Author: Christine Wyrtzen

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Deuteronomy 6:12

How did you do on Friday coming up with a list of three things God made that you enjoy?  Now we’re on to the next discovery.

2. Come up with your three favorite, Old Testament Bible stories. Has anyone ever asked you what they were? Maybe you know your very favorite but what about your second or third choice? It might take some reminiscing. That will be enjoyable, I suspect. When you come up with three, this is what I want you to do. (Make notes about each one…answering these questions. And yes, if we were together ~ this is what I would ask you and also happily share my own choices with you!)

What about each story thrills you in such a way that it made it one of your three choices?
What did the story reveal about God that, when you heard it, left you astonished? What do your choice of these stories reveal about you and your story? There’s something about your own history that made these stories stand out. Can you figure it out?  If God were to act today in your life as He did in the stories you chose, what is it you’d like to ask Him to do?

Finish each of these sentences out loud to God. ~ “God, I can’t believe that you ___________.” “You could so easily have ________________.” “I always feared that You might be a God who _________________ but this story proves me wrong.” “What I love about you the most in this story is ________________.” “What I enjoy most as I remember this story today is _________________.”

• Here are two of my favorite stories. You knew I had to tell you, didn’t you? Elisha laid over the deceased and only son of the Shunamite woman. He once prophesied that she would have the son she had been praying for and now, at 12, her son was dead. Elisha prayed in an unpredictable and shocking way and God brought about a resurrection.
• Hannah gave up her toddler forever to the priest, Eli, in the temple. Samuel was also the son she had been waiting for. Through much travail, God answered her prayers. She gave her son back to God as soon as he was weaned. How she sacrificed but oh, how she also praised and worshiped.

In each story, God’s children showed great faith unlike any contemporary. They each challenge me to not just play it safe but to live with abandon on an edge that can be lonely.

Let the stories of Your power and glory live in us. Amen

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? Job 12:7-10

God said to the Israelites and, by extension, to us – “Remember and review.”  I’ve always believed it was to give them strength but perhaps it was also to facilitate joy. So, remember and review what? Have fun starting a list. See if it leads to a rush of joy.

List three of your favorite, God-created things, that you enjoy. Imagine telling a friend what they are. Fill in the blanks of why you enjoy them. (Colors, textures, smells, history)  I will give you two of mine as examples.

• Cats. They are absolutely intriguing creatures. I love their independence. They aren’t push overs. You have to earn their respect. Their variations in stripes, dots, and patterns are amazing. They come alive at night. I love their whiskers ~ how they feel against my skin and how they guide the cat to know how wide an opening they can fit through. I adore their purring. When I need to relax, I put my head against my cats and let their purring relax me. They are naughty, sweet, and unpredictable. That God would think to create them and all their complicated layers of personality just makes me stand in awe of Him. And, they were created for my enjoyment.
• Black Raspberries. I like that they are rare. They are not blueberries nor are they blackberries. They have their own distinct berry taste. Their dark purple color makes me swoon. The taste? Nothing rivals it. I try my best to grow my own in the south even though it’s not the best environment. I get shy of a quart each summer. To supplement, I’ve made it a hobby to find the best black raspberry jam out there. I have decided that an Amish farmer called Miller, in Ohio, makes the best. Every time I pick a berry, hold one, then eat one, I tell God He’s awesome.

So you get it, right? This is not hard. What are your three choices? Tell God what you love about them. Tell him how you feel about Him since He is their creator. And for a lasting effect —— print out pictures (high quality pictures) of your three favorite things. I have a high resolution photo (on canvas) of a grey tabby gracing the entrance to our downstairs. I have a half dozen high resolution photos (on my computer) of black raspberries; on the bush, spread out on an old wooden table, for sale in a farmer’s market, and finally in jam. They are switched out as desktop wallpapers. These keep my delight in God in front of my eyes. Nearly every time I see them, I’m talking to God about how creative He is, and how good He is to share them with me.

