – it cannot be taken from us; we can only surrender it.  When we think about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done on our behalf, gladness and joy overtake us, just like it did for the Israelites who were being ransomed.   The time of sorrow and sighing has passed, for a new time and a new day has dawned. 

As we have expressed before, this does not mean that as followers of Jesus we won’t experience pain or suffering.  In fact there will be days of great trial and suffering because we walk with our Lord.  The difference is that we are different and we no longer walk alone.   Now we walk with Him.

September 29, 2017

Children of Promise

“Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.”  Gal. 4:28

For we are the children of promise

We are the clay in His hand.

Our sins have long been forgiven

Sealed and anointed we stand.

For we are the children of promise

Our debt canceled on the cross.

We live under the blood of the Lamb

He is our Life and our Source.

We claim victory in Jesus

We claim healing in His Name.

We claim victory in Jesus

Through Him is all we have gained.

For we are the children of promise

We are the branches of His Vine.

Lord, shape us and use us

Our lives are Yours to refine.

We claim victory in Jesus

We claim power in His Name.

We claim victory in Jesus

We stand rejoicing at His Name.

September 28, 2017

At the Crossroads

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Jer. 6:16

God wanted the best for His chosen people Israel.  They were a people who had demonstrated rebellion against God’s commandments over and over again.  The pattern of disobedience, punishment and repentance was established.  Yet God would not give up on His people. 

In this passage the Lord spoke through Jeremiah and yet again reminded Israel it was at a crossroads.  Which way would they choose: follow the ways of the Lord or follow their own interests?  There is even instruction given.  The Lord wants His people to look at where they are and to ask for the paths that have been tested and are true.  His people, and let us not forget we are His people, are to ask where the good way is.  When we become aware of it, walk in that path.  If we do, we will find rest for our souls.

Israel refused and continued to walk in its own direction.  The matter before us is plain:  do we know where we stand?  Are we at a crossroad in our lives?  Are we asking God for the path to take that is good for us?  Are we walking on that path?

So often we go off course, lose our maps, and the GPS no longer works.  Darkness is setting in and we have no clue where to turn.  We may end up just driving straight – straight away from the direction we are supposed to be going.  Yet God hasn’t given up on us.  He has His own GPS – God’s Protection System – it is shows us the tried and true paths to take, when to turn and when it is time to stop.  As we follow in His direction, we find rest for our souls.

September 27, 2017

Sorrow’s Companion

“While He was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before Him and said, ‘My daughter has just died.  But come and put Your hand on her, and she will live.’  Jesus got up and went with him, and so did His disciples.”  Mt. 9:18-19

Let’s put ourselves in the place of the ruler in this scene.  He is a father and his daughter has just passed away.  We can only imagine his grief and sorrow.  He finds Jesus and makes an amazing declaration of faith.  He does it out of the depths of his pain.  The next verse is the essence of this devotional – Jesus gets up when He hears the father’s request and He goes with the ruler.

This is what Jesus did and Jesus does.  He is sorrow’s companion, getting up and walking with the one who has suffered great tragedy and loss.  The Lord is love in action.  It is exquisite as love meets sorrow and accompanies it on the journey to joy.  Love listens to the heart of the grief stricken and responds to the sadness and the loss.  Love and sorrow walk together on a journey that is sacred and holy – yes, it has been set apart by God.  The journey takes as long as it takes and the whole time, love does not leave.  Love remains. 

Love and sorrow are journeying to joy.  Sorrow may not realize it, but love does.  Love clings close even when others fall away.  Love perseveres when the journey seems to be taking too long.  Love often doesn’t say much – it’s very presence is its ministry.   They walk the lonely miles together until they arrive at joy. 

September 26, 2017

A Cord of Three Strands

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  Eccl. 4:12

“Lower the rope!”  It did not seem like very strong rope and given the size of the container it was going to try and pull up to the top of the bridge, well, things looked doubtful.  Those of us standing up top along the bridge looked down by the river and tried to be encouraging.  A container was on the bank of the river and the only way up was to try and get a rope around it and pull it up.  It was a challenge for sure.

The rope was old and appeared to have gotten much use over the years.  As the people below secured the rope around the container and tied it as tightly as possible, we gave a pull.  The rope held as the bin lifted off the ground.  Slowly, we pulled and slowly, the container was brought closer to us.  The whole process must have taken 45 minutes to complete, but finally we got this big box back up onto the bridge.  We began to untie the knotted rope.

