Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Hebrew 1:3  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

How do we ever begin to express our gratitude for what Jesus did for us?  Thank God that we have wonderful music with words that speak what is overflowing in our hearts.  This morning I have been so blessed worshipping with this incredible song.  The words describe so wondrously what Jesus did for us.

Upon looking up the words online, I discovered that this song was a Welsh hymn.  Upon reading the words it is easy to understand why it became known as “the love song of the 1904 Welsh Revival”.

Between 100,000 – 150,000 people in Wales came to the Lord in this great revival.  The coal mining industry was radically affected as miners came to Christ.  The miner’s horses even became confused when the transformed miners quit swearing and cursing at them.

Read these words and then go to the website listed below and listen to this hymn beautifully performed by Huw Priday at the CIA Cardiff during the centenary celebrations in November 2004.   As the words so eloquently say, it is through Jesus that a guilty world
was kissed with love.

“Here is Love vast as the Ocean”

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Loving kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

Here is the video of this hymn beautifully performed by Huw Priday at the CIA Cardiff during the centenary celebrations in November 2004. He sings in both Welsh and English.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

When we moved to Franklin, TN it was a reintroduction for me to high humidity and the effect it has in combination with high heat.  I’ve lived with it for most of my life but for the previous five summers we lived in Colorado Springs where there was heat but little humidity.  In Franklin the effects of high humidity were most noted when I mowed our lawn with a push mower on hot, steamy days.  Our lawn had a slope to it so I would also get to push the mower up hill.  Needless to say, I would be drenched when done.

After my mowing adventure it was so marvelous and refreshing to step into a cool shower and experience the cleansing and refreshing it would bring.  An important part of the experience was putting on clean clothes afterward.  It would be inconceivable to put the wet mowing clothes back on – they went into the laundry.

We can all relate to the above experiences; both the effects of working in the heat and humidity, and of the cool shower and clean clothes afterward.   They present a practical
picture of sin, repentance and forgiveness.  Best of all is the absolutely unfailing promise of our Lord to always – yes always – fulfill this promise in our lives.

Being human, we sin.  The Holy Spirit convicts us.  And as a pastor friend of ours likes to say, “The Holy Spirit is not incompetent at convicting of sins.”  We confess our sins
and he forgives us.  This is where the illustration of work, heat, humidity, a shower and clean clothes come in so importantly.  (I find it so helpful to have practical, daily events remind me of His love and care for me.)  Spiritually He cleanses us from the sins like a cool shower would do for us.  There is a cleansing and refreshing that occurs.  The
repentance in our lives is discarding the ‘mowing clothes’ and putting on clean
garments.  We change our behavior.

His forgiveness never grows old.  It’s like His compassion and His faithfulness; they never fail and are new every morning because of His great love for us.  He delights in forgiving
us.  He knows these are things we will need every day of our lives.  Blessed are His sons and daughters who recognize this and pursue Him.  As Lamentations 3:25 says, “The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;”

1 John 2:16  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Years ago when our first two sons were little I took a job at a large bakery in Michigan.  The ministry we were involved in was struggling and I needed to have a paying job.  I discovered on my first night at work why there was a high turnover rate for this position.  In fact it was not unusual for men to quit during their very first night.  There were several of us racking bread.  We each stood at the end of a line of rollers where the loaves of bread came.  After going through a slicer and bagger machine, they came to each of us like a never ending line rolling along.  I think they came at a rate of about 50 a minute.

For eight hours we would stand in one spot and slide the bags of bread on to trays that could hold 10 loaves apiece.  Then we would slide the trays filled with bread into big racks on wheels.  If any of us fell behind there was emergency shut off button we could push to stop the bread coming down our line but that meant we got yelled at.  But at least that was better than the loaves going off the end of the rollers onto the floor at our feet.

One night while working I got to thinking about our sons (who were 1 & 2).  I thought of them in elementary school and the teacher asking students what their daddies did for
work.  The students one by one answered, “My daddy is a teacher.  Banker.  Doctor.
Lawyer.  Engineer….”  Then it was my son’s turn and he said, “My daddy racks bread at Schafer’s Bakery.”  I was mortified.  Here I had a college degree and was racking bread!

