Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

1 Peter 1:8  ⁹You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. (The Message)

After I met Jesus years ago, I remember being told about an older prominent Christian by the name of Rufus Moseley.  Apparently he had a great deal of joy and for some strange reason some church people had a problem with that.  One old dour-faced Christian came up to him and sourly asked, “Do you think Jesus ever smiled?”  Rufus looked at her, grinned and answered, “I don’t know, but He sure fixed it so I can!”

I love to think of Jesus smiling and laughing.  I’m so grateful for paintings I’ve seen where the artist has presented Him doing so.  Then there’s Johnny Cash’s film Gospel Road that has such wonderful scenes of Jesus laughing and smiling with the disciples and children.

There’s also a production called The Thorn that began in Colorado Springs about 15 years ago that is very similar to The Passion of the Christ.  It tells the story of Jesus, and the violence done to Him is vividly represented.  But this serious production also presents Jesus as a man who smiled and expressed such joy when the miracles were performed and in times with His disciples.

Think of Jesus healing crippled children and their stunned and ecstatic response.  Can’t you just see the incredible joy in His face as He performed these wonders?  Can’t you just see these children running to Jesus and jumping in His arms, squealing with delight! Think of His face and the utter joy it would express.

This is our Lord.  This is the One we live with and for.  The Amplified Bible presents today’s verse this way:  ⁸Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.   Oh my goodness, there are times when the wonder of what we have in Jesus is so overwhelming I pinch myself.  It just seems too good to be true.  Hopefully you regularly have such moments of wonder too.

Acts 9:31  Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

Have you ever lived anywhere where the drinking water was too unpleasant to drink?  In such situations a couple of alternatives are available.  One is to get bottled water and many people do that.  The other is to get a good water filter system that removes all the unpleasantness from the water.  Think about traveling overseas and the issue of whether it is wise or safe to drink the water?  There’s a lot more to it than just the taste and smell of the water.  Water that might seem fine can be a disaster to drink, that’s why it pays to be careful.

There are other water issues to be concerned about depending upon where you live and the water source.  Suppose you have the water tested and discover that there is ‘stuff’ in the unfiltered water that can and will hurt you.  But the good news is the testing also confirms that a quality water filter system removes those negatives; making the water safe to drink.  It’s just a matter of maintaining the filter system.

In this situation, with the filter system, the water is safe to drink.  Without the filter system, there are negatives in the water that will hurt us even if there is no bad taste or smell.  Water is important and it pays to be careful.  With this in mind, it’s important that we recognize that the fear of the Lord is a vital component of our spiritual filtering system.  There is a lot of deadly stuff out there in our culture that doesn’t ‘taste’ or ‘smell’ bad.  But it’s stuff that can kill and destroy.

We must also remember that we play a key role in our spiritual filtering system.  We have to pay attention to it and provide it with God’s Word so that it is fully operational.  We have to care! There is a very key verse in Numbers 32:23 that is a Biblical principle that we tend to forget but it’s still there: “your sin will find you out”.

That begs the question: “What is sin?” and the answer to that leads to specifics in every area and aspect of our lives.  Fortunately, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life in the motivational aspect of our lives in this realm.  It is life producing and the more we respond the more it protects us from things we must avoid.

Reread today’s verse.  The fear of the Lord was what they lived in.  It is healthy and positive and vital to our life in Christ Jesus.  We are to live in it too.

Scripture verse is at the end of the devotional

Let’s go back about 55 years to when people didn’t have cable or satellite TV.  The only TV signals we received were from local stations within signal distance which was about 75 miles.  Beyond that, there wasn’t TV service.  A simple antenna was on the roof of each house in order to receive the signals.

Reception at times could be wonderful but frequently weather interfered and the TV screen was blurry or fuzzy and having big lines go through it.  The sound was also affected so that when reception wasn’t good any program was hardly worth watching or even listening to.

Into the above picture came my older brother with a Christmas gift to my parents.  When Mom opened it, she asked, “What is it?”  He said, “It’s a UHF antenna.”  She replied, “Like I said, what is it?”  The UHF stood for Ultra High Frequency.  There were TV stations nearby that sent different signals than the main stations we received from across the lake in Chicago.  Once we connected this small antenna we could receive their signals.  Obviously, we had never heard of it and were clueless.

That morning, in spite of the snow, I helped my brother climb up on the roof of our 2 story home and attach it to the pole of the regular antenna that was attached to the chimney.  One side memory of standing on the chimney with my brother holding my ankles while I attached the antenna was my dropping the wrench.  It slid across the roof and shot down and crashed into the rear window of our car!  Boy was my dad thrilled with that!