A rope with only one cord would have quickly failed.  Two cords probably would not have been enough to do the job.   Only this rope – the one with three cords, had the strength to do the job.  The author of Ecclesiastes confirms it with this Scripture, and for those who follow Jesus, He is our third strand.  He is the One who sees to it that things are not quickly or easily broken.  With Jesus as our secure cord, the job gets done.

September 25, 2017

Be Strong in Grace

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”  2 Tim. 2:1

Paul is encouraging Timothy to be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”  It sounds a bit odd – the expression, “be strong in grace.”  Grace is undeserved and unmerited favor of God to us.  Grace’s greatest display was Jesus.  The earthly ministry of the Messiah ushered in a remarkable, transformative age of grace.  We live in that age.

So we think back to the gospel accounts of Jesus and His grace which was lavished upon people.  It is quite a line up: tax collectors; adulteresses; fishermen; Pharisees; the blind; the lost; the forgotten; the excluded.  The list included Jews and gentiles; men and women and children.  To each one Jesus offered great gifts of grace.  He was resolute and intentional in doing so.  His ministry forms some important patterns for us to learn from and do our best to follow.

Let us be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and by the power of His Spirit who dwells within us, show grace to those we meet.  May we be giving to the undeserving.  May we show kindness and gentleness and yes, be strong about it.  As we grow in grace, let us pray that we grow in extending that grace to others.

September 24, 2017

The Lord is Good

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”  Nahum 1:7

In this life there will be days of trouble.  Just this morning, my husband is off to a funeral service for someone he just saw a week ago.  He knows the family and the loss of this man came abruptly, without warning, and at such a young age.  It is a day of trouble, difficulty, and great pain and sorrow for this family.

In the midst of trouble is Jesus.  This verse reminds us that the Lord is good.  The Lord is good.  On a day of trouble, He is good.  Jesus is available to be found on such days and sometimes, He is found in a whole new way to those who have walked with Him for years.  He becomes a stronghold – or as the Hebrew would express it, a strong hold – He has a stronghold on us who turn to Him, cleave to Him, and cry out to Him.  He is our Great Defender, our Representative, and our Healer.

The Lord knows those who trust in Him.  He sees those who turn and put their faith in Him, especially in the day of trouble.  I remember some of my old habits as an old creation before Christ Jesus.  The ways I “coped” with trouble were unhealthy and disruptive and destructive.  As a new creation in Christ Jesus for nearly twenty years, I do my best to turn to Him and let Him be my stronghold when there is a day of trouble. 

Life with Christ does not eliminate days of trouble.  Life with Christ completely changes how we handle days of trouble.

September 23, 2017

The Word Fulfilled

 “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.”  Acts 13:27

It was quite a message and it had quite an impact upon its hearers.  Paul and his companions were standing in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch.  After the reading of the law and prophets, it was customary to ask visiting guest if they had a word for the people.  Paul took the lead and began the rich story of the rich history of the people God had called and chosen, Israel.  All was going well right up through King David and then Paul, in Acts 13:23, took what many in the synagogue might have considered a sharp turn.  He leapt from David to Jesus and he told the people that God brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He had promised.  Both the law and the prophets pointed to a Messiah, coming out from the line of David.  Paul told the hearers that this Messiah was, and is, Jesus – and that God brought Jesus to Israel.

Then in verse 27 we read another startling statement:  Israel failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and in Israel’s condemnation came the fulfillment of the word of the prophets that had been read in the Temple and the synagogue every Sabbath.  They had heard, but not understood.  They had seen, but not believed.  Scripture had declared a Messiah would come to save His people.  Scripture had predicted Israel would not accept the Messiah, but reject Him.  Scripture had pointed forward to that rejection allowing the light to shine forth upon the Gentiles.

The people called Israel were, and are, part of God’s foreordained plan to reach the Gentiles.  God worked through Israel to announce the good news that salvation had come to everyone.

September 22, 2017

Commit to the Lord

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”  Pvbs. 16:3

This is one of my favorite “application verses” in the Bible.  It turns into an easily personalized prayer for virtually any situation.  There is tremendous power in praying God’s word, because, as Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, the word of God is alive and active, at work in our lives.

