Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 116:2  Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

My story Part 2: Nothing prepared me for what happened when I raised my hand – acknowledging my doubt about knowing Jesus as Lord.  I thought it was hopeless, that I had too many doubts, but what did I have to lose?  I was startled to see a young man of about 15 push a chair to the middle of the circle of students and say, “This is where you meet Jesus!”

The evangelist came over to me and said that I could confess my sins and know that I was forgiven – that I would be clean inside; that if I wanted to know Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord – beyond a shadow of a doubt – to walk out to that chair and let them pray for me – so I did.

All of the students gathered around me and began praying – and pray they did!  There came a point when the evangelist asked me if I knew Jesus as Lord.  I replied, “No. But I want to!”  At that moment, it happened – I met Him!  From the top of my head, through my body to my toes, His power went through me!  God gave me a thunderous conversion experience beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of!  My Matterhorn of doubt was leveled in an instant.  Inside I was utterly changed, cleansed and filled with His presence.  Jesus was real and I was His!!!!

I was absolutely overwhelmed.  Within me was a tumultuous mass of joy, excitement, freedom, cleanness – there was Jesus, inside of me! And He didn’t go away!  After praying for others, we walked out of that prayer room into the main meeting area.  I so clearly remember looking out the windows at the woods and the lake.  I thought, “I’m 20 and life expectancy is about 70.  How do I keep this alive and vibrant for 50+ years?”  There was nothing in my experience that led me to believe that something this incredibly good could be sustained for any period of time.  The idea of it getting even better never entered my mind!

October 11^th was my 47^th birthday in the Lord.  My love relationship with Jesus is more vibrant and more wonderful than ever.  It has never grown cold.  Words cannot describe the gratitude that I have because God made me His own; the joy of tears streaming down my face because of Jesus.  I will love Him forever because He heard my cry.  Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1  I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.

My story Part 1: Although I was raised going to church, albeit a liberal one, I never developed faith to speak of.  The idea of being born again or meeting Jesus in a personal way was totally foreign to me.  I came from a good home.  I was close to my mom but my father and I argued when we were together and loved each other while apart.

When I went to college, what little faith I might have had was lost due to atheistic instructors and discussions with unbelieving students who seemed intent on obliterating any ideas of faith. I remember one professor, a former pastor, believed that a nursing baby at its mother’s breasts was in the “Garden of Eden”.   Original sin was when the baby bit its mother’s breast and caused her to stop nursing the baby.  So the baby was expelled from the Garden!  And it went downhill from there.

In the fall of ’68, while a junior in college, I agreed to go to a Christian retreat with my parents.  It still amazes me that I went, but nothing was going on that weekend at college and it was important to them – so I went.  The retreat center was at an old time camp back in the woods overlooking a small lake in Michigan.

In the first large meeting, the speaker for the retreat spoke about the love of Jesus in a way that I had never heard before.  In fact he talked as though he knew Him – personally!  I was saddened by it because I thought, “If Jesus were real, that’s what He would be like – but what good did it do me?”  I couldn’t believe – or so I thought.  After the meeting, all of the high school and college age went to a separate meeting room.  A room full of “teeny-boppers” (a term popular way back then).  My impression wasn’t positive.

There were about fifteen of us sitting in a circle and I was easily the oldest.  Then the speaker came in and asked if there was anyone there who didn’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  I was too embarrassed to raise my hand.  He then asked if there was anyone with any doubt about it.  Something raged within me as I sat there and I struggled with whether or not to raise my hand.  In spite of thinking there was no hope for me, I lifted my hand.

I was then startled by one of the young men (age 15) who jumped up from his seat, pushed a chair into the center of the circle of students and enthusiastically said to me, “This is where you meet Jesus!”  To say the best was yet to come is an understatement for the ages!!!

To be continued tomorrow….

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

The unexpected is a fact of life.  Think how often in our daily routine that we encounter the unexpected.  Simple things: running out of paper, ink, dish detergent, the shirt you were going to wear is in the laundry, the lawn mower won’t start; your appointment is delayed.  Then there are those that are a little more noteworthy: traffic jams, canceled appointments, a friend lets you down, something is forgotten by someone who shouldn’t forget, the car breaks down, extra work is dumped on you in your job….

