Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

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!

Proverbs 20:12  Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.

Opportunities – they surround us each and every day.  How many righteous opportunities do we miss because we don’t perceive them?  How many unrighteous ones do we walk into because we don’t perceive their nature either?  Today, let’s focus on the righteous opportunities that are there around us.

When our two oldest sons were little we lived in Wheaton, IL.  Nearby was Morton Arboretum.  We loved to take John & Jamie for hikes there.  In the spring of one year something important occurred.  We were walking through the woods and I asked them what colors did they see?  They answered, “Brown, black, gray.”  I said to look closer and got the same answer of, “Brown, black, gray.”  They just saw soil, leaves covering the ground, tree trunks and tree limbs without leaves – all brown, black and gray.

Then I pointed to a tree and said to look beneath it.  When they started to answer, “Brown”, I said, to look closer – in the leaves to the left of the tree.  All of a sudden they shouted, “Oh, there’s green!”  I pointed to another area and they shouted, “There’s pink!  Blue!  White!”

They began to see the spring flowers in bloom all around us.  They just hadn’t seen the colorful flowers before because they were distracted by the dominant brown, black and gray.  Their eyes were opened, by being trained in what to look for.

We likewise have to train our spiritual eyes and ears to recognize many of the opportunities that the Lord puts in our path.  We can miss so much “color” because of the brown, black and gray of life.  But with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can see and embrace many more of the beautiful and colorful opportunities that are all around us.  Ask Him to train your eyes and ears to perceive them, and He will.

Psalm 130:6  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

About 20 years ago, in our Sunday service, a song based on this verse was being sung.  The words of the song were describing a passionate longing for the Lord that I didn’t have.  In the distress of this realization, I went forward in the midst of it being sung and spoke to our rector who was leading worship.  I told him, “I can’t sing this song because it doesn’t describe me.”  When the song ended, I was so blessed by his words of wisdom.  He commented, “When we sing songs that don’t describe us, let the song be a prayer that you are asking to become true of you.”

God used this experience to create within me the desire to become passionate for Him – with a passion that was palpable.  I began searching for verses in the Psalms that communicated passion to me – and I found many of them.  Another verse that particularly struck me was Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”  I wanted to have my soul pant for the Lord.  These verses then became the focus of my “Lord make this me” prayers.

My passion-meter or “passiometer” as I have referred to it, was not budging at all when this began.  No passion was being reflected within me as I read and prayed the passion verses that I wanted to become true of me.  Week after week; month after month; year after year, I prayed these verses throughout the Psalms.

As time went by, I was thrilled by the realization that the Lord was doing it.  He caused passion to grow within me so that I could honestly say that these verses were now describing me. I hadn’t “arrived” but my “passiometer” was now registering passion within me as a Geiger counter recognizes radiation.

God in His goodness allowed me to see that I was missing such an important attribute that He wants growing in me. He desires me to become more and more passionate for Him.  He gave me a plan and the determination to pursue it so He could bless me by answering it.  He will do the same for you.

James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

This morning I woke up with a thought running through my mind and it was also an experience while it was happening.  The thought was, ‘How wonderful it is to be loved by God!’  I was experiencing pleasure and joy while I was thinking it.  While it is a fact that God loves us all, it is a particular delight to experience His affection; to experience the wonder of relationship with Him.

Think of the joy we have with those who love us and those we love.  Our lives are richer because of them.  I remember the week one of our dearest friends from Seattle was with us.  Paulette and her husband Jon have been dear friends since we met in Chicago in 1978.  When they moved back to Seattle, the miles could never diminish the relationship.  We are so grateful for all the times we have been together over the years.  A highlight was when we went to Romania for the wedding of their daughter in 2003.

We joke that when Paulette and Donna get together it borders on illegal – they have such fun and enjoyment.  They are kindred spirits.  When they are together, they do everything together – work, play, shop, cook, dance, clean, read and laugh.  They have a riot watching a movie together!  The relationship is rich and filled with special and precious memories. What a joy it is to see the joy they share.

