Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Proverbs 9:10b  and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding

Why is this happening?  Why did that happen?  How could that happen?  I don’t understand!

How often are these expressions in our minds, on our lips and evidence of a storm raging within us?  They reflect a cry for understanding – and given our culture, we have developed an inordinate requirement to have understanding.  Something has happened or is happening that we don’t understand.  Frequently, it involves significant difficulties or tragedies that occur.

Currently we have a world filled with a growing amount of strife, wars, Ukraine/Russia and corona.  Gas prices, inflation, illegal immigration, earthquakes and tornadoes. The woke ideology, LGBT, rioting, killing and rebellion that is going on throughout the world. Christians, their churches and God’s truth being targeted for extermination.

These are on top of the day to day difficulties of losing jobs, unexpected tragedies and dealing with things that the enemy of our souls is so quick to strike us with the question, “How could a god of love allow that?”  We find ourselves buffeted by the storms raging around us and the inner difficulties that stem from our inability to understand it, let alone explain it. 

This is where knowledge of our God is so critical.  The more we know of Him, the more readily we experience the shelter and source of strength that He is to us.  The more we know of Him, the more embedded within us is the response to turn to Him like a compass pointing ‘North’.

The way we increase our knowledge of Him is by walking in His ways.  The more we do, the greater is our desire and opportunity to learn of Him.  Because of His Spirit working within us, our knowledge and understanding of Him go through a marvelous transformation as our eyes see more and more of the Glory of who He is and what we have in Him.  He gives us peace in the midst of the storms.  Jesus referred to this as having our house built upon the Rock!

Ephesians 5:10  and find out what pleases the Lord.

There are 7 words in this verse and they present a thought and a command that is important beyond measure.  I’m embarrassed by the number of times I’ve read the book of Ephesians without noticing this verse.  I think it tends to get overlooked because the verses surrounding it are so significant.

The verses immediately preceding it deal with being children of light and what that entails.  The verses following it instruct us to have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness.  These are major ideas of instruction (commands) for us.  But between them lies this life-giving gem for anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear.

Who is the focus of our lives as Christians?  Why do we do the things that we do?  What is the nature of our motivation?  What are we trying to accomplish?  Who is the love of our life?  What is important to Him?  What opportunities does He give us that are beyond counting?  This verse supplies the key.

We have the incredible opportunity to please Him by what we do – to bring pleasure to our God.  This opportunity doesn’t occur just once, or once in awhile – but innumerable times every day.  His Word and His Spirit will guide us to discover those things that please Him.  It’s not about earning salvation or earning anything.  It’s not about us – but about Him, the one we love and belong to.  It’s not about avoiding punishment or judgment but about blessing Him.  It’s living for Him.

Think of the pleasure you experience when someone does something important to bless you just because of his or her love for you and not wanting anything in return.  By finding out what pleases the Lord – and doing it – we can bring pleasure to our God each and every day of our lives.

Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

President Reagan had this wonderful plaque on his desk: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”  The receiving of credit is a very important part of our culture.  It’s like earning grades in school.  We grow up expecting our efforts to be recognized.  Early in my sales career I experienced the disappointment of not being recognized.  The top salesperson was publically recognized each month, except they forgot to do it the first month I finished on top.

One aspect of this is the negative response most of us have when credit is given to someone where it isn’t deserved, i.e., someone has been cheating and then getting recognized for excelling.  Or in the workplace, to see someone recognized when someone else was primarily responsible.  What do we do if we are the ones who receive credit for that which is done by someone else?  Do we speak up and re-direct the credit where it belongs?

More importantly, are the good things we do linked to a desire to receive recognition?  Are we at peace with knowing that the Lord knows what we do?  Jesus warns us here of the problem of doing the right things we are supposed to do, but with an eye to receiving credit for them – to be seen by men.  The issue to me isn’t the idea that we lose the reward from our Heavenly Father, but the fact that our motivation is tainted by this desire to have our efforts seen.  It is bad for us and displeasing to Him.

The Lord wants our motivations to be centered in the joy of pleasing Him.  Living our lives in accord with Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit brings the joy of knowing that every action is an expression of our love for God.  Instead of the need to ‘be seen by men’, we live our lives to bring glory and praise to our God.   Matthew 5:16 speaks powerfully to this, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  That is the motivation that we want to fill our hearts!

John 15:5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Picture a large sailboat, out at sea, with sails unfurled and moving gloriously with the wind.  (Hopefully imagining this doesn’t make you seasick!)  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be on such a ship, on such a day, with a group of dear ones?  Wow – what a great time that would be!  Donna and I have been able to do this very thing a couple of times and the memories we have are ones we treasure.

But take a moment to think about all of the needed ‘ingredients’ in this adventure.  What must we have to make it happen?  First we’ve got to have a sizable body of water for sailing on.  Then we must have a sailboat big enough to handle the group of friends that are going on the adventure – and a crew to sail it.

