NEVER FORSAKEN

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

 

How many times have you quoted Jesus’ departing words to his disciples, those words that were intended to strengthen and comfort them (and us): “Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). When we’re children, we remind ourselves of this word so that we’re not afraid – Jesus is with me. And when we’re navigating the rough patches of adulthood, those words still keep us going. Jesus is with me.
But, truth be told, the tangible presence of our Lord is sometimes missing during the unexplained. We may not see him when we’re suffering injustice. When the pain pushes us to the point of despair, we may look around for Jesus and wonder about that promise.
I was thinking about this word of truth from Matthew, and it must be true because Jesus said it, and wondering how it could occasionally seem so baffling. There are times when we just don’t see Jesus. So how can he always be with us—even until the end?
And then I remembered something we often proclaim—we are the hands and feet of Jesus, and he lives in us. With the Holy Spirit and Jesus living in us we are to be the fulfillment of that promise to one another and to a very lonely world. We are to comfort, love, encourage, uphold, bless, heal, and be everything God would minister through us for the occasion.
In my international work, we send teams around the world, but it’s always to places where we have established “feet on the ground,” those people who represent us and speak and act for us. Just like that, we are God’s feet on the ground acting and moving and speaking for him. We are God’s reminders that he’s always with his children.
Yes, we are all to live by faith, and we realize his presence never leaves us, and he won’t forsake us. We practice abiding, living, and having our being in him. And we know that nothing separates us from his love (Romans 8:35-39). But if we are to allow him to continue to grow in us, we must obey him in making ourselves available channels through which his Spirit can flow and bless and refresh. And we are to be humble and receptive to the other members of Christ’s Body who are sent to walk with us.
Do you know someone who needs to see Jesus just now? Someone who would love to have him show up? Be there—for him and for them.
Sweet Father, thank you that all your promises are yes and amen. Help us to see our part in their fulfillment. We give you all glory. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

MOTHERING

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.  Isaiah 66:13

 

Can you imagine anything better than a mother’s love?  I admit, I could never have competed with either my daughter or daughter-in-law in discerning the unique gifts and personalities they nurture on a daily basis.  And then there’s the topic of energy…

Today marked the mid-point of Camp Curry.  I’ve often remarked that the miracle of Sarah and Abraham was not their producing Isaac, but it was their ability to keep up with him.  Or perhaps that’s what their household staff did.

Today’s parents, and especially the mothers who nurture the children while running the household and managing a career, are amazing.  They are routinely dealing with higher expectations than my generation experienced, and their children have greater temptations, information, and challenges than ours ever did.

As the crust of the earth was cooling, I remember my grandmother talking about doing the laundry one day, ironing another, baking took another whole day (Does anyone do that anymore?), mending was part of the schedule, and then there were grocery shopping and cleaning.  Between my daughter and daughter-in-law, each week they do most of the above PLUS gardening, chauffeuring children to school and extracurricular events, running a successful home business besides a full-time job, and participating in a lively social calendar.  They are not unlike other mothers today.

So what’s my point?  Having been with my precious grandchildren this week and getting ready to let them go back home, I am more strongly reminded of the need for prayer for our young family members and particularly the young mothers:  that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Neh. 8:10); that they will look to him for encouragement (Isa. 41:10); that they will always experience God’s presence (Deut. 31:6); that they will know they are greatly loved by God (Romans 8:37-39); and that he will supply every need they have (Phil. 4:19).  AND that they will delight in being stewards of the precious treasures with which God has entrusted them.

I will miss the sweet grands, but they will be returning to the place where they belong and where they will be loved and shaped into the image God planned from the beginning of time.  And I will be here praying for them all, loving them, and waiting for the next visit.

 

Father, thank you for the special times I have with all my sweet grandbabies.  Be with my friends who spend long seasons apart from their families and give them opportunities to bless those other children you’ve brought into their lives.  Make us your hands and feet as we love and touch those you’ve entrusted to us.  Keep their parents in you, and help us never to cease praying for them.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

IN THANKSGIVING

 

 …give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  I Thessalonians 5:18

 

Father, time and space are insufficient to thank you for your presence in our lives.  But you did tell us to give thanks, and in our country we are blessed to have a day set aside to do just that.