Well, we got the UHF antenna connected and my brother turned on the TV in front of everyone.  First he turned to our normal channels in Chicago 2, 5 and 7 (CBS, NBC & ABC).  Reception was poor.  Then he turned to each of the three UHF stations broadcasting from northern Indiana (16, 22 & 28).  The reception on each was crystal clear!!!  We were all stunned and my parents couldn’t believe it!!

We turned the TV back to the normal stations – crummy reception; and then back to UHF and perfect reception for the same programs!  WOW!  Many times over the years we all laughed about this story.  But here is the punch line of this story for today:  For all practical purposes, Christians today are as clueless about the fear of the Lord as we were back then about how to get good TV reception.

Just the mention of the fear of the Lord produces a negative reaction in many.  Often, “Perfect love drives out fear” is quoted.  But that verse is not talking about the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is not simply reverence – nor is it a negative.  It is a glorious positive in our lives that we desperately need. It is identified in Proverbs 14:27 as a fountain of life!  If this sounds strange to you, think of my Mom’s response holding the UHF antenna.  Also remember the radically results once it was connected.

To be continued…

Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

This morning I woke up thinking about the pain of couples who quit loving one another.  I was reminded of a dream that is unquestionably the most powerful and vivid dream I’ve ever had.  This dream occurred several years after Donna and I went through our marital difficulties (1992) that were due primarily to me – my being unkind and behaving like a jerk as I relieved the stress from my job on her.  At the time of the dream, our marriage had become the best it had ever been.  But in this dream Donna and I had divorced one another and that was the given for what then happened.

In the dream I walked into a small room and there in front of me was a small narrow table with Jesus sitting on one side of the table and a chair opposite Him.  I sat down across from Him and looked up into His face.  I don’t remember what he looked like but I will never forget his eyes and the tones in His voice.

With a smile on his face and joy in His voice He looked at me and said, “Tell me how you loved my daughter who I gave to you to be your wife.”  I did not say anything as my heart sank. (Remember in the context of the dream we had divorced.)  His smile vanished and there was no longer any joy in His voice when He began a series of rhetorical questions.  By the rising tone in His voice with each question, He knew the answers.

With great deliberation Jesus asked, “What do you mean you didn’t love her?!”  “What do you mean you left her?!!”  What do you mean you divorced her?!!!!” I cannot begin to describe the shame and distress that I experienced in the dream; hearing my Lord’s voice say again and again with growing incredulity and disapproval, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN….”  He wasn’t yelling, but if you’ve ever been called on the carpet and confronted by your father or a boss for serious mistakes you’ve made, you get the idea.

Then, all of a sudden, in the dream, I was Donna and the scene repeated itself.  Jesus asked with a smile and joy in His voice, “Tell me how you loved my son who I gave to you to be your husband.”  When He began the “What do you mean…” questions I immediately woke up.  What a mixture of pain and joy – pain at remembering the dream – joy and relief in knowing that Donna and I truly loved one another and had not divorced.

This dream was a priceless gift to me because it allowed me to see and experience the incredible importance that our Lord places upon marriage.   It also gave me a gut-wrenching taste of displeasing Him.  I cannot begin to describe how excruciatingly painful that was – and still is.  I pray that I never forget it.

But importantly, the dream generated a core conviction in the depth of my being that loving my wife is a primary way that I love Jesus.  If I don’t love her, I don’t love Him – and He and His word describe what love is.  Love is a whole lot more than affection.  What joy there is in waking up each day able to love our Lord and love our spouse!

2 Corinthians 12:9a  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Have you ever had the experience of trying to put something together only to discover a key part is missing?  Or getting a group together to address an issue at work and someone vital to solving the problem is unable to attend?

I know there have been numerous times when my wife is making something in the kitchen and she calls me to run to the store to get a missing ingredient.  Sometimes you can get by with what’s missing or substitute something similar.  But often times there is no getting around the problem posed by a key item being missing.

Fortunately the missing ‘key part’ problem never applies to God’s grace.  It is always in sufficient supply for every situation we encounter.  Can you imagine the uncertainty and trauma we would go through if God routinely withheld His grace from us?  Think of the nightmare if He allowed temptations to come our way that were more than we could bear.  Our faith would be radically impacted – and undermined.

Faith and grace are there for us to apply to everything we do.  We need them for the problems we face AND how we respond to the problems.  Suppose we are asked to do something and we do it in a negative manner.  In God’s scheme of things, it’s possible that the only reason we were asked to help was for Him to reveal our attitude problem to us; that we were not walking in His provision for us.

One of the most helpful paraphrases I’ve been taught applies to the Lord’s Prayer and to the “Lead us not into temptation” phrase.  The teacher paraphrased this, “Lord let there not be anything in my heart that would cause you to put me to the test.”  God never tempts anyone (with evil) (James 1:13, 14) but He will allow us to encounter situations that reveal problems we have that we might be unaware of – like spiritual termites.