We would like to have a beautiful day with a strong breeze.  How about doing the sailing amidst a group of islands with beautiful scenes to behold – and a group of dolphin accompanying us?  Of course we want to have something wonderful to eat, so why don’t we make it a morning sail and we enjoy homemade coffee cake and coffee and orange juice as we sail.  Can’t you just picture enjoying one another, the breeze, the sea spray, the beauty and the wonder of it all!?

In considering the necessary ‘ingredients’, does anything seem to be missing?  Not at first glance.  But there is something absolutely essential that is taken for granted in the above items.  Without this ‘essential’ the adventure doesn’t happen – except that we sit on the sailboat, wherever it is, and enjoy the scenery, the food, the breeze and one another – but we don’t go anywhere!

What is this essential – that is taken for granted to be there?  Answer: Sails.  And what is a sail?  A piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat, ship, or
other vessel: “all the sails were unfurled”.

From God’s perspective, walking in His ways is as much as a given for Christians as sails are for a sailboat. Just as a sailboat won’t go anywhere without sails, Christians who don’t walk in His ways won’t ‘go anywhere’ either.  This is why we are more and more hearing the term Jesus Follower.  This is how we remain in Him!  This is how we bear righteous fruit!  Sailboats with sails = Christians who obey Scripture (Jesus Followers) = the adventure is on!!

John 15:5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Have you ever thought about how wonderful it is to do things right?  To be told, “Good job!”  To have people express their gratitude for what you’ve done or for whom you are?  Boy, talk about something that puts a spring in your step!

Yes, such comments can lead to pride, but they also can lead to us experiencing a heartfelt gratitude for what God has done and is doing in our lives.  Importantly, they can be such an encouragement to do more ‘right’ things; to be more of a ‘right’ person; and in the context of today’s verse, to bear more fruit.  Better still is the desire God gives us to learn what those ‘right’ things are and do them more and more.

Think of sports, hobbies, relationships, work – our goal is to do them well.  The reality is that more often than not, the wrong is eliminated simply by doing the right!  Being kind eliminates unkindness; being patient eliminates impatience; being thoughtful eliminates thoughtlessness; being generous eliminates stinginess; being loving eliminates being unloving; being other-oriented eliminates self-centeredness.

Then as we bear these wonderful fruits of righteousness, the Holy Spirit asks us, “How would you like to do them even better?”  “How would you like to bear more fruit?”  To which, we reply.  “Oh yes Lord! Show me how!”  And He does so, in a most affirming way.

There’s an old song that Bing Crosby made famous: Accentuate the Positive.  The first three lines are

You’ve got to accentuate the positive
/ Eliminate the negative / Latch on to the affirmative

This is the point!  Our attitude about repentance goes through a significant switch.  Instead of its focus being our wrong doing, the focus becomes “Eliminating the negative” so we can “Latch on to the affirmative.”  It becomes a vital tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear more of His righteous fruit.  The more fruit we bear the more joy we have and the more we glorify our God.  It’s not about us.  It’s all about Him.

Luke 24:30-32  ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

This incident of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus encountering Jesus is one of the more wonderful ones in the Bible.  They were downcast – even though they were aware that some of the women had been to the tomb and had a vision of angels telling them that Jesus was alive. They didn’t understand what had happened or why.

They had such hope in Jesus and it was snatched away from them in such an incredibly vicious way.  Then as they were walking, something unusual happened to them.  Jesus himself came along and walked with them, but they were kept from recognizing him.  The scriptures are clear that understanding of the unfolding events of Jesus’ suffering and death were hidden from the disciples whenever Jesus spoke about it prior to his death.  It was only afterward that Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures.

So Jesus joined them as they walked along, and said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Then, since it was nearly evening, they stopped for the night and strongly urged this man walking with them to stop and stay with them.  It’s apparent that they were deeply moved by what he had said to them, even though they didn’t know who he was.  Because they insisted that he stay with them, they experienced the wonder of God in having their eyes opened to see this man was Jesus – raised from the dead.

Isn’t it fascinating that God would have Jesus appear to these two men but prevent them from recognizing him?  It was important for them to listen to the message of this stranger and understand the “why” of what happened to Jesus.  The events that happened to him were foretold in Scripture and they needed to understand it – rather than simply see Jesus and get excited.  When God opened their eyes to recognize Jesus, they understood!  The life, death and resurrection of Jesus were fulfillment of God’s purpose.

Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”

Any understanding of the events of Jesus’ suffering and death was hidden from the disciples whenever Jesus spoke about it prior to his death (Luke 18:34).  It was only after his resurrection that Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  But while the events were unfolding and following his death, they didn’t understand what was happening or why or what it all was leading to.

They had such hope in Jesus – and He and that hope were snatched away from them in such an incredibly vicious way.  On top of that they all had fled just as he said they would. I cannot imagine the pain, despair and hopelessness that they experienced at His arrest, crucifixion and death.  How could they console one another? There had never been anyone like Jesus

Our view is so dominated by the knowledge and joy that Jesus rose from the dead, it’s difficult to comprehend the pain they went through.  That pain, and restless sleepless nights would have continued not only on that Friday, but on Saturday and into Sunday.