These (and many other) things when viewed from a distance don’t seem to be so bad – annoying maybe – but they aren’t major issues.  We usually don’t perceive them as tests of our faith.  They don’t fall into the category of losing a job, losing investments, losing a loved one, being injured in an accident, being betrayed by a friend, discovering you have a life threatening disease, etc….

But all of these things, whether big or small, have something important in common.  They are all opportunities.  Opportunities for what you ask?  Each and every one of them gives us the opportunity to reflect the reality of our life in Christ.  These opportunities are windows into our soul that give insight to those around us – and ourselves if we have eyes to see it.

Take a moment now and re-read today’s verse.  Now, read it again, out loud, pausing after the first phrase.  This verse describes an unshakeable, bedrock reality that God intends to
become ours as we walk in His ways – truly becoming a disciple of Jesus.  It becomes the reality of who we are to the depth of our being.  The reality of God in our lives is an unshakeable settled-ness that is reflected in our responses to everything we encounter.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.  Although a storm may be raging around us, it’s peaceful in the boat.  The storm doesn’t shake us.  Jesus is our Shepherd and the reality of our life in Him is reflected in all of the unexpected ‘opportunities’ we encounter.  Hopefully, that reflected reality is of someone walking in His ways.

Psalm 13:5  But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

When I first met Donna 46 years ago and through the early years of our marriage she wore a wonderful perfume named Most Precious.  It was the only perfume that she would ever wear and she wore it regularly.  The fragrance was so special and so her.  Unfortunately in the early 80s they quit making it.  Then some years ago, we discovered some Most Precious on eBay and were able to purchase it.  It was so delightful to have the perfume again.

One of the special memories associated with having the perfume again involves our son,
Andrew.  He came home after we had received and opened the perfume.  I had the perfume box out of sight and I asked him to close his eyes and tell me what he smelled.  I then held the box near his nose and he immediately exclaimed, “That’s Mom!”  He was born in 1980, so his early years were a time when Donna wore Most Precious.  Even though it had been many years since she had worn the fragrance, he instantly recognized it.

This idea of having a fragrance that characterizes us came to mind this morning as I was
praying and worshipping with a wonderful song that we have sung at church – I Give You My Heart by Reuben Morgan.  When singing it my thoughts went to the coming week – I want the message of this song to resonate within me daily.  It is not just for Sunday – it is for every day.  I want it to be the “fragrance” of my life – of our lives – each and every day.   Slowly, read the words and allow them to bless you.

I Give You My Heart by Reuben Morgan

This is my desire to honor You
Lord with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
all that I adore is in You

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I’m awake
Lord have Your ways in me

When you have time, I have attached a link to Reuben Morgan singing this song.  Join him in worshiping our incredible Lord.

Ephesians 3:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Have you ever ran out of water?  If you’ve ever lived in a home that used a well, you might have had such an experience.  My first encounter with running out of water was in our home in Peninsula, OH.  We had just moved in and I was in the shower covered head to toe in soap when the water ran out.  Making the experience even more memorable was the well could still generate a slow drip of cold water.  I got to stand there for a long time until the cold, slow drips rinsed me off.

We were told a good well had a recoupment rate of 3 – 5 gallons of water per minute.  Ours was 1 – 2 quarts per minute.  We learned how to adjust our water usage so we wouldn’t run out (most of the time).  As the well got weaker, we drilled deeper and found some improvement.  We added holding tanks in the basement to increase our usable supply.  Eventually, the well ran dry and we had a choice to build a cistern, like many in the village had, or we could drill in another place on our 1 acre.  We chose to drill.

The individual who drilled wells asked if we wanted him to “witch’ for it.  We said, “No.  We’ll pray for you that the Lord will guide you where to drill.”  The result was amazing.  He not only found water, but he said this was the strongest well in town.  He could measure up to 25 gallons of water per minute recoupment and this was beyond that!  What a gift from the Lord!!

I would like you to consider that forgiveness –  specifically, the ability to forgive – as a gift from the Lord to each of us, that has amazing similarities to the “well / water” illustration described above.  There is an abundant supply available, we simply have to live lives that tap into it.  Just like water, we use forgiveness repeatedly every day.  Some have “strong wells” and are able to forgive with little effort or concern.  The supply is there in  abundance because of decisions they have made to conform to the teachings of our Lord.