What a privilege we have in God enabling us to respond in a way that glorifies Him no matter what we encounter.  The key is for our faith to focus more and more on Him throughout each day recognizing that He and His grace are there for us to respond righteously.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I thought of a most interesting picture to illustrate faith in our walk with Jesus.  Do you enjoy eating?  Do you enjoy eating really good stuff?  How about cooking and making delectable delights that when you take a bite it’s like a party in your mouth?  That is how Gene, a dear friend of ours in Montana describes the taste of Maracuja Mousse, made from a Brazilian passion fruit.

I enjoy cooking but I’m not in the same league with my wife.  She makes some amazing things.  But one thing she loves, important to this picture this morning, is a kitchen fully equipped with everything she needs to make anything she wants.  Some dishes require a blender, while others a food processor or a mixer and of course two ovens.  This kitchen we are picturing also contains all the gadgets that any recipes would require.

Then there are the ingredients and the seasonings – and again, nothing is missing!  No matter what recipe is to be made, the ingredients and seasoning are there.  And speaking of recipes, of course the cookbooks and recipes are all there too.  And the cookbooks tell you exactly how to do anything that needs to be done.  [Side point: If you’re a guy and don’t like to cook, picture having a room in your basement or garage with every repair tool imaginable and the instructions and ability to use them]

Now we’re in the kitchen and a dish is ordered and we have no idea what it is.  But instead of saying “I can’t do that” the response is to look for the recipe and then find the ingredients and seasonings we need and the pans, utensils or equipment needed to make it.  They are all there.  God has provided everything needed for any recipe we encounter.  His complete provision (equipping) is the given in our lives.

We find ourselves in the situation that no matter what food dish is called for, we can do it.  Even if we don’t understand something in the recipe, the Lord provides understanding when we look to Him.  Our faith is in Him because no matter what we encounter He has provided what we need.  Think of the joy that comes from such an understanding.  No matter what comes our way, we can face it because Jesus has given us everything we need.

Suppose we have a nagging issue and nothing seems to resolve it.  We need to recognize that the ‘food dish’ being asked for isn’t primarily a resolution to the problem, but a righteous, faith-filled response by us in its absence until it comes.  What are we like while we’re dealing with the problem?  All of the little ‘crises’ that come along are all ‘food dish’ requests where God has provided everything we need in our ‘spiritual kitchen’ to respond in a way pleasing to Him.

1 John 4:9, 10  ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Valentine’s Day is a special day to remember those who are especially dear to us.  I tend to be the romantic type and I love to give my sweetheart flowers, particularly yellow roses or a gardenia.  Today is a special day to say and to be told, “I love you.”  A special day to remember the love we give and the love we receive.

While the giving of cards, flowers or gifts is special, it’s particularly wonderful to be together – to take the time to enjoy one another.  In the midst of busy schedules, we need to slow down and be there for each other.  I so relate to Thumper in the movie Bambi when Donna smiles at me and I see the twinkle in her eyes.  The thrill that goes through me is beyond words.  I will thump my chest with my hand just like Thumper ‘thumping’ the ground with his hind paw – and we will laugh.

The two greatest gifts in my life are gifts of love and I never dreamed that I would ever receive either of them.  Never did I think that a girl would love me the way Donna does!   And even more amazing is the fact that our love not only doesn’t grow old – it gets better with time.  We ‘get to’ spend every day of our lives loving one another!  Our love was a gift to us from our Lord.  And as wonderful as this gift of love is, He gave us one even better.  He gave us Himself in Jesus.

How do we describe the absolute wonder of His love for us?  It is so much more than a theological reality – it is an experiential reality that He perpetually blesses us with.  He loves us and enables us to be blessed even more by loving Him in return.  I still pinch myself at times because it seems like I have won the Lotto of the Ages.  The day He broke through into my life (October 11, 1968) is even more stunning than the day that Donna and I met and were engaged (2 ¼) hours later –August 25, 1969).  I went from lost to found; from left out to included in; from being lonely to being chosen; from having a Matterhorn of doubt to seeing it leveled; to being clean inside from head to toe, and being swept up in love like I never dreamed existed.

My whole world became new – inside and out!  Jesus not only became my Lord, He made me His own.  The wonders of being made clean inside and being forgiven still overwhelm me.  They never grow old; like His mercies they are new every morning.  Please take time today not only to communicate your love to those dear to you, but to focus upon Jesus.  After all, His coming for us is the very definition of love.

Psalm 105:3  Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Isn’t it wonderful that we have a miracle working God who is intimately involved in our lives?  Isn’t it incredible that our God, who made the universe, wants – no, make that insists – upon a personal relationship with each of us.  But He doesn’t take a distant, unapproachable, sterile approach of demanding we serve Him.  He woos us as a lover!  His goal is for us to love Him in return.  All of creation is speaking to us, drawing us to seek and to know Him.