Immediately, the Lord took me to task for my prideful attitude.  My mind was filled with
questions that did not originate with me and each I knew I had to answer.  Is the work you are doing necessary? – “Yes”.  Is it dishonest or sinful? – “No”.  Is it enabling you to pay your bills and provide for your family? – “Yes”.  Is it honorable labor? – “Yes”.  Are you
grateful for this job? – “Yes”.

Instead of focusing on prideful comparison of jobs, the Lord wanted me to recognize the honor in work – and the importance of providing for myself and for my family.  It is a real
snare to look down on jobs as being “beneath” us because the attitude will easily translate over onto those who are doing the jobs.  What a blessing it is to be able to work.

Philippians 1:27a  Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Have you ever thought about the fact that so much of our lives we are representing someone or something?  At work we represent our employer.  If we give good service or do quality work it reflects positively upon our employer.  The Zenith company had the slogan, “The quality goes in before the name goes on.”

If we need repair work done on our car we typically ask around to find a shop that does quality work at a fair price.  Positive and negative reputations spread.  Some time ago when I got a new modem/router, my research uncovered comments about how difficult it was to deal with some companies’ technical help people who were described as impatient and rude.

When in Tennessee we were at Publix grocery store and the young man who bagged our groceries proceeded to take them to our car without asking if we needed him to.  He was cheerful, and being the parents of four sons, we were blessed by his attitude.  When we got in the car, I mentioned it to Donna and she said Publix was known for that!

What do the waiters and waitresses think on Sunday when they are serving Christians after church?  If they had to rank the desirability of the various groups they wait on, would Christians be at the top?  If not, why not?  In Colorado Springs we were part of a Friday night service involving an 800+ diverse group of college students & 20-somethings.  This very topic was addressed several years ago because word had gotten back regarding the less than attractive behavior of the attendees when they descended on local establishments after the service.  Unfortunately, they were fitting in with a general negative perception of Christians that these workers held.  The good news is that repentance can result in changed perceptions in those we interact with.

Think of our relationships with family, friends and neighbors.  We have so many opportunities to demonstrate the quality of life that comes from loving Jesus.  Even if people don’t associate kind and thoughtful behavior with the gospel, that is what they should experience when they interact with us.  It is our privilege and responsibility to
live lives worthy of our faith.

John 9:25b “ …One thing I do know.  I was blind but now I see!”

I think we all are thrilled when our grasp of the obvious is working.  For some of us, it’s like a visitor who only shows up once in a while or someone who leaves at a most inopportune time.  Not too long ago my grasp of the obvious was long gone and I had one of the most embarrassing moments in my life.  Fortunately, this event took place between me and the Lord.  But now I get the blessing of sharing it with you all. (How do you
do a happy face? (:>)

I briefly worked with an organization as a traveling representative and was gone every other week.  Nice hotels were provided as we traveled from city to city.  On a Monday I arrived at my hotel somewhere in the south and when I entered my room I discovered the ugliest bathroom I ever saw.  It was big, barren with railings everywhere.  I couldn’t
believe they would have something like this and nearly went down to the front desk to insist on a room change.  (I can’t tell you how embarrassing this is!)

Fortunately I just accepted it.  Two days later as I was driving across the middle of nowhere, my grasp of the obvious suddenly returned.  In a nano-second it struck me.  As you have already likely figured out, the bathroom was designed for handicapped individuals!  If I had been in a wheel chair or on crutches or simply needing assistance, this bathroom would have been exactly what I needed.  What I considered ‘ugly’ would have been beautiful to the one needing it. (As I drove I thought of the Spaniard in Princess Bride and “humiliations galore!”)

The Lord really used this experience in a powerful and serious way with me.  At the time we were going through some very difficult things and there were ways of addressing the difficulties that I thought were ‘ugly’ and had dismissed them.  It was after this experience
that I recognized that what I considered ugly – wasn’t ugly at all.  They were appropriate and a blessing to assist us in our adventure.  We needed them as much as we would need railings in a bathroom if we were in a wheel chair or on crutches.

