Category: Daily Devotionals

IT’S STILL IN THERE!

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.”  Genesis 19:1-2

            If Lot were your nephew, or son, or husband, would you have long given up on him?  He had made a series of foolish decisions while in relationship with you.  The last one took him to Sodom to flirt with a culture that was hostile to your God.  As a family member, wouldn’t you be grieving for his spiritual condition?  Yet, two men arrive, danger is imminent, and Lot’s courage and faith spring into action.

            He is not dead to faith.  His sojourn into spiritually dangerous territory has not killed every righteous seed God had planted in his heart.

            The calendar months move slowly when I’m waiting for the spiritual return of one I love.  I envision the bleeding effects of their environment on their love for Christ.  How could fidelity not waste away by the day?  How will any vestige of faith be preserved for the day God comes calling?

            Seeds of faith are preserved when loved ones pray for the one who strays.  All is not dead in his heart.  Though the culture of lawlessness has surely influenced him and, by all appearances, he seems to have completely caved to its pressures, we underestimate the strength of a God who stirs the embers of faith in places no one sees.  He even does spiritual surgery in the subconscious while someone sleeps to keep words and memories alive.

            Over whom are you crying today?  Over whom are you tempted to stop praying?  Don’t do it!  Weep, certainly, but not without hope.  If any of us sow our prayers in heartfelt tears, we will reap a harvest with joy.  God would tell many, and perhaps you are one of the many, that the faith you long to see evidence of ~ is still in there.

Even in Sodom, you can keep the embers of faith alive.  I remember that and fight on my knees for their return.  Amen

“WELL, WELL!”

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.  Genesis 19:1

         When the angels arrived at the city gate, whom should they meet but Lot.  How shocking!  He had gone from a foreigner to the mayor of the city.  (The one who sits at the gate to welcome strangers is the magistrate of the city.)

         Abraham and Lot had traveled together for much of their earlier years until they reached the land of Canaan.  There was a quarrel between Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen over pasture rights.  Abraham had deferred his right of first choice to Lot and allowed him to choose which land he wanted first.  Lot’s choice, and his commentary, reflected his values.  He looked out over the plain of the Jordan and said that it was like the ‘garden of the LORD’ and ‘the land of Egypt.’ The ‘garden of the Lord’ meant divine fellowship, the likes of what Adam and Eve had enjoyed in the Garden.  What did the ‘land of Egypt’ mean?  Lot knew it well.  He had just left there and knew it to be a place of prosperity and easy living.  He chose the plains of the Jordan (Sodom), and assumed he could have both materialism and poignant fellowship with God.

         How did it work out?  I’m about to see in the unfolding story.  So far, it appears to have worked out well.  He is mayor, after all.  My question is, ‘How does a man of God, one not willing to compromise his convictions, end up being elected major in a city where rampant homosexuality and crime hold the land captive?’

         Lot’s choice of Sodom will come back to haunt him.  He will barely escape with his life in the days to come and he will lose his wife in the process.  He disregarded the principle that runs all the way through Scripture; choose God first and everything else will fall in line.  Lot did exactly the opposite, placing materialism first.  He was intent on finding a place to grow his material advantages while, simultaneously, enjoying the presence of God.  Caring as much, or more, about the first was his downfall.

         I wonder how it affected his heart over time?  How did the values of the city affect his children?  How much did he bring the kingdom of God to the values of the city?  Was he the salt that savored his hometown?

         For every choice in front of me today, I ask my Father for the discernment to choose righteousness first.  The stakes are so high.

The things of the world still glitter and have instant appeal.  Help me. Amen

START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.  Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?  Romans 11:2

         If there are two believers on my street but a hundred who hate Christ, I can paint with a broad brush and say, “No one believes!”  But what about the two?  If I pastor a church of a thousand and only twenty are serious disciples, do I lament “My church is dead!”  What about the twenty?

         This is Paul’s argument.  The number of Jews that embraced Christ were so few compared to the nation of Israel that it was easy to paint with a broad brush and say, “The nation is lost.”  But what about the remnant?  Paul uses Elijah as an example to reassure us that God IS a promise-keeping God.  He made a covenant to Israel and drew them close.  Though the majority rejected His love and spurned His covenant, there was still a remnant who believed.  God always has a remnant.  In Elijah’s day, there were 7,000.

         I have to be willing to work with what I have.  If I am the parent of five children and only one walks with God, I certainly pray for the four but I rejoice in the one!  Continue reading “Start With What You Have” →

TRUSTING RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.  John 9:34

    The Pharisees are reaching hard for evidence to discount the blind man’s miracle.  They name-drop the name of Moses, using him as a means to dismiss the miracle standing in front of them.  Even though, weeks earlier, Jesus had reminded the Pharisees that Moses had written about Him.  He had said that if they really knew Moses, they would recognize Him.  Their memories are short.  Their deception is working manifesting itself with desperate claims.  Their need to discredit Jesus takes precedence over any shred of truth.  Continue reading “TRUSTING RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS” →

GUILT THAT LEADS TO FREEDOM

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.  Roman 7:7

The law is really my friend.  It’s true.  Without an awareness of God’s moral plumb line, I wouldn’t know what sin is.  Without sin, there wouldn’t be guilt.  Without guilt, there wouldn’t be a need.  Without need, I wouldn’t seek a Savior.