THANK YOU for everything that is entailed by being your child: everything that pertains to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3) and to eternal life with you forever (I John 5:11).

 THANK YOU for my family who loves and serves you faithfully and that we come together in love, harmony, and mutual support (Psalm 133:1).

 THANK YOU for the community of faith where we can build each other up and encourage one another (I Thessalonians 5:11).

 THANK YOU for our country where we can freely worship and share our faith (Psalm 33:12).

 THANK YOU for always keeping your promises (I Kings 8:57), for always being with us (Matthew 28:20), and for giving us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

 THANK YOU for being our constant resource (Philippians 4:19) whatever the need: physical, emotional, material, spiritual.

 THANK YOU that you don’t give up on us and continue to work in us for your purposes (Philippians 1:6, 2:13).

 THANK YOU that no matter what the circumstances, we can still thank you in the circumstances knowing you love us and always purpose good for us (Romans 8:28).

 THANK YOU for all the prayers you have answered, but I especially thank you for prayers you answered according to your good will and not mine (Matthew 6:10).

 THANK YOU, Lord.

 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name (Psalm 103:1).

 

AMEN.

COWS

…since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  Hebrews 12:1  (NIV)

 

Our church has a COW program that manifests itself at the beginning of the fall school semesters.  Let me explain:  The COW – Cloud of Witnesses – sponsors are assigned high school and university students for intercession and encouragement.  I have several myself and find it a great joy to follow up with “my” students to see how God is working in their lives.

I’m not certain that’s what the writer to the Hebrews had in mind when he described that Cloud of Witnesses that is so intensely interested in our lives, but I find it greatly comforting to think that there is a whole grandstand full of people in the heavenlies cheering us on, just as I do with my students.  I know Jesus is occupied in praying for us (Romans 8:34), but I just wonder if that Cloud includes some of our loved ones who have vested interests in our welfare?  I can just imagine that my parents and grandparents are watching with great hope.

Not only are we surrounded by all those godly witnesses, but Jesus assures us he is always with us (Matthew 28:20).  Corrie ten Boom wrote about being alone in a cell in the concentration camp and feeling downcast.  Then she remembered that Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).  She reasoned that Jesus was one, the Father was two, and the Holy Spirit was three.  That was enough for her to know that she was in God’s presence.

Isn’t it also true of us?  Surely, at various times of our lives, we will find ourselves alone.  We either shrink into self-pity or we look around to find ourselves in God’s presence.  And, of course, there is that great Cloud of Witnesses that knows the reward of trusting and abiding in Christ no matter what the circumstances.

What a joy to know that at every juncture of our lives, Someone is watching.  Someone is praying for us.  Someone is cheering us on.  And Someone is always there to strengthen us in pressing onward.

 

Father, keep our eyes and hearts fixed on you.  Remind us that we’re never alone, and others have gone before and reached the destination safely.  Thank you for always providing what we need to keep going.  AMEN.

HATE TALK

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  Ephesians 4:29  (NLT)

“Let everything you say be good and helpful…” sets a really high bar for us, doesn’t it?  We are not even to tease others in a way that might be misconstrued or hurtful.  And I don’t think sarcasm falls under the “good and helpful” rule.

These past several months we’ve all heard language that fell far short of being “good and helpful.”  In fact, much of the rhetoric has been abusive and destructive.  We’ve been through a difficult election cycle, and now we are all picking up the pieces left behind from words.  People are being assaulted and property damaged because of words.

Isn’t it interesting that in every generation, in every era, the words of Jesus continue to ring true.  He said, “…I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”  Couldn’t that also apply to the person who’s spewing invectives?  When someone is criticizing or lambasting or verbally abusing us, can we just turn the other cheek?  “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare”  (Prov. 15:1).

I don’t think Jesus is advocating “lying down and letting an enemy walk over you” (Isa. 51:23), but he’s telling us we don’t need to initiate destructive conversations, and we certainly don’t need to perpetuate them.  One of the best ways to terminate negative discussion is to politely excuse oneself saying, This is not good for either one of us.  That’s a positive way of turning the other cheek.  (Not very macho, but you can’t easily argue with someone’s backside.)