Of course, you have many more than three. So do I. That’s the fun of it. As your list grows, your worship expands. Did you ever think that enjoying God could be so much fun? I didn’t.

You didn’t create things for yourself. You’ve given us all things richly to enjoy. How could I not enjoy You as I enjoy them! They are gifts, so thank you.  You’re awesome.  Amen

“Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.” Jeremiah 2:32

Ok, so let’s talk women stuff. Ever forget to put in earrings on a day you were getting dressed up? It felt strange and you were aware of it throughout the day. Ever put on makeup and forget the lipstick? Again, so strange. Have you ever lost your wedding dress? I doubt it. We pay to preserve it and store it in moth-proof bags or even a box made for the preservation of heirlooms.

God says that we remember things that are important to us. That’s true. But Him, we can forget. How can that be! I have forgotten someone’s birthday and felt terrible. An apology didn’t make my regret lessen either. If I forget God, do I minimize my neglect with a wave of my hand? And does this not reveal how much, or how little, I treasure Him? This is not to cause a guilt trip because my relationship with God should not be built on shame and guilt. The point is what I’m missing. By failing to invest in the one relationship where perfection awaits is my loss.

You might argue that it’s hard to treasure someone who is not standing in front of you. I disagree. If you have a friend move away, don’t you still treasure what you had and can still have long distance? If your parent, spouse, or child dies, don’t you keep their memory alive by recalling what made them special? You rehearse their sayings and mannerisms all the time. Some people even live in the past.

This series is built on the scriptural encouragement to ‘remember and review’. It’s easy to do. Remembering and reviewing, with specifics, is what will revolutionize our ability to enjoy God. Those ideas will start coming tomorrow. Are you intrigued when a friend says, “Hey, want to do something fun? Try this!” Well, I hope I feel like a friend to you. I hope you are committed and excited to engage with every upcoming devotional. The ‘try this’ awaits. The only thing better would be doing it together in person.

You are a creative God. You’re called The Creator. Why shouldn’t my relationship with You be constructed with layers of creativity! I’m made in Your image and I don’t want to miss anything. Amen

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

If I asked three people how they enjoy God, I would expect blank stares. How do you enjoy someone you don’t know well? How do you get to know someone who is invisible? And, how do you enjoy someone who doesn’t speak to you in an audible voice? These are fair questions and the very reason this short series exists. I fear that few of God’s children know Him well at all much less find Him enjoyable. That used to be me for 4+ decades. I knew God’s resume but not His heart. I knew His history but not His mind on present matters regarding my life.

So, let’s take it out of the abstract. How do I enjoy a person ~ my husband, my child, my friend, my brother or sister? I make time for them. I do things that I love to do only with them. In an intimate relationship, there are shared memories and shared loves of certain things. I watch WWII movies with one friend, savor New England with my husband, share classical music and English dramas with my daughter, play with cats and even go to cat cafes with my son and his wife, go to the opera with my sister, and go to Desiring God conferences with a spiritual journey partner. The choices are endless but your list would look nothing like mine. Mine looks nothing like yours. That’s because no two relationships are alike. I can tell you about my relationship with God but that won’t be of great benefit to you. You have to have your own relationship with your Father. He will enjoy you, and you will savor Him, in ways that are unique to the two of you.

As you begin to carve a new path in your endeavor to find joy in God, you will begin by carving out time for your relationship. The friends and family members I rarely see, I lose touch with. I must make time for them. God is no different. Just knowing the God of the Bible can keep Him at arms length and impersonal.

You might ask if He desires you. The answer is yes. You are the object of His desire and in His desire, there is passion and warmth. There is commitment ~ enough that He gave up the life of His son to win you back from the curse of the Fall. What has He been doing until now? Waiting for you. Yes, He’s technically your Savior, but is He Your friend? It takes effort to make the Lord an intimate companion. Tomorrow, we will explore ideas for what to do in your time together. I can’t wait.