Others have “weaker wells or drying up wells”, where they find forgiving others to be more difficult and at times they seem to “run dry”.  Instead of soap, they find themselves covered with anger, resentment and bitterness and no “water” (read ability to forgive) to deal with it.  This develops in lives due to not conforming to the teachings of our Lord.  Unfortunately, it is a whole lot easier for us to recognize when we run out of water, than it is to recognize when we run out of forgiveness.

The ramifications of unforgiveness are profound.  No matter what happens to us, the Lord expects us, and requires us, to forgive one another – just as we have been forgiven.  Proverbs 4:23 speaks to this in a particularly fitting way given our illustration today: “And guard your heart for it is the well-spring of life.”

I Thessalonians 5:16-18   Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.  This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. (The Message)

It’s been a bit frustrating as I’ve grown older to lose some of my sense of smell.  I particularly notice it when it comes to sweeter more subtle fragrances – like perfume on Donna or food cooking.  Likewise my hearing isn’t what it used to be (what an understatement) and I miss things – though in the middle of the night, it’s not so bad.  Praise God for hearing aids.  They do wonders.  When people speak softly, I can push a button and the volume increases.

I think these physical phenomena are similar to how we live each day and how we respond to what goes on around us.  We have deficiencies and God wants to fix them.  These verses talk about being cheerful; praying all the time and being thankful.  This is how God intends us to live.  This is being normal.  God’s plan is for these attributes to become
second nature to us; they are to become who we are.  Unfortunately, they can be diminished just like my sense of smell and hearing are.

The verses go further – we are to be cheerful no matter what!  We are to be thankful no matter what happens!  We are to pray through it all – meaning that our focus is upon the Lord.  There is to be constancy in our lives that is reflective of the wonder of our God and His goodness that overrides everything – no matter what!  But it’s easier to be cheerful and thankful when things are going well than when they aren’t.

How often do we hear of a close friend who has died; or that someone very dear to us is unexpectedly having surgery for cancer; or that a contentious situation unexpectedly arises that has to be dealt with by those close to us; – and this is all on top of the stuff we are already dealing with.  This is part of life.

Fortunately, God has made gratefulness and focusing upon Him to be like an artesian spring within Donna and me – they are always there, flowing.  They’ve become normal.  The wonder and blessing of their genuineness never ceases to amaze us.  We experience the joy that comes from the utter confidence that we and those we love are not helpless or alone; that we have a God who adores us!  Through tears and pain, the joy and gratitude are there.  All of these difficult situations just cause us to embrace Him all the more – they push us into Him.  We don’t have to understand – we have Him.

Acts 16:25  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

The first formal job that I had was working at an amusement park for a man nicknamed Doc.  I was 14 and Doc had three places of business in the park where he sold hamburgers, cotton candy and snow cones.  My first day was in the snow cone stand working by myself.  At closing time while cleaning up I found a $1 bill folded behind some stuff on the shelving below the counter.

When I turned my money in from the day’s sales I mentioned to Doc that the $1 I found was with the cash.  I also mentioned that it struck me a bit strange to find a dollar bill like that.  Doc and his wife laughed and said they had put it there to test my honesty – (so much for my grasp of the obvious).  If I had taken it without turning it in, I would have failed the test and they simply would not have called me back to work.

Doing well in testing situations is wonderful.  Some are more obvious like finding a wallet with money in it.  But I’ve discovered that most of the time the testing situations we experience are much more subtle than the one described above.  Consider the situation for Paul and Silas in the Macedonian jail in Philippi.

Their trip to Macedonia is such an incredible story.  God sovereignly led them to be there and in the midst of their ministry, Paul cast a spirit out of a slave-girl that enabled her to tell the future, earning a fortune for her owners.  Because of their loss, her owners drug Paul and Silas into the marketplace.

They were accused of creating uproar in the city and in essence became Public Enemies 1 & 2.  Of course the crowd joined in on the attack, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.  Then after being severely flogged they were thrown in prison – in an inner cell – with feet fastened in stocks.

What did Paul and Silas do in response to such unjustified brutal treatment?  Instead of complaining or bemoaning their fate, they were praying and singing hymns to God – and the other prisoners were listening. As we shall see tomorrow, the jailer was listening too.