How have I prayed this verse over the years?  I have committed my daughter to the Lord, so that His plans become my plans for her life, and therefore those plans will succeed.  Left to myself, I can easily make a mess of things.  I need God’s plan, God’s wisdom, and God’s strategy.  The best start is committing whatever I am praying about to the Lord.

The word succeed in this verse in Hebrew is kun, which is better defined as “established.”  I want God to establish His plans in people’s lives and in the various matters of life I bring to Him.

I have committed my daughter’s marriage to the Lord, and her future children.  I have committed the prison ministry work that we have been blessed to do.  I have committed my business to the Lord.  I have committed churches to the Lord.  I have committed prisons, prisoners, officers, and visitors to the Lord. 

Back in 2006 I committed my mom to the Lord, as she lay in a nursing home in declining health.  He took her home and since it was His plan, it succeeded.  Newborn babies have been committed to the Lord, the lost girls in Nigeria and the youth of inner city Chicago who fear for their lives have been committed to the Lord.

It is interesting that the Hebrew word for commit is galal, which means to roll away.  I like the implication of that word; that in prayer, I am afforded the opportunity to roll away from myself such matters.  I roll them away from me and to the Lord.  I let His plan develop and let it be established.  Try praying with this verse for 21 days and see what the Lord will do.

September 21, 2017

We are redeemed

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of His Spirit through faith.” Gal. 3:13-14

Christ took upon Himself every curse, so we could receive the blessings promised to Abraham.  His death opened the door for the blessings of Abraham to come upon the Gentiles.  Praise God!  In so doing, we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit – through faith.  The word promise holds great significance for us: it means both what the promise is and the assurance that it will happen.  Jesus Christ promised believers that He would not leave us alone, but give us a Helper – His Holy Spirit.  Christ lives inside of each believer in the person of the Holy Spirit.  It was a promise made – and a promise granted, for all who call upon the name of the Lord! 

The promise of the Holy Spirit was made in several books, including:

• Joel 2:28-29;
• Ezekiel 11:19;
• Zechariah 12:10; and,
• John 7:39.

Gal. 3:15-18 addresses the fact that the promise came about as a result of the covenant with Abraham and his Seed.  This brings us back to Genesis 22:18, in which the Lord states, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”    It is the singular “seed” and not plural “seeds” because the reference is to the natural seed of Abraham, which has spiritual implications for believers.  We are part of the seed!  That Seed, culminating in Christ, provides for believers an inheritance that can only be received by faith, not through works under the law. 

September 20, 2017

He Knows My Name

“I have even called you by your name; I named you, though you have not known Me.”  Isa. 45:4

The scene is a park bench…one by one each person walks out and takes a seat.  They each share a bit with the others on the bench.  It could anywhere in America or the world.  

 Person 1:             “My name once was Vengeance.  I used to take matters into my own hands and try to solve problems all by myself.  It didn’t work.  Then one day I met Jesus, and He took the matters of my life into His own Hands, nailed upon a cross.  He took my burdens and gave me His, which are light.  He gave me a new name, Victorious.  He loved me then, and He loves me now.  He knows my name.”

 Person 2:             “Beaten was my name.  My boyfriends beat me, my daddy beat me.  Life had beaten me.  I had nothing left to give and so was ready to give up.  Why live anymore?  A stranger shared a simple message with me on the bus and I did give up – everything to this Jesus.  I am still getting to know Him and getting used to my new name – Blessed.  My Bible says that strangers are sometimes angels, yeah.  That day I entertained an angel unaware and it saved my life.  He knows my name.”

 Person 3:             “I’m Lost.  I can’t find my way and I don’t even know what I am doing sitting here now.  I’m Lost.  Seems it’s been that way for as long as I can remember.  Lost in my family.  Forgotten in school.  Manipulated at work.  I’ve been kicked out, I’ve dropped out and I’ve lost out in life.  I saw you two sitting here and thought maybe you could help me.  It just feels like no one knows me, no one knows my name.”

Be assured beloved, God knows your name.  He has named you and called you by that name, even the rebellious world named you differently.     When you did not know the Lord, He knew you and He had already named you.  Respond to your name and to God this day.