Lord, stir up desire for You. In even this, I need Your help and grace. Amen

Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.   Ezekiel 47:12 

The holy of holies ~ the place where God’s Spirit lived.  A priest could only enter one day a year and if he hadn’t atoned for his sins by making a sacrifice, he would be dead when he stepped through the curtain.  For that reason, tassels were tied around his feet so that if he died, he could be dragged back out without others entering and risking their lives.  It was the sanctuary of God. 

Through His death, Jesus tore the curtain that separated us from the holy of holies.  He paid for our sin, became our sacrifice, so that we never need fear approaching Him.  Instead of God’s Spirit dwelling in the holy of holies, He now dwells in the hearts of mankind if they have made Him their Savior and Lord.  I am the new temple.  Inside of me, in my spirit, is the holy of holies where God’s Spirit finds His home.  From that sanctuary inside, Living Water flows freely and changes the internal landscape of my life.  Greenery is not threatened by hard times.  Persecution can not mar the beauty.  Deprivation, scorn, sickness…these are not a menace to my internal Eden.  The Spirit of God lives there.  How our forefathers in the Old Testament would have yearned for such a reality.  They could not fathom that Yahweh could come to live inside man. 

If ever I should enjoy something phenomenal, should it not be this?  Should I not be so humbled and incredulous that I get to be God’s temple, that I make my highest aspiration to enjoy the privilege?  I want to fully invest in the most important relationship I’ll ever have, to get to know God better than I know any earthly person.  The result?  Listen.  Can you hear the river? It promises to flow to every cracked and barren place that desperately needs to see the promise of Spring.  In the days ahead, join me.  Let’s stand in the flow.  Let’s learn to enjoy what only those on the narrow way are offered.

I receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save my soul.  Amen   James 1:21

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.  Ps. 33:1

God created me for His enjoyment. And He created me to enjoy Him.  How am I doing with both of these things?  I’ve spent the first part of my life doubting whether or not God loved me like He loved others. Enjoying Him never occurred to me.  I feared and served God out of duty.  But enjoyed?  Not on my radar.  

It’s easy to love God from a distance.  When He answers my prayers in a way I like, my love feels real. When I wait for an answer, my love can turn into suspicion.  When He says no, my love can be buried beneath anger.  I memorized Psalm 37:4 as a child.  Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Notice that the delight is in the Lord, not in the pleasure I receive from His gifts. 

What is the foundation of my enjoyment of God?  It’s His enjoyment of me.  “We love Him because He first loved us.”  That doesn’t mean there’s something deficient in my affection.  It merely confirms that God created me to be a responder.  He is the Creator.  I am the Created.  He reached out first.  I held out my arms in response.  He was the initiator.  I was the reciprocator.   

If I’m not enjoying God, there are some things I need to consider.  I may not really believe God loves me.  I can’t be general about this.  I need to be specific in all the places I still carry shame and regret.  Also, I may not believe the truth about God’s character.  Deception causes distrust.  But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  2 Cor. 11:3   When I believe lies about God, I  hide and avoid.  I back up.  I’m shy of His proclamations of love.  Who can enjoy someone you’re unsure of.  

Enjoying God is at the epicenter of passion and connection.  How to do it is the topic of this series.  You can be sure that none of what follows will be abstract.  It will be hands on and practical.  Ask God to open up the channels from your heart to His because “In His presence is fullness of joy.”  Psalm 16:11

If I’m not enjoying You, show me I can.  If I don’t want to, pinpoint my objections.   Amen

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.  Isaiah 57:15

Someone once stood, drew a chalk circle around his feet, then prayed, “Lord, please send revival, and start inside this circle.”  Revival of a home, a church, and even a nation happens with the God-encounter of one individual at a time. 

You’ve heard the term ‘the fires of revival,’ right?  To have a fire, I must be revived. I can’t generate heaven’s fire on my own.  The energy of the Spirit is just that ~ it’s of the Spirit.  I can be excited temporarily by a sermon, inspired by a movement, influenced by friends, but the only fuel that stands the test of time and transcends the ups and downs of life is the real thing.  Fire comes from a relationship.  I must be connected to a Person, not a scripture verse, not a charismatic leader, not a church.  Jesus.  One and only Jesus.