Part of the wonder of our relationship with Jesus is that He wants us to become His friends – to experience all the wonder of what that means.  Donna and Paulette enjoy each other.  It is a deep, vibrant living relationship.  They have been through good times and hard times together.  The friendship deepens because they pursue it.  That is what God offers us with Him.  His mercy and grace are doorways into His presence.  There are so many things that He does, while they are blessings in themselves, they are invitations to a deeper relationship with Him.  Let us pursue our friendship with Him.  He even tells us how to do that!

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

These verses make me think of a pastoral picture.  Think of a large flower garden with the morning sun upon it.  There is a breeze blowing and rain is falling upon the garden from a small cloud above it.  Sunshine, rain, a breeze and flowers blooming providing both enjoyment and a place to labor.  It is a picture of freshness, vitality, beauty and joy.  Day by day God’s provision is there.

That picture is such a thing of beauty to me, just like the marvelous realities that these verses describe!  God’s love for us is fixed and unchanging and unending.  It never ceases.  It doesn’t depend upon us thinking it’s there.  It is there for us to experience – to trust in and to enjoy.  It’s like the air we breathe, it’s there. Think of the times when we feel the wind blowing upon us.  The air, that we typically don’t see or feel manifests itself in a way so we feel it.  God does the same thing with His love for us.

Likewise His mercies – they never come to an end and are new every morning.  Think of the manna – the bread of Heaven – that came down every day for the Israelites when they were in the wilderness.  Each day they could only take what was needed for that day.  Tomorrow’s manna, came the next day, not today – except on the 6^th day when God supplied double because the 7^th day was the Sabbath.  His mercies are never ending and there for us each day.

Consider that it is impossible for God to be unfaithful.  If we think that He is or has been unfaithful, we’re simply wrong.  Think of situations when you have been faithful to someone or experienced someone being faithful to you. Faithfulness is such a blessing – something so important to be able to count on.  In our times of need, God is always there.  He’s always faithful.  The blessings He offers if we but have the eyes to see and the sense to turn to Him.

Be a blessing to God each morning by recognizing and being thankful for His love, His mercies and most of all, for Him.

Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This verse really underscores the importance of the Scriptures and the critical role they play in our lives.  Their absence is debilitating while their presence is empowering.  By absence, I mean that we have a casual approach to the Scriptures and the role they play in our lives.  By ‘presence’ I mean that we embrace the Scriptures; learn them and apply them.  They develop the framework through which we view life.  They are the basis for us defining what is good and evil.

How do we resist being overcome by evil if we don’t recognize the evil that surrounds us?  While much evil is obvious, there is much that is not.  Likewise we must learn to recognize good.  The problem is twofold: the society around us at times is clueless as to good and evil; and the Church is greatly affected by the fact that our culture has so infiltrated the church.  This results in the problem that Isaiah identified in 5:20 where he pronounces a warning:

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

We must recognize that this is going on all around us now and the Scriptures enable us to address it.  In Hebrews 5:13-14 we see the reality of this problem and the vital role God’s Word has:

¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The Lord wants our lives to glorify Him.  We are able to do that by living lives that are not overcome by evil, rather we overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

There are probably people in our lives that we wouldn’t mind seeing burning coals heaped on their head.  But the overall context of the verses we have been looking at really speaks to our attitudes and actions toward those who wouldn’t make our friends list.  Paul has been writing about being a people whose love is sincere.  This includes blessing those who persecute us; to bless and not curse; and not repaying anyone evil for evil

This is the Kingdom of God way of life – just the opposite of how our old natures want to respond.  The Message states this verse this way, “Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.”  Jesus takes it even further.  He tells us to, “…love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you.”  He asks what credit is it to us if we only love those who love us; if we only do good to those who do good to us; if we only lend to those from whom we expect repayment?  Our heavenly Father is kind to the ungrateful and wicked and He expects us to be merciful just as He is. (Luke 6:27-36)

There are two examples given in Exodus 23:4-5 that flesh out this reality in a practical, helpful way.  “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.”  Think of it this way.  If we’re driving down the road and see someone who is nasty to us with a flat tire and in need of help, we stop and help them.  Or if they are taken ill and we have the opportunity to help with meals or assist them in some way, we do it.