Needless to say this has been a humbling experience.  It has made me much more careful about drawing conclusions about what I think I see and what I think I perceive.  It is too easy to miss the obvious sometimes.  I thank God that while driving across the middle of nowhere, the Holy Spirit made this blind man to see!

John 9:1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

These verses begin the wonderful story of Jesus healing the man born blind.  It is so fascinating because of all it reveals about the Pharisees and the difficulty they had grasping the obvious.  They were confounded by the miracle, particularly because it was done on
the Sabbath.  But more than that is the reality that Jesus describes in these verses above.

Do we understand that this man was born blind because that was God’s plan?  That God was going to use his blindness so that His work might be displayed in his life?  Think about the difficulties that he and his parents had to deal with all through his life.  They weren’t victims, they were experiencing God’s plan for them.

The Bible is filled with difficult situations and painful experiences that God brought into people’s lives in order for His plan for them to unfold.  Does our understanding of God and His ways recognize that He does all manner of such things today?  Specifically, that God
will do such things in our lives?  Sudden loss of a job, illness, accidents, birth defects, financial ruin, unexpected deaths of loved ones, good situations made difficult – the list is long.

We have a tendency to respond negatively to difficult things that occur in our lives – more likely to view them as a curse rather than as a blessing.  So how are we going to respond?  Will we recognize and embrace the fact that they present opportunities for us to
experience God’s work in our lives?  Regardless how we view them, we still have to deal with these difficult circumstances in our lives.  But when we see God in the midst of them, there with us and for us, it changes us.  Not only is there is no problem too big or
situation too difficult for us to walk through but He will transform the way we walk through them.

Faith in the Lord produces the heavenly wisdom spoken of by James in 3:17, ^“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  Think of having the inner well-being described by this verse within us as we navigate the difficult adventures that
God brings or allows in our lives!

Isaiah 6:9-10  He said, “Go and tell this people: ” ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’  ¹⁰ Make the heart of this people
calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,   and turn and be healed.”

Suppose we are walking down the street and we see a man walking along throwing $100 bills in the air.  What would our response be?  Would we ignore him because we doubted that the bills are real?  How about getting angry with him because he’s littering?  Would we stand back and criticize the people scrambling to pick up the bills as they were scattered on the street?

Now, let’s tweak the situation a bit.  Suppose that we happened to be in the bank in line behind this person when he received 1,000 $100 bills.  We stood there and watched the money being given to him.  We then followed the person out of the bank and saw him begin to walk along throwing these $100 bills, which we knew were real, into the air.  What would our response be now?  Would we be scrambling after the money with everyone else?  Or would we be upset with him for littering?    Sounds absurd, doesn’t it – except it’s not!

Today’s verses are some of the most frightening verses in the Bible for they describe a condition that can happen to us and we won’t likely know it.  The condition they describe would cause us to be angry with the man for littering in the above illustration.  The fact that the $100 bills were real would be irrelevant.  We would be consumed with our perceived impropriety of it all.

Think of Jesus and the miracles that He did – particularly those done on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees and religious leaders had a fit and wanted to kill Him for it.  The fact that the stunning miracles were real was irrelevant to them.  They were blind to the reality of what was going on in front of them!  John’s gospel describes their condition (12:37-41):

 ³⁷Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: 
   “Lord, who has believed our message 
      and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

 ³⁹For this reason they could not believe, because, as
Isaiah says elsewhere:  ⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes 
      and deadened their hearts, 
   so they can neither see with their eyes, 
      nor understand with their hearts, 
      nor turn—and I would heal them.” 

⁴¹Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

To be continued…

Isaiah 9:6-7

For many years I tended to stay away from the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament.  My studies would take me to the Prophets, but I wouldn’t sit down and just read them
through.  I was more interested in the history, the Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament.  That is where I devoted myself.

