EVERYTHING YOU NEED

…his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness… II Peter 1:3 (KJV)

I’m learning to use my new “Think Pad,” after the demise of my ancient laptop. My technician friend spent about an hour with me yesterday explaining the new features. And then he left a full-page list of directions among which are these sorts of instructions: Think twice before installing software that didn’t come from the manufacturer. Do not install browsers that didn’t come from the manufacturer. Don’t install malware software; you already have it. You have everything you need.
If there are any of you who don’t understand computer jargon, essentially my technician said, Just use what was installed by the manufacturer and not anything that comes from anyone else. You already have everything you need. And his note was written all in capital letters, which in computerese is like shouting or at least strongly emphasizing the message.
As I reflected on this, I thought about the times I look outside God’s provisions for an easier or better way to address my concerns. Perhaps that person could give me insight; that new book might shed light on the matter; or there may be a technique I haven’t yet tried. You know what I mean.
I recently was tempted to fret about a relational matter. I examined the situation from one side and then the other. I stewed about what seemed too complex to unwind. I knew to cast my cares on the Lord, but as soon as I had the opportunity, I hashed the whole thing out with a trusted person. Of course, that didn’t bring satisfaction, so I thought about contacting a counselor. In the meantime, I had created more than a tempest in a teapot.
I wish I’d had Ric’s directions to remind me to use only what was installed by the Manufacturer. You already have everything you need. God has, not will, already provided everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. He has said that we’re not to be anxious about anything but to pray and give thanks, and then God’s peace will fill our hearts and minds.  And there are so many other wonderful promises we can access when necessary.
After struggling with my concern and allowing it to distract me from the peace and trust that was already mine in Christ Jesus, I released the care and cast it on the Lord just as was advised in the Manufacturer’s directions. I haven’t added an inch to my stature or changed the circumstances, but I’ve put the issue where it belongs—on Jesus’ shoulders. And he’s giving grace that I need to move forward.
I’m going to keep Ric’s reminders close at hand: You already have what you need; use only what came from the Manufacturer; don’t add anything to that.

Father, thank you for the many ways you remind us to listen to you and to rely on your provisions. Forgive me when I forget. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

TODAY

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

 

We’ve awakened today with a gift from God—this very day.  There will be so many choices and opportunities.  What will we do with the gift?

We will enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts (Psa. 100:4) reflecting on the benefits we derive by being his child.  Thank you Lord for your abiding peace no matter what may come this day.  Thank you for grace to address every situation.  Thank you for wisdom to deal with complex issues today.  Thank you for strength to handle all my responsibilities.  Thank you for guidance with all the different options in this day.  Thank you that you never leave me even when my senses don’t perceive you.

We enter his courts with praise, confidently abiding in the presence of the Lord.  …in him  we live and move and have our being.  (Acts 17:28)  Today if something should try to shake my rest in him, I will redirect my attention and climb back into his arms.  After all, Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

What a great day.

 

Father, keep us steadfast in your love today, rejoicing in you and not allowing circumstances to determine our attitudes or behavior.  We are your children; we rejoice in you.  AMEN.

TRANSFORMATION

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  II Corinthians 3:18  (NIV)

 

 

Have you ever wished you could change a certain attitude or drop an unattractive trait?  The Good News is that it’s possible.  Paul tells us how it can happen in a couple of his letters.  First, by exposing our true selves and concentrating on Jesus (II Cor. 3:18), his attributes, his character, and his love, we become more and more like him.  Then, we trust his working in us will be for good.  Remember, he has already begun a good work in us and will continue it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6), and he is working in us just now giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him (Phil. 2:13 NLT).

Finally, if we really want to grow and to change, we must listen to the Holy Spirit who speaks to each one of us.  It is his job to convict us regarding sin and righteousness (John 16:8).  Essentially, prior to our pursuing an attitude displeasing to God or speaking unkind words or acting in a manner unbecoming his child, the Holy Spirit quietly warns us.  In this millisecond we have a choice:  Do we follow our selfish instincts or do we respond to God?

God always does his part in changing us from glory to glory, but we have to do ours.  God has given us free will to follow him or to indulge our flesh.  The instant his Spirit softly alerts us, we can respond in obedience and find ourselves more like our Lord or we can reject him and become more entrenched in the behaviors and attitudes that even we despise.