But let’s add a twist.  We must be careful not to assume that our kindness will produce an immediate change in them.  That is for the Lord to do.  How do we respond if the person we help then continues to be nasty – and then we encounter him needing help on the road again?  Do we drive by and say, “You deserve it! I’m not going to help you!”  Or do we stop again, because we have forgiven them and this is another opportunity from the Lord to bless them (and us)?  Maybe an angel did in the tire because he knew we were coming and wanted to see what we would do.

Romans 12:19  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Have you ever noted the perverse delight we experience when we are able to get even with someone who’s done us wrong?  And have you noticed how we can be preoccupied or even consumed by negative thoughts of someone who’s wronged us when they seem to get away with it?  I call that negative meditation.  I think it’s accurate to say that none of this is redemptive.

Getting even!  Tit-for-tat!  Giving them what they deserve!  In some cultures of the world such thoughts and values lead to the shedding of blood and the taking of lives.  Some of our Christian brothers and sisters face this each day because they have rejected the faith of their culture and became Christian.  Our problem isn’t that we want to kill someone, but it’s more in the idea of successfully “doing unto them as they did to us” – but in an appropriate way.

The fruit of such thoughts and actions are deadly and forbidden.  Today’s verse tells us don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”  This is like the Lord saying to us, “Don’t play in the minefield!”  Jesus taught us, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”  (Matthew 7:12)  This truth applies – always.  It means we act and respond to all circumstances and provocations in a way consistent with God’s word.  But in the heat of a moment or in the stinging aftermath of being hurt how do we get there?

I find that the priceless key for me is forgiveness. It is the escape hatch from this path of revenge and getting even.  Forgiveness is a decision of our will and is not dependent upon our feelings.  It’s like cracking open an egg.  Once done, it’s done!  We cannot undue it.  Then we seek the Lord’s help in dealing with our anger, bitterness, frustration, etc…  Think of Jesus forgiving from the cross.  Think of Stephen forgiving while he is being stoned to death.  Think of glorifying God when we are negatively treated.  Remember that Jesus taught us to, “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:38)

The Bible teaches that a man will reap what he sows.  That principle is true for everyone.  When someone sows unrighteousness, the Lord wants us to recognize that He is the one in charge of determining what they reap – and when.  When unrighteousness happens to us, let our prayer be for God to grant repentance and mercy to the one doing it.

Romans 12:18  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

When I read this verse I think of the many wonderful things the Bible has to say about peace, and peacemakers.  I think of Jesus – He is the Prince of Peace.  In the midst of turbulence and strife we can be filled with peace because we have learned to trust in Him.  In Isaiah 26: 3 it says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Have you noticed that we can share the peace we have with others?  It’s like the widow’s pot of oil in the Old Testament – there is a never ending supply.  We must understand the powerful impact God wants us to have in the lives of those around us, particularly when they are upset and stressed out.  Our faith and trust in the Lord make us immune to their lack of peace – their nervousness and anxiety.  The words we speak, and the manner in which the Spirit leads us to do it can have such a redemptive impact.  In Proverbs 25:11 it says, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”  In fact our destiny is to be peacemakers.  Remember in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  (Matt 5:9)

The more we walk in God’s ways – meaning bringing our lives into conformity with His word – the more we love Him.  The more we love Him, the greater the blessing we will be to all around us.  When we are faithful to Him, we won’t rise to provocation or insist on having our way.  We acknowledge when we are wrong and others are right.  We apologize and ask for forgiveness.  We are other oriented.  Instead of contributing to the anxiety and unrest, making bad situations worse, He will use us to defuse the unrest and turn the situations in a redemptive direction. He will use our righteous responses (meaning doing things His way) to positively impact the situations we find ourselves in.

The themes our lives are to involve love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace.  These qualities are so evident in the verses of Romans 12:9-21 that we have been looking at over recent weeks.  It’s like peace is the fruit or guest that comes when the other three are present.  Psalm 85:10 presents such a beautiful picture of what God does in us when we love Him: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”