Meanwhile my wife Donna, just loved the book of Isaiah.  I would hear her talking about
it and she made it sound like such a special place, filled with treasure.  Fortunately her comments eventually made me curious to find out for myself what was so wonderful about this book of the Bible.  So I deliberately did what I had been avoiding – I read through Isaiah.  And then I read through it again – more slowly.  I am so grateful that I did.  Needless to say, I discovered that Donna was right (as she usually is) – the treasure in Isaiah is extraordinary.

Today’s verses are so amazing, for in them Isaiah describes Jesus!  (For those of you who might question the prophesies, remember these were written hundreds of years before His birth to Mary and Joseph)  Two chapters earlier (Isaiah 7:14), he writes of the sign that God will  provide:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a
sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call
him Immanuel.”

The name Immanuel means ‘God with us’.  Now here in these verses printed below he tells us more of this wondrous child that is to come.

⁶For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 
       and the government will be on his shoulders. 
       And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  

⁷Of the increase of his government and peace 
       there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne 
       and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it 
       with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. 
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

This is our Jesus – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

1 Peter 5:8  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour.

When we last flew from Denver to Colorado Springs (COS) there was a most interesting experience.  It occurred as we were approaching the runway in our landing in COS.  The flight from Denver was smooth – no turbulence at all.  Typically, this has been a bumpy flight so I thought the smoothness was due to it being early morning when there is little wind and the air is still.

But in our approach I was looking out my window and saw something that indicated that it was really windy in COS.  Just before reaching the runway, our jet passed a reservoir that was covered with white caps.  There were also waves washing up on the shore.

Because the flight and approach were smooth even as the plane changed directions, I assumed there was little wind.  Seeing the whitecaps and waves, surprised me because I recognized they were caused by a strong wind.  Someone else might have looked at the reservoir and never associated what they were seeing with wind.

Because the flight was smooth, I incorrectly assumed no wind.  This realization struck me as an important reminder.  Things aren’t always what they seem!  We at times make casual assumptions on limited information.  This can be true of us in how we view relationships, movies, programs, movements, organizations, TV shows, etc…  It can also be true of our actions and attitudes.  If we’re not observant, we can miss situations that contradict  assumptions we’ve made.  Something that would be a warning signal – a red flag – is missed and we suffer for it simply because we don’t recognize it.

Think of watching a movie that was said to be good and things start becoming explicit.  Do we recognize the signs and stop the movie or change channels?   If we are with a group of people and friendly conversation starts becoming gossip.  Do we recognize it and direct the conversation in a redemptive way?

We might be shading the truth in what we say and the Holy Spirit convicts us to stop.  Do we respond to His convicting presence and speak with integrity?  How do we recognize if the company we’re with is bad – particularly since bad company corrupts good character?  Let us ask the Lord if there are warning signs in our lives that we have missed and enable
us to recognize them whenever they occur.

Isaiah 5:20  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.

I read this verse and sensed that my devotional this morning was supposed to be based on it.  Then an entirely different perspective of this verse came to mind and resonated with me.  Instead of viewing this verse from the perspective of it being a warning, our focus today is upon the reality of what the Lord enables us as Christians, and the Church, to be.

Because of Jesus, we are able to live lives that identify good as good and evil as evil.  Because of His love for us, we can put light for light and darkness for darkness.  Because of the Holy Spirit we are able to put sweet for sweet and bitter for bitter.  We, and the lives we lead, are God’s answer for those amongst us who are searching for Him and His ways – and who often don’t even know they are searching.

A few verses before this in verse 5:16 it says, “But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy by his righteousness.”  Our calling
as Christians means we are to be light and salt.  We are to show forth His love and live lives of righteousness that glorify our God.  Amidst all the darkness and deception that our cultures and the world have, God has placed us!

This opportunity we have is expressed wonderfully by Paul: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)  Think of it!  In a world of darkness and despair He has chosen to spread His fragrance through us.  Some will recoil because they are not interested in Him.  But others will be attracted because they are
responding to the work of His Spirit, drawing them to redemption.  We get to share His fragrance with all who surround us, knowing and trusting that there are those who will respond to Him.