When one thinks about revival, it’s common to picture something that happens in great numbers.  In days past, it involved a tent, a a week long crusade perhaps, and a fiery evangelist.  But more often, there’s an individual revival where I don’t need a group, a preacher, a tent, or special music.  In private, Jesus and I meet and I am never the same after that. 

There are conditions for revival though. Isaiah quotes God as saying that He dwells in two places, in the heavens and with the lowly and the contrite. The wealthy don’t have an advantage, neither does a seasoned bible scholar or even a long time believer.  Money can’t buy an appointment.  Knowledge doesn’t impress.  God comes running to the lowly and the contrite.  Period.  ‘Whosoever will may come’ and the entrance to the presence of God is humility and repentance.

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’  Your face, Lord, I will seek.”  Psalm 27:8  Amen

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose hearts are blameless toward Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

The Holy Spirit goes where he’s wanted. He’s absent from where He’s not wanted. Jesus couldn’t do miracles in Capernaum because He was not welcomed and the people were full of unbelief. It wasn’t that He no longer possessed the power to perform supernatural acts; the people weren’t willing to receive the Healer. In how many churches has the Spirit stopped working because the desire for Him has ceased? The United States, for the past 200 years, has been a birthplace of so many missionary ventures. How things have changed. Now, we need the missionaries.

• Not so in China. It is said that there are more Christians than Communist party members.
• Not so in Iran. Christianity is thriving and Muslims are awaking after encountering the risen Christ in the night. In the first light of dawn, they are on their knees calling him ‘Lord’. This is without churches and small groups for the most part yet some people are ready to receive Him.
• Not so in Germany. For the 1st time in centuries, there are churches with 800 members.
• Not so in Brazil. By 2020, it is believed that half of all Brazilians will be believers. There are reports of Christian gatherings in the streets.
• Not so in North Korea. Bibles are being smuggled in from China and for those fortunate enough to have a radio, Christian broadcasts can be heard across the border from South Korea. Missionaries from China are risking their lives to cross into North Korea at night to teach the scriptures. They have reported that the number of Christians is exponential and only growing.

What preceded the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? I suspect it was your awareness of your own spiritual needs and then a prayer that expressed your desire for His presence. Is this not what happened at Pentecost? Those upon whom the Spirit of God descended had been praying and waiting for what Jesus said would happen. He had promised that the Spirit of God would come to them. He had assured them that He was not going to leave them as orphans after His death. It’s no wonder they were looking up, anticipating, praying for the presence of Jesus to come in a form they’d never experienced.

Fervent prayer and a breathless anticipation of His movement in my heart is the environment where the Holy Spirit feels welcome. Whether church, country, ministry, or an individual, I must remember that the He goes where He’s wanted. The fuel of the Spirit will be absent if I am nonchalant about whether or not He’s active and also nonchalant about my own sin. But how the fire of His Spirit will burn and glow through the one who desires Him most of all and at any cost.

Show me if anything is preventing You from being larger in my life. Purify my heart so that You have a place to live and work. Amen

John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. John 5:35

If I want to experience more passion for Jesus, I hang around with those who have it because it’s catching. It’s contagious. That’s why ‘remembering and reviewing’ the stories of my spiritual heroes is so important to my spiritual walk. I ask myself, “Who was it that was on fire? What was resident in their lives that is missing in mine?”

John The Baptist ~ He was set apart from the mainstream. I love his depiction in The Gospel of John movie. (Ian Cusick was cast as Jesus and it is a word for word delivery, with acting, of the Good News Bible.) Watching John the Baptist, it seems he can not speak of Jesus, nor speak to Jesus, without being nearly breathless. When grilled by the Pharisees about who he was; the Messiah, a prophet, or even Elijah, John only described himself as being a voice, one too unworthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah to come. After John was beheaded, Jesus described John in today’s scripture. Imagine having Jesus say of you, “She was a lamp that burned and gave light.”