Sometimes putting it another way drives the point home.  With an awareness of God’s righteous judgments, I understand that I have sinned.  Because I have sinned, I feel guilty.  Because I feel guilty, I have a need to be reconciled to God.  Because I seek peace between us, I pursue a Savior who can not only forgive my sins, but wash them away and give me His righteousness.

Guilt is a good thing if this is the result.  Guilt can turn into a bad thing if I believe Satan that my sins are too severe for God’s forgiveness.  Continue reading “Guilt That Leads To Freedom” →

A JOB GONE WRONG

And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.  John 5:16

         The men who made up the Jewish Sanhedrin (the religious ruling council of the Jews) took one of their jobs seriously.  They were to investigate any new teacher who came along lest that man was really a false prophet and would lead other Jews astray.  They investigated John the Baptist and now Jesus was under their scrutiny because He was healing some people on the Sabbath.  Their job, important in theory, had turned into a prison of regulations.  What was meant to protect the faith morphed into the makings of a holy war against the One they were ultimately trying to serve.  Jesus was God, the One for whom they were so zealous.

         A holy calling can easily go awry and work against the kingdom instead of for it.  The God we desire to honor and glorify is the One who is dishonored.  The tragedy in the story about the Jew’s persecution of Jesus is that they served God but didn’t recognize Jesus.  These were the ones who devoted their lives to religious duty, who should have seen the first hints of deity, and then bowed down to worship.  Can the religious people today miss the activity of Jesus among them?  I fear so.  Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “If Jesus were to walk into any of our churches, how many would recognize Him?”

         How does a calling get perverted?  When I attempt to live it out without daily revelation.  Like Solomon, I must declare that I am but a little child without the wisdom necessary to carry out my monumental God-given assignment.  I know that without prayer, study, and meditation, I won’t have the tools necessary to do it well.  If I become self-impressed by my education and experience, believing myself to be brilliant enough to figure things out without daily prayer, I will turn into the likes of the Sanhedrin.  The One I believe I’m serving will be the One I’m really wounding.

         Adam and Eve sinned in the garden when they abandoned revelation in favor of knowledge.  By eating of the tree, they decided to study the course of ‘the knowledge of good and evil’ and rule the garden through their intellect.  Religion has been twisted ever since.

The places I believe I am the most wise may be the very places I am in most need of Your wisdom.  I can never do it without You.   Amen

HOW GOD SHAPES A LEADER

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation?  Genesis 18:16-18

         Abraham had never seen God’s widespread judgment on a group of people.  What is about to unfold in Sodom will be new to his eyes and heart.  To be the father of a great and mighty nation, it is imperative that Abraham is able to represent a God with whom he is completely familiar.

         Personally, he has experienced a tender and gracious God.  But the judgment that is about to come will show that God is angry over sin and rebellion and Abraham has a vested interest in what happens in Sodom.  Lot, his nephew, lives there with his family.  To be a just leader of his people, Abraham will need to represent the full counsel of God.

         I’ve often believed that in order to prepare me for service, God will only equip me in the area where I’m gifted.  If I have a mercy gift, I will only be well rounded in the area of mercy.  I was wrong.  God led me on a path to discover mercy, yes, but also its counterpart.  Justice. If I knew just one side of God, I would misrepresent mercy to others.  I would be soft on sin and make God look like someone who is indifferent to evil.

         God has taken me on many journeys that confused me at the time.  I wondered, “What does this have to do with my life and calling?”  Time has shown that it was a necessary piece of experience to prepare me for my future.

         Are you visiting a place that appears to be a wasteland?  Do you often pray, “What in the world are you trying to teach me?”  God does all things well and what appears to be insignificant now will later become invaluable.  You can trust the Shepherd.

The only way to know You well, Lord, is to walk with You into unexpected places.  Don’t let me waste what I fear is a detour.  Amen

FEARING TRANSPARENCY

The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?   But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”  Genesis 18:13,15

            God did not punish Sarah for laughing, an act of unbelief, but He did require her to tell the truth.  Her sarcasm would be short-lived.  In nine months, she would laugh again but this time out of joy rather than disbelief.  God turns an emotion on its end after moving through the miraculous.

            It’s difficult to come clean before God.  If I laugh at His promise, I know it’s really saying, “I don’t believe you.”  This kind of response is disrespectful and I certainly don’t like it when someone does that to me even though I may have earned it.  I’ve broken promises but God hasn’t.  He has done nothing to earn a reputation that would warrant slander.  So I am often like Sarah.  I deny what I feel.  I want God to think better of me.  And, I want to think better of myself.  Who wants to dwell on personal flaws!