So we return to that life regimen we call discipline. To cooperate with God’s work in transforming us, we listen when his Spirit speaks, and we discipline ourselves to do his will.  In that instant of decision, he empowers us, and as we continue this right behavior, it becomes a habit.  At last, with practice, we are no longer enslaved by that sinful attitude or behavior.  It’s really quite simple.

God’s part:  conviction and empowerment; our part: disciplined obedience.  Result:  transformation.

 

 

Father, how long have we tried to change ourselves when we know that only you can make us like Jesus?  Give us ears to hear your Spirit and determination to do your will.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

BEING HUMAN

…those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  Romans 8:5  (NIV)

 

I was making some notes in my journal, reflecting on recent attitudes and trying to decide how to describe my struggle and annoyance.  Finally, I could think of nothing better to say than, “The flesh is so tiresome.”

Have you ever felt like that?  What Paul calls “the flesh” we often refer to as “being human.”  We use it to excuse almost every behavior that doesn’t measure up.  It seems that Paul had the same struggles when he writes in Romans 7 that what he wants to do, he doesn’t, and what he doesn’t want to do, he does.  He doesn’t leave us hanging, however.

Paul moves on into the glorious eighth chapter of Romans that grandly informs us of our freedom in Christ.  “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (8:37).  The flesh is never going to cooperate with the Spirit, but through Christ we can ignore the flesh, discipline ourselves, and move with the Spirit.  Rather than expecting the flesh to change, let’s just deny it and keep walking.

 

Father, this Easter time is such a time of good news.  Those things that had bound us in the past can no longer be our lords because of Jesus’ victorious death on the cross.  THANK YOU for the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

 

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.        I Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)

One of my spiritual mentors said that we should seriously examine ourselves if we find that we are losing our sense of gratitude.  Through the years I’ve discovered this to be a wonderful measuring stick.  Can my faith see God’s faithfulness and his love in all circumstances?  Can I trust God to work everything for good in my life?  Can I believe him to be in the middle of difficulties.

I Thessalonians 5:18 doesn’t tell us we must be thankful for all things but that we should give thanks in all sorts of circumstances and situations.  When the Children of Israel were saying farewell to Joshua, he reminded them that not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel [had ever] failed; every one was fulfilled  (Joshua 21:45).  As we reflect on our personal Christian journeys, we can say the same—in retrospect.  Why not bolster our faith for each new challenge with a reminder of what God has done and been in the past?  Why wait to see his promises fulfilled?

I read about a little boy whose grandmother had promised a particular, special gift.  When the expected time arrived, there was no gift and no word from grandmother.  Days passed, and the boy began to think that perhaps his grandmother had forgotten her promise.  The little fellow’s mother suggested that he write grandmother a thank you note as a gentle reminder.  The boy did so, and by return mail, his grandmother sent her apologies with a check.  She had been trying unsuccessfully to find the gift, and since she couldn’t find what she had promised, she sent a check for her grandson to use in purchasing another gift of his choosing.

Gratitude can be our way of remembering God’s faithfulness of the past while reminding God of our trust in him for the present.  It’s really easy to be grateful if we’re honest and start looking outward instead of focusing on our own navels.

 

God, I don’t have enough paper to even begin to list your goodness to me.  If all your material blessings disappeared in a puff, still I could go on thanking you.  Please help me remember that every single thing I enjoy, and especially your precious Son, comes from your bounty.  THANK YOU.  AMEN.

COMPLAINING

And [when] the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard [it]; and his anger was kindled… Numbers 11:1
Casey and his wife have a large glass container in which they put stones representing blessings. Each time God does something, they add a stone of remembrance. Casey says he can’t remember what each stone represents, but those stones are reminders of God’s provisions.

This morning Casey talked about the Children of Israel and their experience with the snakes (Numbers 21). Since there weren’t any markets in the desert and the food had long since run out, God provided manna – after the Israelites began complaining. And then they wanted meat, so God provided quail – after the Israelites complained. But God’s blessings were never enough.

Apparently, the Israelites had a bad case of “poormease,” and finally, God got really tired of their endless ingratitude. They’d been delivered from an abusive Pharaoh; rescued from the Egyptian army; given food, meat, water, and clothes that didn’t wear out; and yet it was never enough. So God got their attention.

