Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

1 Corinthians 3:6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

Yesterday I asked you to picture yourself on a jet that has just taken off for a long flight.  The person next to you is not a Christian and is searching the various religions to find the right one.  He has been reading the Bible as part of his search and is filled with questions and begins to ask you them.

This specific scenario happened to me and a young friend named Andy several summers ago.  We were in Europe and were on the first leg of our trip home.  The young man next to me was raised a Muslim but had concluded that it was not the answer.  In his search, he had narrowed it down to Judaism and Christianity.  He had been particularly struck by the concept of ‘loving one another’.

This Q&A and discussion of our faith went on for the entire flight.  The more we talked the more apparent it became just how thorough his search had been.  He was aware of the price he would pay with his family but determined to find the truth.  He had been waiting for over a year to make this trip to come to school in America.  The Lord timed the flight so that we would have the blessing of being with him on this leg of his trip.  How I thought of this verse as we experienced the joy of responding to his questions and sharing our faith with him.

Shortly before the end of the flight, Andy told me that the young man had said to him, “It was no accident that I sat down with you two!”  What a marvelous opportunity this was to be a part of God’s plan to bring someone to Himself.  We had been given the opportunity to water the seeds others had planted.  In the subsequent months, I wondered if this young man had completed his search.  You can imagine my joy and gratitude to the Lord when I received the following email at Christmas of that year:

“Merry Christmas Don,

I guess you don’t remember me. Well, we met in plane when we were travelling from Ukraine to Amsterdam this July.

Let me share something with you what god has done to me, it may surprise you. If you remember me then you will remember that I was on a spiritual journey. And I was not able to find god’s way or light. I was living in darkness. And when we met, I was on the point where I knew that God’s way was in Judaism or Christianity. Well, on the night of 14th Oct, when I was talking to a pastor I found a light. I was literally crying afterwards. I found Jesus. I tell you after that night, I have lived every moment as a complete life. I am thankful to him that he could come to a sinner like me.   

Well, I just wanted to share my experience with you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.”

2 Corinthians 3:2  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

Picture yourself on a jet that has just taken off for a long flight.  You begin a conversation with the person next to you and discover that he is searching the various religions to find the right one.  His background is not Christianity but he has been reading the Bible as part of his search.  He is filled with questions and begins to ask you them.

Why are you a Christian?  If you had to identify one or two aspects of your life as a Christian that were the most important to you, what would they be?  How does your daily life reflect your Christian faith?

What would your answers be to him?  Would you be experiencing excitement at the opportunity to share your faith?  Or would your experience be tempered by awareness that other ‘stuff’ has diminished the vibrancy your relationship with Christ in your life?  If your daily life of thoughts and actions were written out, what would they reveal to him about you and your faith?  What would they reveal to those around you?

Today’s scripture presents the reality that our lives are being read by those around us. Their lives are being read by us.  That is simply the reality of life.  It is not an issue of being judgmental, it’s a matter of people being cognizant of the encounters they have.

Is faith reflected in the story, or letter, of our lives?  Do our lives consistently reflect more of our Lord than the worldliness of our culture?   The Holy Spirit is leading each of us to make Jesus the true love of our life.  Hopefully, each chapter of our lives will reflect us coming closer to achieving this goal.

Genesis 1:1   ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

If a person is an atheist, they definitely have a problem with the concept of God creating the world.  Likewise those who might believe in some kind of divine ‘entity’ but hold the view that that ‘entity’ is and has always been uninvolved in this world.  Maybe once upon a time it (the entity) initiated a spark that set a process in motion but that was it.

The Theory of Evolution is about the only thing you are left with if your foundational assumption (belief) is that God (any divine entity) CANNOT be a part of the process.  (That becomes the starting point.)  Over the past few decades evolution proponents have accomplished moving it from theory to accepted fact – at least in their minds and in academia.  This is their faith venture.

Consider some Evolution terms:  (But note how positive they all are)

Evolve = change, grow, progress, advance, go forward, develop

Evolution = development, growth, progression, advancement

Mutation = change, alteration, transformation, modification

Enter my college Genetics class that I took my senior year – big class with over 500 students in it.  [FYI – The professor happened to be an atheist. I learned that, months later through discussions with him.] I had been a Christian a little over a year and hadn’t given a lot of thought to the evolution / creation issue.  But from earlier college courses, I knew that mutations were the foundation of the Theory of Evolution.  It couldn’t exist without them.