            My depravity is pretty depressing.  Owning the depth of my sinfulness is not for the fainthearted.  It takes guts.  To admit, “God, I’m angry with you.  I feel like you could care less that I’m going through this!” makes me fear that I will cause such a serious breech in our relationship that He will pull back indefinitely.  What if He withdraws His love because of my accusations?  After all, people do it!  My scared heart is rooted in my long-time experience with others.

            The cure for lack of faith is focusing on God and allowing His Spirit to reassure me through the meditation of His promises.  The cure for a preoccupation with my own sinfulness is also focusing on God and owning the truth that God loves me, not because I am in any way deserving, but because that is the nature and character of His heart.  He is Love.

            John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, was feeble minded in his old age.  But when asked about his life by an admirer, he gave this reply.  “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”  I must live in the joy of undeserved favor while still aware of the sinfulness of my own heart.  One does not diminish the other.  It frees me to be authentic, knowing that whatever I’ve done or said, Christ’s grace is of limitless supply.

You love me.  I can be completely transparent with You and never fear abandonment.  Amen

LOGIC ~ UNBELIEF’S FRIEND

The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”  Genesis 18:10-12

            Sarah’s cycle of womanhood was long over.  Logic.  Science.  These proved that it was humanly impossible to bear a child in old age.  Sarah laughed at the thought of something so out of reach.  She knew the physical impossibility.

            Miracles aren’t miracles without the ‘impossibility’ factor.  Is this not why faith is so difficult?  We are surrounded by circumstantial physical evidence that disproves feasibility.  If I have a history of not having seen God’s power move on my behalf, then I will always lean toward logic and move away from what seems ludicrous to hope for.

            What might I ask God for today if all reserve was moved out of the way?  Where does it seem risky to trust God?  Where would others laugh in my face and state the evidence against faith-filled prayer?  That points precisely, perhaps, to what God would, and can, do.

            “But you can’t ask God for that!” Satan whispers.  His taunts, like arrows, come at me in thoughts but also through the mouths of friends and family.  He is not above using faithless believers to parrot faithless words.  So few walk by faith and I should remember that the next time a brother or sister in Christ comes with their ‘prudent’ warnings.

            God has placed me in hundreds of impossible situations throughout my life.  There were times I had to pray for a miracle or there would be some horrible consequence.  So for survival’s sake, I hung onto faith, stood in the Word, and prayed for a miracle.  I have seen so many that faith is becoming my default response rather than unbelief that points to hard physical data.

            God defies the odds.  He cares nothing about physics, past evidence, and present obstacles.  He who spoke to the earth, a planet that was once dark and lifeless, to transform it into a stunning environment full of limitless possibilities, is the same God who can do anything miraculous in my world.

Lord, show me where I can exercise faith today.  For what can I trust You that would defy all odds?  I’ll go there.  Amen

RECOGNIZING GOD

And the Lord appeared to him [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.  Genesis 18:1-3

            The point.  God appeared in a human body.  Abraham recognized Him instantly.  His heart overflowed as evidenced by the hospitality he showed to his LORD.

            Recognizing God is the challenge.  You find it to be so?  This is a particularly powerful message for me this morning.  I’m 1000 miles from home.  A conference starts tonight.  Yesterday was, humanly speaking, extremely difficult.  Everything related to travel was challenging.  Delays.  Lost luggage.  Violent weather.  The threat of a long conference weekend without clothes, supplies, medications, etc.

            The life of God’s son and daughter is not meant to be lived alone.  Each step, even when challenging, is an opportunity for prayerful conversation.  When it appears there will be no answers, a child who knows his Father’s power and loving intentions, anticipates answers joyfully.

            Yesterday ended with long lines at baggage service.  One hundred people were like us.  No luggage.  The venom being spewed out behind us by a group of people polluted the environment spiritually.  We could feel the spiritual effects of it.  Elizabeth (my helper and traveling companion) and I were praying, humming songs of worship independently, to keep our eyes focused on a kind Father who delights in caring for His children.

            This morning, we can make two lists.  The obstacles of yesterday were many and would fill the left side of a sheet of paper.  The provisions (and yes, luggage by 3:00 a.m.) would fill the right side.  Looking for, and then recognizing God’s presence, was the challenge before us.  God is everywhere but He walks by the masses unnoticed.

            The same three heavenly beings, two angels and God Himself, left Abraham and went to Sodom.  There, the reception was completely different.  A mob showed a desire to use the three for sexually deviant behavior.  How man defiles what is holy.

            Things going wrong today?  Will we only see the bad?  God is among us if we are His children.  Asking Him to enable us to recognize Him will give gifts that far outweigh the hardships.

Trouble is always my companion.  So are You, though.  And that makes me see way beyond the half-empty cup.  My cup runneth over because You are with me.  Amen