I think of the scenes of Aslan’s death from ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’.  Lucy and Susan watched as the hundreds of horrible creatures tortured and then killed Aslan.  In their heartbreak, they witnessed the jubilation of the Witch and the wicked host who believed they had won and that nothing could now stop them.  Aslan was now gone forever.  The girls’ tears and misery lasted throughout the night.  In the morning they experienced more pain as they tried to untie Aslan’s body.  They had no idea what was about to happen.

Two thousand years ago, the first disciples spent today in such pain.  Wicked men had killed Jesus of Nazareth, the man so used by God and they were helpless to stop it.  They experienced the shame of running and hiding.  They deserted Jesus – just as he said they would.  They didn’t understand what was about to happen.

Luke 22:61-62  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”  ⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

I cannot imagine the pain that Peter experienced after he denied Jesus the third time and the rooster crowed – and he saw Jesus look right at him.  Their eyes met!  Peter knew – that Jesus knew that it had happened just as Jesus had said it would. Then Peter went outside and wept bitterly.  It was bad enough that Jesus had told him a few hours earlier that it would happen; but to have Jesus witness it and to look right at him at that very moment is pain and a sense of failure beyond imagining.

Peter had some other difficult moments.  When he walked on water he sank.  When he rebuked Jesus for talking about his coming suffering and death, Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”  In the garden when Jesus was being arrested, Peter drew his sword and cut off Malchus’ ear, earning a rebuke from Jesus.

I find it so encouraging that in spite of these events, Jesus didn’t reject Peter and send him packing!  Jesus chose him because he believed in him.  When Jesus spoke to him of the denials, he also said, “And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  After Jesus’ resurrection, the angel told the women who had come to the tomb, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter.”  Then Jesus appeared separately to Peter.  Think of what each of these would have meant to Peter as he struggled with his actions of denying his beloved Lord.

Peter was a mixture, just like you and me – lots of potential and lots of things to work on.  In spite of difficulties noted above, Peter was the one who did walk on water. He was the disciple who first acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.  He spoke for all the disciples to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. He was rescued from prison by an angel.  He was also the one who received the vision from God regarding the gentiles who then received the gospel at Cornelius’ house.  Peter was one of God’s chosen servants who never gave up and God used him mightily.  What an example he is for us!

Mark 14:27-31  ²⁷“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:  ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”   ²⁹Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”   ³⁰“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”   ³¹But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Think of the impact of seeing the miracles that Jesus did and listening to all he said – getting to be with him three years and being one of the twelve.  Peter saw men and women and children beside themselves with joy after being healed or set free from demons or raised from the dead.  He even experienced walking on water with Jesus.  Then there was the triumphant entry into Jerusalem just a few days ago.

Now he’s not only hearing that Jesus will die but that they all will fall away.  So now Peter asserts his faithfulness and hears Jesus say how he will disown him three times.  Peter can’t believe that he could possibly deny his Lord.

A wonderful piece of this exchange at the Last Supper is included in Luke’s gospel (22:32) where Jesus says to Peter: “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Later in the pain of having denied Jesus, Peter could have committed suicide like Judas did or totally abandoned the other disciples due to his shame.  But in his pain, these prophetic words would have come back to him and been a source of hope, “And when you have turned back…”

Just like He did with Peter, God puts us all into circumstances where things in our hearts will be revealed to us.  They might be things we aren’t aware of, or maybe we just have no idea how significant a problem something within us is.  Such experiences can be painful, as this was to Peter.  But we, like Peter, can and must respond to His Spirit and the hope we have in Him.  We must choose not to give up, but to respond to His grace and change.  He doesn’t show us these things to reject us, but to give us the opportunity to repent and become free.

Nahum 1:7  The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him,

Have you thought about the question, “How do I demonstrate to the Lord that I trust Him?”  Particularly as we contend with the radical changes in our culture due to responses to the coronavirus and the rejection of Judeo-Christian values going on around us. Trusting God is supposed to be a way of life for Christians, but how do we know that we’re actually doing it?  Is trusting God one of those things where we can just take it for granted that we’re doing it – only to discover that we’re not?  Is this something we have to be intentional about?

We heard a powerful message that was one in a series on what the good news of the gospel really is.  The focus was upon having a life that tastes the goodness and power of God and that demonstrates dependence upon the Lord.  The primary way this is done is through prayer.  And prayer is something that defines who we are – much more that it being a weapon to be pulled out in times of need.

Prayer expresses our dependence, our helplessness and trust in our Lord.  It is a continuation of our acknowledgement of our need for God that we experienced when we were born again.  It is a daily acknowledgement and recognition that we need Him in all the areas of our lives – not just those where we feel needy.

The primary purpose of prayer is not to ‘get’.  It is the life-blood of our relationship with Him.  He wants us to have times set aside for Him AND times throughout the day where we talk with Him in the midst of all we are doing.

While He encourages us to make our needs known to Him, He wants us to develop an ever-richer relationship with Him.  The amazing thing is the reality of how many of our ‘needs’ disappear because they are dealt with by our thriving relationship with Him.  And for those needs that don’t, He is our refuge.  He enables us to walk wisely and in obedience through those needs.