Venomous snakes invaded the camp and bit the people. No one had to point out the fault of the Israelites. Immediately, they rushed to Moses saying they had sinned. They were well aware of their ingratitude and complaining not only against Moses but also against God who had provided everything they needed.

God’s remedy: Put a replica of those nasty snakes on a pole to remind the Israelites of what life would be like without God’s gracious provisions. Just one look cured them. We may not like the same-ness of the manna, but it nourishes us. We may get tired of quail, but it is an unexpected gift of love. We may be annoyed that the water comes from the rock rather than a pristine spring, but it quenches our thirst. Gripe, gripe, gripe.

I like Casey’s idea of the stone reminders. Lent is a good time to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Yes, I like that a lot better than venomous snakes.

Father, I have a choice between gratitude and griping. Help me always to remember that your blessings far exceed any trials that will ever come my way. In Jesus our Lord. AMEN.

CONFIDENCE

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

With Easter approaching, our choir was doubling down on rehearsals and more complex musical offerings. Sadly, our choirmaster had’nt yet discovered the joy of music, so rehearsals were often exercises in discipline. One particular evening, he scolded the sopranos particularly severely and shuffled our section around several times. Over and over we rehearsed our passages as he frowned upon us. I could hardly wait for the session to end.

I went home that evening convinced that I was the sour note, unable to contribute to a harmonious whole. The next few days I sat at my piano going over and over the offending phrases. Rather than feeling increasingly confident in my part and eager to sing God’s praises at Easter, my mood was more in line with the confused disciples who hid in the shadows on that fateful Friday.

And then I read that there are times when we take our confidence and throw it to the wind if our expectations aren’t met. We actually take the confidence we’ve gained through years of experience with our Father and toss it from us because of adversity, real or imagined, large or small. And here was I allowing some unsatisfactory choir rehearsals to color the rest of the days in my weeks.

I retrieved the confidence I had – which was in the Lord – and returned to rehearsals determined to hear the messages in the music and to use my voice, imperfect as it might be, as an instrument of praise. It appeared that my heart was more out of tune than my voice, and when that was corrected, I was more prepared (and equipped) to sing .

Easter Day was glorious; the choir’s melodious praises filled the sanctuary. And I learned a valuable lesson that had more to do with attitude than music.

Father, every time I make an incident about me, I become distracted. My confidence, my hope, my inspiration are all from you. Thank you. AMEN.

LENT OR NOT

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 (KJV)

Growing up, Lent was never part of our church tradition, but last year I became very interested in the opportunity to specifically focus on the meaning of Christ’s passion during the Easter season and began my own observation of Lent. It was such an enriching experience that I’ve decided to engage again, so I’ve done a bit of research.

“Lent” comes from an old English word meaning “spring” and is the 40 days prior to Easter. Typically, it’s a time of penitence and can include fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (charitable gifts). It is also a time of self-denial. I love the idea of “spring,” a time for spiritual renewal and refreshing in Christ.

I think for years I rejected the thought of observing Lent because it seemed to me to be an effort by practitioners to merit God’s favor, something that only comes through his grace. But last year as I contemplated my own practice of Lent, I gained a whole different perspective.

Why not grasp Lent as an occasion of thanksgiving for all God’s faithful blessings, I wondered. So I moved into the season skipping as many meals as practical (some might call it fasting), which gave me additional time for prayer and reading of spiritual material. As I pursued study, meditation, and prayer, Lent became a gift rather than a burden. Additional study brought new insights and with that came joy. Prayer brought to mind needs I’d never contemplated along with hearts that longed for divine intervention and ministry. A greater sense of God’s presence became part of my daily experience to the point that I hated to see the approach of Easter, which signals the end of Lent. But, of course, Easter always brings its own joy as we celebrate a risen and ascended Lord who now inhabits the lives of all believers.

I have been looking forward to Lent for months now. Instead of seeing it as denial of myself, I view it as opportunity to move more closer into God’s presence. If you’ve never tried Lent – no matter your church tradition – may I encourage you to prayerfully consider taking advantage of this little space on the church calendar to draw nearer to Jesus. I think you’ll be glad you did. (I’d love to hear about your experience.)

Father, how blessed we are that we can fellowship with you and that you want to share the joy of your presence. Welcome now and forever. AMEN.