In Genetics class we dealt with the subject of mutations and that provided a stunning eye-opener.  Most mutations are harmful or negative – or at best neutral.  Let’s say that again but in a different way – Most mutations are NOT beneficial or positive!!!  In addition there is the whole issue of dominant and recessive mutations.  The rarest ‘critter’ out there in the world of mutations is the ‘dominant and beneficial mutation’.

Yet, that very ‘critter’ is what the whole evolution house of cards is built upon.  We read and hear how evolution is predicated upon mutations – zillions and zillions of them – and unlimited time for them to occur.  But the theory is based upon the ‘given’ (read fiction) that the mutations are all overwhelmingly positive, beneficial and dominant.  This is the very opposite of the reality.

While this whole experience was helpful, I don’t believe in Scriptural creation because of it.  My belief is settled firmly on the Rock that is Christ:

John 1:1-3  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with  God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

The good news was that the more I experienced the power and wonder of God, it became a no-brainer that God could do anything! – except lie, sin, be unfaithful, be caught off guard, and a few other things.  Experiencing His supernatural power can have a profound impact on a person.

Come to think of it, creation pales in comparison to what was accomplished through Jesus: His life, death, resurrection, freeing us from a life of sin and making us new creatures in Him.   Creating the world and everything in it was not a big deal – maybe the equivalent of God snapping his fingers.

Note:  My atheist Genetics prof felt he was comfortable with his own explanations for describing most of my experiences with Jesus.  BUT – I remember him looking at me and saying with a serious thoughtfulness, “I don’t know what to do with the miracles.”

1 Peter 3:15  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Imagine sitting in any kind of class or gathering where the speaker/instructor belittles a particular belief.  If there is an individual in the group with that particular belief and he makes it known, the focus likely shifts to him.  Typically it probably isn’t mean spirited, but more in the category of “Oh my!  How can anyone still believe that??!!”  Laughter, polite ridicule and condescension are a powerful combination.

Unfortunately if the person proves to be resistant to the ‘accepted wisdom’ or political correctness, the speaker/instructor can manipulate the nature of the atmosphere to become more aggressive, ‘seasoned’ with anger, intimidation and biting ridicule.  In a classroom setting, a subtle intimation can be communicated that good grades are not obtained by those with such beliefs.

This phenomenon can occur over a vast range of subjects depending upon the views of the speaker and the group.  Consider some topics: abortion: homosexuality, voter IDs, government healthcare, God, Jesus; evolution, the Bible the list is long.  If we are that person and the recipient of such treatment, how we respond is critical.

Our faith identifies such situations as opportunities not victimhood.  Christ is our rock and it’s upon Him that we stand.  Sometimes we might hesitate to speak up because we don’t want to be a recipient of the verbal attack.  That might be wisdom or it might be fear of what people might think of us; or fear of persecution.  Maybe we’re just too casual with our faith and feel too inadequate to speak up, or to stand with another believer.

We have a hope that is grounded in eternal reality.  We must be prepared to express our faith in ways pleasing to God – not attacking those who oppose but sincerely allowing our light (His light within us) to shine.  We must be spiritually and prayerfully prepared to glorify our Lord when such opportunities arise.

John 12:42-43  Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

We have this problem today that we encounter everywhere –  and it is a major problem.  In Scripture it is reflected by Nathanael’s blunt comment to hearing Philip excitedly telling him about Jesus of Nazareth, the one written about by Moses and the prophets, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46)

Substitute the word Christianity into Nathanael’s sentence for Nazareth and couple it with an attitude of condescension and we have the problem we are facing nearly everywhere in Western Civilization. It’s in academia, business, media, government, courts – basically everywhere.  It’s similar to evolution in that it’s poor theory that’s accepted as true (I will deal with evolution this coming week).  Of course Christianity is viewed as a waste if your ‘given’ is there is no God.

But this perception and accompanying attitudes don’t exist in a vacuum.  They are rooted in forces that have no doubt as to the deadly threat posed to them by scriptural Christianity that is truly lived out. Most of the world has no idea they are pawns in the hands of evil powers. Paul addresses them in Ephesians 6:12,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Their goal is to stamp Christianity out!  Do anything to keep Christians from tapping into the power they truly have in Christ.  In the face of this politically correct societal dismissal, the issue becomes how are Jesus followers going to respond?