When we engage or get sucked into destructive conversation, we move out of God’s peace and blessing (I Pet. 3:9-11, Lk. 6:45, Eph. 5:4).  We open ourselves up to fiery attacks and can easily be wounded in the process.

It is said that during World War II enemy soldiers would taunt GI’s in their foxholes.  As long as the GI’s stayed in place, they couldn’t be touched, but if they stuck their heads out to respond, they were easily picked off.  Isn’t the same true of us?  When we stay in God’s protective grace, shielded by his love, we are safe.  When we are tempted to respond in kind to provocation, we become an easy target.

It’s time to use our words to bring peace and love rather than stirring up strife or stoking the fires of resentment.  Just one word  “fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”  This is a good time to bite our tongues, overrule our egos, and instead “let our words be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

Father, our tongues really can be set on fire by hell.  Help us to, as much as lies within us, live at peace with all people.  Move us beyond our egocentric attitudes, our need to be right, and our desire to strike back.  We want to be more like Jesus and that includes bridling our tongues.  Fill us with your love so that what comes forth really does bless and encourage our hearers.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

SALTY LANGUAGE

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:6  (NIV)

 

In Sunday school as we looked at this passage, someone commented that “salty language” often evokes strident, even painful comment.  But actually, at the time this phrase was used by Paul, the Greeks employed it to refer to “witty, charming discourse.”  Oh, how I wish all my conversations could be characterized like that.

Have you ever said anything you wish you could retract?  Are you familiar with the old (probably now considered barbaric) custom of washing a child’s mouth out with soap when he/she said something unacceptable?  Wouldn’t it be lovely if changing our conversation were that simple, but, instead, the origin of those harmful words is the heart and the mind.  Jesus said, “It is what comes from within that defiles you.”

A friend told me about a fishing trip where a group of friends had gone out in a boat with their pastor.  One of the men accidentally stuck a hook into his finger and automatically let out some spicy expletive.  Remembering that the pastor was with them, he looked up sheepishly and said, “Oh, thank God, tomorrow is Sunday.”  What was inside had made its way out.

In Ephesians (4:29 LB) Paul encourages us not to “use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Remember the old saying that you know what’s in a tea bag when it’s put in hot water?  I think this is what Jesus is talking about:  “…whatever is in your heart determines what you say”  (Matt. 12:34 LB).

Our tongue can be a real challenge, especially if we’re trying to control it through our own efforts apart from God’s transforming grace.  As we grow to be more and more like Jesus, our words, attitudes, and behaviors will also become more like him.  And what comes out will be “seasoned with salt.”

 

Change my heart, O God.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  AMEN.

ENCOURAGEMENT

…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.  I Samuel 30:6b  (KJV)

I’ve always found this verse from I Samuel intriguing.  While David and his motley crew were off doing battle, their camp had been attacked, and all the women and children had been taken away.  Things were so bad that his own men were speaking of stoning him.  David had nowhere to turn.

I doubt that any of us has ever been in such a desperate situation, but we may feel at one time or another that we have no place to turn.  Everyone has forsaken us, and there’s no help in sight.

Look at what David did:  he encouraged himself—in the Lord.  He didn’t give up because there was no shoulder to cry on, no counselor to give wise advice.  He went straight to God for encouragement.  He knew his help was in the Lord, that God was his strong fortress, and that he could run to him and find safety.

If we’ve ever confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord and that the Holy Spirit lives in us, we, too, will always find a place of safety whatever the crisis.  We can cry out to God and expect his comfort and find encouragement in him.  If we’ve been put in a solitary place for a time, we really have all we need in the Lord.  He will sustain; he will lift; he will guide; and he will protect.  All we need do is go to him.

So, what happened to David?  He went directly to the Lord who, as always, provided guidance.  David pursued his enemies, at God’s direction, and all that had been taken was recovered.  Because David encouraged himself in the Lord.

 

Father, how often do we rush elsewhere for help when all we have to do is turn to you?  Forgive us for our shortsightedness and draw us to your side that we may glorify you.  In Jesus name.  AMEN.