Our God is the Holy One of Israel.  He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He is Yahweh.  He gave His son Jesus to die for us and because of that sacrifice; we have the opportunity and privilege of becoming His family.  Jesus is our Lord!  He is incapable of failing, or lying, or being unfaithful.  He never has an ‘oops’.  Nothing escapes His notice.  He never leaves us; He is always with us, inside of us.  He wants us to be aware of Him always.  The more we are aware of Him, the more we seek Him.

I am reminded of a wonderful experience that is so reflective of what we have in Jesus.  What a joyous day it was!  The setting was perfect where we were house-sitting.  It was a  warm spring day with temperature in the 60s and bright sunshine.  The back yard bordered on a large pond and there were toys and stuff for kids to climb and play on.  Better still was the family and friends we had there for a surprise birthday party for two of our family.

We had 3 of our sons and their families here plus another family of dear friends.  The kids, and there were 10 of them, had so much fun playing.  Snuggles had a field day running and playing with them.  She even went in the pond!  Enhancing this all was the exquisite pleasure of relationships.  I not only had the pleasure of being with people I love, but better still was the delight of seeing them together.  They so enjoyed one another.  This is family.

This all is a wonderful picture of the treasure we have in Jesus.  The joy and laughter and the warmth of being loved and with those we love.  We not only get to experience relationship with one another, we get to experience relationship with Him.  As followers of Jesus, the love we have for one another is reflective of His love for us.  His intent is that everyone should experience the wonder of such love.  What a privilege we have to receive it and share it.

Psalm 122:6-7  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. ⁷ May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”

It is important that we pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.  Think of living someone, where you know you belong, but there are daily threats of people being stabbed or attacked; having drivers ram their vehicles into groups of people; or suddenly hearing a siren go off warning that a missile is inbound. We pray that Yahweh, the one true God, who is our God as Christians and is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will protect them and intervene for them; that His angels will surround them and form a wall of protection.  We pray that He will show Himself strong in Israel’s behalf.

Israel is very dear to us, as it should be to all Christians.  I am always moved by wife’s heart and passion for Israel and the Jewish people.  With weeping she passionately cries out to God for them.  While they are dear to me, Jesus has placed a passion within her that is wonderful.  I am thrilled that our trip to Israel affected both of us deeply.  I share in her passion to a degree I never did before.

It sounds obvious but remember – Christianity is Jewish!  They are the people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Yahweh is the Holy One of Israel.  They will discover that Jesus (Yeshua) is the one and only Messiah.  I might not understand everything about the relationship of God with Israel, but I know that regardless of what some Bible scholars think, the nation of Israel is here today in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  God has not abandoned the Jewish people.  That is made clear by the 9^th, 10^th and 11^th chapters of the Book of Romans.  The end times are unfolding around them.

Let us make a point to pray for them – and that our government will always support them and refrain from any actions that hinder their well-being.  This is so important given the situation with Iran and their pursuit of developing a nuclear weapon.  That must not happen.  May God guide and direct Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership in His path for them.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

1 Timothy 2:1-2  I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

There is an article by David Barton, an honored and respected historian, that brings into sharp focus the apparent hostility our current President displays towards Biblical faith, people and values (linked below).  I had no idea of its extensive nature.  The small portion of the article deals with the author’s description of the problem and conclusions.  The extensive portion is a concise, documented listing of the specific actions of hostility taken by our President and his administration.  The author’s conclusion is that “the hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president.”

We are not talking about a Democrat / Republican thing here or where we just disagree with some policies; it’s a far different world than that.  This has to do with the very nature and foundation of our country.  In ancient Israel, the king led the country in either ways pleasing to God or in ways that were opposed to God.  The well-being or decline of the country happened accordingly.

We are required by our faith to pray for our leaders.  But the gift God has given us in our country requires far more than that.  Our faith and actions must be active and not passive.  We do not have kings and leaders who rule for life, but we have a representative form of government that requires us to take an active role in the selection – or removal – of those leaders.  God holds us responsible too.

Our involvement in the electoral process must be done peaceably, characterized by righteousness, without anger or rebellion.  We can be passionate about our convictions, but again our words, attitudes and actions must reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit and our faith.  Remember Godly people can disagree on things.

Our situation is made more difficult by the amount of lying that is going on by leaders and the media.  Knowing the truth is not as simple as it should be.  This is a further reflection of a society gone astray.  When God and His values are removed from education and all aspects of public life is it any wonder that sin abounds?

Remember, our Constitution begins, “We the People of the United States,…”.  What a privilege and responsibility we have to do our part in picking our leaders to govern in a manner consistent with Biblical faith and values.  Please read the article and documentation for yourself.  Let us respond accordingly.

Note: The article is at WallBuilders and is written by David Barton titled, ”America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President”.  The link is http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=106938

WallBuilders is an organization dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional heritage.