Unfortunately, when our walk is weak, we have a tendency to follow the path painfully described by today’s verse – we respond out of fear because we love the praise of men more than the praise of God – OUCH!  That’s why we have been provided with the armor of God and the command to put it on. (Ephesian 6:10-18)  This armor is vital to being strong in the Lord and able to stand.

When we stand, we don’t respond with anger, shaking our fists at those who oppose us.  But we stand strong and secure in our Lord with our response reflecting our faith, rooted in righteousness and glorifying Jesus.  At times we’ll suffer negative consequences, but even then we must do so with fruit of the Spirit attitudes.

After all, our joy and our lives are centered in pleasing God – not men.

Hebrews 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.

I have really enjoyed some of the Indiana Jones movies.  A couple of my favorite scenes are in The last Crusade when they get to the cave and encounter the old Crusader still guarding the ‘Holy Grail’ – believed to be the cup used by Christ at the last supper.  There is only one problem – the room has a whole bunch of cups without any indication which is the right one.

Of course the wealthy, learned leader of the bad guys insists on choosing and picks out a magnificent ornate cup, in his mind worthy of the Lord.  He drinks from it expecting some sort of heavenly wonder but unfortunately he chose the wrong cup.  He ages a few hundred years in a few seconds and is no more, to which the old Crusader responds, “He chose poorly.”

Due to the wounding of Indy’s father (Sean Connery), Indy has to choose quickly among the cups.  The story line attributes miraculous power to the cup – like the Ark in the Old Testament – and Indy needs to get it to his father to heal the wound that would kill him.  Well, Indy learned from the bad guy’s mistake and scours the table for the cup of a carpenter and chose a very humble plain wooden cup; to which the old Crusader responds, “You chose…wisely.”

We find ourselves in a world filled with gods – all being represented as the true God. When we look at all of these competing gods, how do we know what He (the True One) looks like?  This isn’t simply an intellectual exercise – this is true reality!  While He doesn’t put a gun at our head or a sword at our throat forcing us to choose, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The good news is that the One True God didn’t leave us to our own devices to figure out which ‘cup on the table’ was Him.  He has made everything available for all to ‘choose wisely’.   He even works with us to guide us in the path that leads to finding Him.  He has communicated that it’s not His will that any should ‘choose poorly’!

Fortunately, He has given us a vibrant, living picture of Himself.  He even enables us to recognize that it is Him – we then, simply have to choose.  And when we do, He confirms our wise choice by allowing us to experience the wonder of Him.

Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being!  When we become His, He begins the transforming wonder whereby we become like Jesus.  The more we are transformed, the more others will see Jesus when they see us – and they too will be drawn to Him.

Happy Birthday Donna!

Proverbs  5:18, 19  ¹⁸ Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe [tender, gentle, attractive]—let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be transported with delight in her love.  (Amplified Bible)

I am the richest man in the world because the Lord gave Donna to me – and me to her!  How do I begin to describe the delight and wonder of getting to spend my life with this wonderful woman – truly a daughter of the King.  Her smile – her voice – her touch – her laughter – her kindness – her love for the Lord – her passion – her tenderness – her love for me.  Oh my!!!!

I get to treasure her – I get to be with her – I get to hold her – I get to bless her – I get to rejoice in her – I get to thank God for her – I get to help her accomplish her dreams – I get to spend my life loving her and thanking God for her.  She is God’s gift to me that He uses to enable me to love Him more.  The more I love her, the more I love Him.

She passionately loves the Lord.  Her tender heart is so apparent as she prays and is touched by others and God’s Spirit.  I find myself frequently asking God to make me more like her.  She truly delights in Him.

Today is her birthday.  I just wanted to rejoice and celebrate the blessing I have in this delightful woman – my wife of almost 46 years.

Luke 5:10b-11  Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Picture yourself a fisherman.  That is your livelihood.  You and your partners have just spent the entire night fishing and come up empty.  You’re on shore washing your nets when this new friend, a carpenter by background who is doing some amazing things comes up with a crowd around him listening to him teaching.

He sees two boats at water’s edge and gets into one of them – yours – and asks you to push it out a bit.  He then sits down and teaches from the boat.  When he finishes speaking (to the crowd) he says to you, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”  I wonder what goes through your mind at that moment; maybe something like, “Yea – right!”

Maybe you roll your eyes, but who he is gets the better of you – although you do let him know the facts of the situation.  “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.

Maybe you’re thinking that he should stick to what he knows.  Even so, you go along with it.  All of a sudden you and your companions catch such a large number of fish that the nets began to break.  You signal your partners in the other boat to come and help, and they come and both boats are filled so full of fish that they began to sink.