September 19, 2017

The Debt to Love

 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.”  Rom. 13:8

Often I like to think about the Kingdom of heaven including a spiritual bank account that God has established in my name.  Truthfully, I focus on the deposits that He makes into my account, so that I always have a balance and never run the risk of “overdrawing my account.”  This implies that I must do my part by exercising the various spiritual disciplines that draw me near to the Lord.  For me the big three are prayer, reading the word of God, and worship. 

This verse forces me to consider that account from a different perspective.  It is good to know that I should not be in debt – except for the debt to love.  I will not ever be able to pay off the debt to love.  It is ongoing.  Love my neighbors this week and that is great; but I am charged with love’s debt again next week.  On and on it goes.

The debt to love exists because the debt of love has been fulfilled by Jesus.   I am not being asked to do what is impossible.  I am loved by Christ and so that debt of love has been paid.  I am called to walk the way of Jesus, with the debt to love as part of that call.  It is what Jesus did during His earthly ministry.  He constantly loved people.  He loved the unlovable into loveliness.  It is what He continues to do in his heavenly ministry.  He steadfastly loves people in every corner of the globe. 

I am glad to think in a new way about my spiritual bank account.  The Lord continues to make deposits of love into my account, so I can make withdrawals and with them show love to those I meet.  Because I have this debt to love, I will need to make many withdrawals.  Thankfully, Jesus does not run out of deposits.

September 18, 2017

I Call You Friend

“O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”  2 Chron. 20:7

                                                                            

And now I call you friend

For you have captured my heart

More than a Master and Savior

You’ve healed what was torn apart.

And now I call you friend

Your love pours over me.

You are my All in All

Your presence has captured me.

Confidant

Loyal One

Never changing

Holy One

Let me be a worthy branch

On Your perfect vine

For You are my life

I am Yours and You are mine.

And now I call your friend

Because You first loved me

And now I can love others

Thank you Lord for setting me free.

September 17, 2017

Well Woman

“When a Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink?”  John 4:7

There was a woman, not just any woman.  A woman from the wrong side of town, the other side of the tracks.  The place she lived was avoided by many, who thought it risky or distasteful to pass through.  You know the places where you lock your car doors and roll up those windows.  The streets you may avoid driving down, especially at night.  Places where you just don’t fit in; where you know, you’re not the same.  If you have to drive through such streets or neighborhoods, you do it quickly.  This woman’s past was checkered and her present open to judgment.  She was subject to ridicule by her neighbors.  She had this habit she couldn’t seem to kick – men.     

Men – she loved them.  Even if they beat her, she loved them.  If they left her, she still loved them…she just would move on to another man.  It wasn’t a healthy love she had, if it was love at all.  She’d just go from one to the other to another.  Of course, the men got hold of this and were thrilled – at least some of them.  The other women in town were not too happy.   They were afraid she would take their man.  That kind of fear can get real ugly, real quick. 

So this woman ventures out one day to get some water.  She waits until noon, when she thinks it will be the safest time to go without someone else spotting her and giving her a hard time.  She makes the long walk to the well…dusty paths and the smell of fear all around her.  She doesn’t want any trouble, just wants some water for her and her latest man, who is back at her home waiting for her.  She thinks to herself as she makes the journey to the well, “hey at least I got a man.  This one won’t leave me likes the others. He seems nicer than the others.  He hasn’t hit me yet.”  She sees a man sitting up by the well. He is looking, quite frankly, like he has been up all night and hadn’t eaten in days.  This guy was looking pretty ragged.  New in town, she thought to herself, or just passing through.  She needed the water and since he was a new face, she figured he wouldn’t give her a hard time.  In and out with the water, she thought.

He asks for a drink of water.  She stares at him, bewildered.  How could he ask her for anything?  She sees he is a Jew, and well you know the Jews have avoided her kind for years.  Yet he asks for a drink.  So she tells him, why would you ask me to get you anything?  I am a Samaritan, and you are a Jew. 

He looks at this woman, knowing everything about her, including her five husbands and the guy in the bed right now, waiting for the water.  He says to her, if you knew me, you would be asking me for water and I would give it to you.  It is different water – it is living water, water that makes you thirsty no more.  For there is water in the well; if you drink of it, it satisfies you only for a time.  But this living water takes the thirst you have away, forever. 