Elijah ~ It was a dark day in Israel’s history. King Ahab ruled along with his evil wife Jezebel, the Phoenician princess. Elijah came on the scene full of power and with a fiery passion for God. He performed miracles that left people speechless. He raised the dead, called down fire from heaven, rode on a fiery chariot, and challenged the evil priests of Baal to a showdown. We never read that he ever stopped to consider, “Is this possible?” He knew God and marched into supernatural realms where miracles are born.

Nate Saint ~ One of five missionaries speared by the Auca Indians in 1955. Each of the five men had guns to protect themselves but wouldn’t think of using them for their own safety while evangelizing. Initially, they delivered gifts to the Aucas by making drops from a plane. The Indians seemed warm and receptive. But when they went back and landed on a beach near their encampment, the Aucas came armed. They speared Nate first, then his four teammates. Many years later, the Auca who personally speared Nate Saint baptized Steve Saint, Nate’s son. When Mincaye was asked about that awful day, he told Steve Saint… “We immediately knew we did something bad because after we killed your father, the angels came and sang and stayed with him as he died. Then they took him up in a big celebration.”

Gertrude Hewitt ~ My mother. Though she died of cancer when I was only 30 years old, her life’s example influences me every day. She was quiet, loved to serve, and sang as she worked. In our small town of 1200, she took notice of who hadn’t been seen in a while. Inquiring about their welfare, she would have them sitting at our kitchen table or plan to take food to them. Our house may as well have been named, Gertrude’s Soup Kitchen. When our town’s alcoholic hadn’t been seen in weeks, she went to his house looking for him. Eventually getting inside, he was lying in bed, near death, and she sat with him til the end. If Gertrude knew you were alone, and hurting, she would be there. She had passion to show compassion.

The fire in my heart is stirred just from writing these stories, Lord. Let their passion spread to all who read this today. Amen

I will remember the works of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.  Psalm 77:11-12

An interesting thing happens when we become adults.  We are driven to give people what we needed but never got; what would have altered the course of our lives for the good had we experienced it.  We know in great detail what it was like to live void of it, whether it’s love, protection, innocence, a stable home, or the opportunity to reach our potential without obstructions. If you are in ministry as I am, we each have the privilege of teaching others about what we suffered and how we are healing.  While on the journey, we experience unexpected encounters where God meets us at Bethel ~ as He did Jacob.  We mark the spot, call it holy, and know the benefits of revisiting these hallowed places.    

God, Himself, gave His children specific instructions for how to keep faith alive.  He knows how small and feeble we can be, how fragile our faith is when we’re tempted to fear, and how frail our faith can be when set against the backdrop of a trial.  He named this prescription and repeated it many times throughout the Old Testament.  His exact words were  ~

1. Remember and Review 

God didn’t just encourage the Israelites to remember the stories of His faithfulness, He commanded it.  He didn’t require such a thing for His good, but for their good.  Faith is contagious and by keeping stories alive, He knew they’d find new strength.  They became the storytellers of the ages, the ones who built monuments and altars as markers.  Their culture centered around commemoration feasts.  All these things had this in common; they provided spiritual fuel that spanned generations.    

Remembering and reviewing is critical for me for the same reasons.  It gives me three things; strength, supernatural energy, and courage.  If my faith is weak and fear has overtaken me, I know it’s time to get out my journals.  The greater my need, the more comprehensively I review my Bethels.  After I re-visit my holy moments, I move on to review my spiritual ancestor’ stories, the ones whose lives were fueled by the Spirit.  God is the same today as He was yesterday.  Who He was to them, He is to me.  What He did for them, He often does for me.  God personalizes their stories in just the way I need to hear them.

Tomorrow, I’d love to highlight a few of my favorite biblical characters; the ones who burned brightly because the fire of the Spirit was behind them.  

If we had no scriptures, we’d not be able to trace Your fingerprints.  Take us back, stir our memories, and make it manna all over again.