To say everyone is astonished is an understatement!  But this strikes you in a unique way.  This is a miracle and it involved you.  You’re struck by your own unworthiness to be in the presence of something divine.  You fall at his knees and say, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

But instead of listening to you, he says something far more profound than what you’ve just experienced!  These words come from his mouth addressed to you, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” The group of you that hear this, pull your boats up on shore, leave everything and follow him.

The marvelous thing about this story is that Jesus is inserting himself into the everyday lives and situations of his followers today – just as he did then.  He will do something to get our attention – causing us to turn aside and focus upon him.

We might not understand everything that is going on but we know it is Him.  Then he calls us to be fishers of men – just as he did with them by the shore.  And we get to follow Jesus just as they did into the callings he has for us.

Colossians 3:13  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Do we understand that forgiving someone is a simple decision of our will?  Better still is the fact that once done, once we forgive someone, it cannot be undone – no matter how upset we are or want to take it back.  It’s done; a fait accompli!

Think of cracking open a raw egg.  It is a decision of our will and once done it can’t be undone.  No matter how we might want to take it back, we can’t put the egg back in the shell.  Remember Humpty Dumpty, the egg that sat on the wall and had a great fall?  “…All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men – couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

This is beyond good news – it’s great news!  Unforgiveness is to be avoided like the plague.  It’s been described as a person putting arsenic in their own body to hurt someone else.  Unforgiveness is avoided by forgiving – particularly by making the practice of forgiving others into a daily habit pattern.

But what if we don’t feel forgiving?  And what about all the other ‘stuff’ that comes with situations where the need to forgive occurs?  Stuff like anger, resentment, hurt, disappointment, frustration, desire to get even (to name a few) that readily accompany such situations.  Fortunately forgiveness isn’t subject to us feeling like it.

If we are out walking and have an umbrella and suddenly it starts pouring, no matter what is going on, we immediately put up the umbrella – it’s second nature.  It keeps us from getting wet!  When hurts and disappointments come, immediately forgive – just like putting up an umbrella.  It keeps unforgiveness away and allows God’s grace to have unrestricted flow to enable us to handle all the ‘stuff’ in the situation redemptively.

Immediately forgiving others enables us to get our focus off them and our own hurt.  We shift our focus to the Lord.  He is the one we turn to – to help us with all of the accompanying emotions and difficulties.  If we recognize that our responses our sinful, we can confess that and receive forgiveness.  He, and his grace and mercy are at the center of our response.

It’s amazing how readily forgiving those who hurt us enables us to pray redemptively for them.  The healing process proceeds more freely.  Our motivation can become one of glorifying the Lord in the situation.   What a gift being able to readily forgive is!

1 John 2:16  Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.  (MSG)

This morning I was reminded of a wonderful little book that I read years ago – one that has had a lasting impact on my life.  Its title is My Heart, Christ’s Home by Robert Boyd Munger.  What a treasure this is!  It tells the story of a young man who invites Jesus into his life.  The storyline presented in the book is one of Jesus coming to live in his house (heart) with him.

I recall in the story Jesus going through the rooms (of his heart) one by one over the passing days and dealing with the things he found there.  The young man was thrilled.   Remember when we met the Lord we experienced a marvelous house cleaning too.  It was like Jesus had a crew that just went through and got rid of all kinds of junk.  The cleansing and refreshing were amazing.  But then time passes – and the things of this world seep back in.

Picture your heart having a library and Jesus going in and picking up the very books or magazines that you are embarrassed for him to see.  Imagine him going into your entertainment center and out of hundreds of movies he just pulls one off the shelf and it’s not one that you would want to sit down and watch with him.

I remember seeing a ‘great’ movie in the year following my becoming a Christian.  I was home from college at the time and told my mom about it.  She said she would like to see it too.  Well my mom loved the Lord and to this day I can remember her repeated reactions to the little ‘negatives’ in that movie.  I was mortified as I recognized the stuff I had missed.  We got up and left in the middle of it.

I think the thing that is most painful in the book is when the young man becomes busy – too busy – to spend time with the Lord.  Here Jesus is waiting for him each day, to spend time together, and the things of the young man’s life just don’t leave him the time to do it.  As he goes rushing out the door, he has pangs of regret and the intention to make it right – but somehow the days and weeks just seem to go by.  May we recognize just how easily the world can seep into our lives and isolate us from our Lord.