September 16, 2017

Looking at the Heart

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  1 Sam. 16:7

It was time to pick the teams.  Those wanting to play in the game stood along the fence and waited to hear their name called by one of the captains.  The pressure of school yard pick-up games can be agonizing.  No one wants to be picked last.  Everyone wants to be on the best team and the winning side.

The first name is called: “Eliab!”  Of course that is a natural pick.  Eliab is the oldest of Jesse’s sons and who wouldn’t want him on their team.  He is bigger, stronger, and a little more mature one would think.  He looks like a leader.    The other captain calls out his pick, “I’ll take Abinadab.”  This is another excellent choice – the second oldest and he is really starting to give his brother a run for his money.  Everyone in town knows how much he has grown in the last six months.  Yes, he is an up and comer – the captain knows he needs him to have a chance of winning the game.  The turn goes back to the first team as the captain prepares for his next choice.  He sizes up the group and then spots Shammah.  Maybe a little family rivalry would be a good thing, so he picks Shammah.  Excited, Shammah joins his older brother Eliab.  The brothers high five each other, confident of victory.

It is the other team’s pick and as the captain is trying to figure out who to pick, a young man walks up and asks if they are playing a game.  When they say yes, the man looks at the two teams and then glances over at the rest of the boys, still waiting to hear their name called.  He sees at the end of the line a small boy who looks like he couldn’t make it to second base.  And yet, there is something about this boy.  Without even knowing his name, the young man points to the end of the row of boys and says, “I’ll take him and we will play the winner of your game.”  Little David points to himself with surprise and then walks over to the young man.  The other two teams are laughing – this is a total mismatch!   They agree to the deal, finish picking teams and of course, David’s team wins.  The analogy may be a mismatch, but hopefully the point that gets across is what the Lord looks at is different than what the captains looked at.  The young man saw something in David’s heart, his character, and was drawn to it.  Samuel was told to keep passing over the older brothers until he got to the baby boy.  It was David whom Samuel anointed to be the next king of Israel.  The Lord had seen his heart and the Lord chose him.

September 15, 2017

A New Command

“Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”  1 John 2:8

The woman was so excited.  Her eyes grew big as she shared what had happened in the past few weeks – events that she described as a miracle.  It was a true, genuine miracle.  She had seen it for herself and she was absolutely convinced God had intervened in an impossible situation to create a possibility.  She was unmovable in her description and in her faith.  It was awesome to see.

It was as if the apostle John was in the same room, because this verse sums up what I witnessed, and what the woman was re-telling.  The truth is seen in Him – meaning Jesus.  The truth is also seen in us – wow!  How can that be?  Well, John tells us.  The darkness is passing and the true light has already started to shine.  The light is Jesus – He is the Light of the world.  When the light shines on the darkness, the darkness is overcome by the light. 

It is a new command because it includes Jesus and it includes us.  We have roles to fulfill in this command.  This woman was working to fulfill her part.  She had seen the Lord shine His light in a messy, disastrous situation.  The darkness was removed by the presence and power of His light.  The woman knew it was something only God could do.  She was experiencing the glorious presence of the Kingdom – the future coming into the present, or heaven coming to earth.  The two touched, connected, light burst forth and suddenly there were options where there had been no options.  The woman didn’t keep this to herself.  She was much like the woman at the well, dropping her water pot and running back to town to tell everyone.  As the woman shared the story, there it was – the light in her eyes.

September 14, 2017

Yielding to the Lord

 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Pvbs. 16:9

We declare our trust in You Lord for all matters laid before Your throne of grace today.  Our confidence is in You, Almighty God, for increased visits and contacts between children and parents, according to Your will.  Father, such visits have been found to improve a child’s educational, emotional, and social adjustment to parental incarceration.  We pray for the bond of family to be maintained where it exists, and to be reconciled, where it has been broken, as Your will and Your timing determine.  We lean not on our own understanding, but acknowledge You God, to establish a straight path for the children of our communities, paved with healthy communication between parents and children, more frequent visits as Your will and timing decree, and with honesty in all areas of the relationship – for the truth will set the children free.

We pray for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done in city streets, neighborhoods, the highways and byways of our cities and towns.  Father, You see the children You have created for a plan and a purpose – may that plan and purpose for every child’s life come to pass, so that we may declare Your glory.  Lord, as we desire to do Your will, so too we ask that Your law of love and compassion be written on the hearts of parents and children as they face challenges; that that they are able to turn these into accomplishments, overcoming obstacles and barriers. May Your will, plan and strategy be revealed to leaders who rise up and teach the church how to minister to the broken hearted, bring healing to the bruised, and joy to the suffering.   We place our confidence in You for increased visitation for children with parents in prison.  May You direct the steps of volunteers into prison to challenge, equip, and strengthen prisoner-parents who want to become good and effective parents even behind prison walls.

According to Your will may godly mentors be called by You to befriend a prisoner’s child, and demonstrate the love of Jesus, that will help the child heal and reach towards restoration with their parent in prison, and to support the guardian/parent.  All this we bring to You Lord, and pray nevertheless, not our will be done, but Yours.  We pray all these things in faith believing that Your will shall be done, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

September 13, 2017

The Lord’s Patience

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.”  2 Peter 3:15

God is not in a hurry with us.  This verse is an excellent reminder why we should be thankful that He isn’t rushing the process.  The Lord’s patience means salvation.  Not our patience; the Lord’s patience.  Whoever thinks about the Lord being patient?  Apparently Peter thought about it.

That patience is not limited to our individual benefit and our individual salvation.  Peter is writing on a bigger level – where he focuses on the salvation of the world reaching its appointed fulfillment.  We cry out,” Maranatha – come Lord Jesus.”  Every generation of Christians has prayed that and yet, Jesus has not returned.  The Lord’s patience means salvation.

I do not consider myself an evangelist and have to be prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask if there are people who are ready to believe and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Recently I was at a Sunday service and under that prompting, gave the invitation.  Twelve women stood up in their prison uniforms.  We prayed rather quickly as movement was being called.  I was so thankful for the newness of life that had come that day.  And yes, for the Lord’s patience, which meant salvation for twelve souls.

September 12, 2017

Here Am I

“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me.  To a nation that did not call on My name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.”  Isa. 65:1

Isaiah speaks forth the word of the Lord and the prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.  This word reminds us that God is fully capable of revealing Himself to people who aren’t even looking for Him.  He pursues after persons not seeking Him.  He calls out to nations that have not called out Him, saying, “Here am I.”  It is truly remarkable.

We come across this fulfillment in Romans 10:18, when Paul writes about the unbelief of Israel as to Jesus the Messiah.  Not all of Israel believed the message.  Paul makes his case by using a number of Old Testament verses, including this passage from Isaiah.  The gospel message was not confined to the Jewish people but also included Gentiles.  The Gentiles were not looking for a Messiah – a Savior.  But God lovingly revealed Himself to the Gentiles and many came to faith.  It is so often the way the Lord works.  It is an encouragement for us to pray for others who right now may not be looking “to be saved.”  They don’t need any help at all.  Yet we can lift them up to the throne of grace with boldness and power in Christ. 

This day, this moment we can cry out, Lord will you speak forth Your words to the ones who are lost and do not know it?  Will You say to them, “Here am I.  Here am I.”

September 11, 2017

We Were Made Alive

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Eph. 2:1-3

Humbling, isn’t it?  Paul is telling the people of Ephesus, whom he dearly loves, that we all share the same past – a life of sin and disobedience.  Note the references to the lusts of the flesh in verse 2.  This brings us to the spirit, soul, and body language found in 1 Thess. 5:23.  Our flesh was wanton and needed to die.  It was only when we accepted Jesus that we died with Him.  The death of Christ needs to be continually applied to our flesh, in order to subdue it.  

Consider 1 Peter 4:1-3:  “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles – when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” 

As we apply the death of Christ to our flesh, we also pray for our spirits to increase, to rise up, and to receive the will of God. 

These verses are then followed by two powerful words:  BUT GOD.  Let’s look at Eph. 2:4-7:  “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Beloved, let this truth sink in – while we were dead in our sin, God loved us.  While we were satisfying the desires of our flesh, our heavenly Father loved us.  While we were disregarding and disrespecting God, our Creator – the One who fearfully and wonderfully made us – He loved us.  He loved us to repentance.  Consider Romans 5:6-9:  “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  BUT GOD demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”