Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Proverbs 25:11  A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Suppose someone gave you a handful of $10 bills that you were to give out during the day to people that you interacted with.  It’s safe to say that the people who received the money would notice and be pleased.  They’d probably look forward to seeing you again on the chance you had more money to hand out.

Now suppose the Lord let you know that there would be included in your day, several people that you met that had a specific need for $10, that they were praying about.  Or possibly they would have a need for the $10 shortly after receiving it.  In both cases, their blessing would be far greater than just receiving a $10 gift.  They would have the opportunity to recognize that it was a specific provision for a specific need – an answer to prayer.  If they did see that, they would likely glorify God for His provision in addition to being grateful for your kindness.

The words that we speak can have a similar impact.  They can bring blessing and provision to those around us.  Think of the people we work or interact with.   Do we recognize the kindnesses they do and do we say thank you?  Do we ever acknowledge the good work that people do?  When we are in conversations that start going in an unrighteous direction, do we gracefully speak words that redirect the conversation?

Think of the opportunities we have to show interest in others – in helping them with their problems or tasks.  The insight we offer might be the missing ingredient they’re looking for.  Proverbs 15:23 adds this insight, “Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!”   If we are in the middle of a chore, think of the blessing of someone seeing us and saying, “Let me help you with that.” Or as I wrote the other day about my problem getting the weed-whacker started.  Wouldn’t it have been helpful if someone came up – saw the situation and said, “It might help to turn the switch on!”?

Maybe our words trigger something in their memory enabling them to recall what they need.  Sometimes people are just in need of an encouraging word.  Remember, it’s not just us.  We are God’s hands extended.  He wants to minister life through us that bless and draw others to Him.  We need to pray that the Lord will open our eyes and ears to see the many opportunities that surround us where we can bring blessing through the words we speak and the kindness we show.

Isaiah 7:15  He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.

I grew up in southwest Michigan.  I remember hearing my older hunting friends talking about the compass problems they encountered in parts of the Upper Peninsula due to the presence of iron ore.  The ore can cause the magnetic needle of a compass to spin crazily or to point the opposite to where it should.  That’s not good to be in the middle of the boondocks, relying on your compass for directions and to have it go haywire.

Other things can help when our compass can’t identify true north.  If the sky is clear and the sun is setting or rising, general directions can be figured out.  But how do we determine direction in the middle of the day, with clouds, rain or fog; or finding ourselves in the middle of deep woods (and we don’t have a GPS)?

There are a number of major scandals that are unfolding in the news right now where it seems a whole lot of people got ‘lost in the woods’ due to malfunctioning moral compasses – assuming they had them.  I wonder how many of those involved are Christians – or ‘church goers’?

Maybe their jobs were threatened if they didn’t ‘go along’.  Maybe more significant threats were involved – or maybe none at all!  Maybe their moral compasses were so inadequate that they didn’t recognize that ‘wrong’ was being substituted for ‘right’.  Or they simply accepted the perceived reality that they didn’t have a choice, but to go along.

It’s not an issue of being judgmental but one of learning what could happen to us when we find ourselves being similarly tempted.   How do we know right from wrong?  How well will we do in the ‘fog and rain’ of circumstances that might threaten us?  Will our moral compass be immune to the cultural ‘iron ore’ around us, that will try to misdirect us?  Will we choose the right?  Or if we choose the wrong, will we justify our actions because of the consequences of not going along?

In any circumstances we as Christians find ourselves in, we have a ‘Heavenly GPS’ to guide us.  It not only tells us where we are (a compass can’t do that); it also tells us where to go; but we must be attentive!  The assets of our Heavenly GPS include: 1) We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, freed from the tendency to sin, 2) We have the Holy Spirit within us, 3) We have the Scriptures, 4) We have God’s grace to enable us, and 5) The faith in God to trust and believe.

These resources enable us to choose righteously no matter what we face.  The Holy Spirit is with us, to guide our decision making process as we go step by step through any trial.  He enables us to choose the right – no matter what the cost.  The choice is simply ours.  Choosing the wrong must never be perceived as a tenable option.  Our goal is to live for Christ and to always honor Him.

Luke 6:37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

I earlier wrote about my adventures with my ‘difficult to start’ weed-whacker.  I wrote about it in the context of recognizing the many trials we face on a daily basis and responding appropriately in a faith-filled manner.

Well – I had a new adventure with this delightful little contraption that I’m still laughing over it as I write.  The machine works fine once it is running.  The problem is getting it started and today I set the record for futility!

I was thinking of my devotional as I got it out after mowing the lawn.  I confess that when I earlier wrote of having to pull the starter cord about 100 times, it was a bit of an exaggeration.  Today I was thinking about how it would start faster than ever.  I pushed the priming bubble and started pulling.  Because I thought it would start quickly, I was counting my pulls.

Well, nothing was working!  6, 12…30…48…60…72…78 pulls plus adjustment – not a hint of response.   In the midst of this, I’m praying; asking the Lord for wisdom; asking Him to ‘heal’ the machine.  I’m kneeling next to it in the heat, sweating from mowing the lawn, my arm was ready to drop and I’m laughing at this goofy machine and the difficulty I’m having getting it going.  All the while talking to the Lord, trying to understand what is going on.

Then I saw it! – and could hardly believe it.  It was right in front of me.  If the Lord had chosen to speak audibly to me, He would have said something like, “Son – You have to turn it on first.”  Well, I turned the switch on and in 3 pulls it started!

In my elation (and feeling a bit dumber than dirt for missing the off/on switch) I thought this is another devotional.  The lesson in this just jumped out at me.  First things must come first.  Similar to “If…then” propositions.  If this happens – then that can happen.  God gives us all manner of instructions that must be obeyed in order to produce Godly results.  How often do we skip something that needs to be done first and then wonder why the results of subsequent actions are less than desirable?

Think of forgiving, apologizing, acknowledging we’ve made a mistake, asking for forgiveness…to name a few.  These are all actions that are critical to relationships and our growth.  Failure to do these things when incidents happen radically affects the outcomes and the quality of our relationships.  It’s like trying to start a weed-whacker without turning the switch on!

Scripture to follow…

One of the realities that we live with is that we are all works in progress.  We have strong points and weak points.  There are areas where we have really grown in God, and then there are those areas where our growth is stunted or nonexistent.  We can become callous to the reality of who we are; the ‘who we are’ that others encounter.

In looking at our lives, there are many attributes of our character.  I would like us to look at each of the following and prayerfully ask the Lord to help us to have eyes to see where we are in the continuum that exists for each.  This assumes that we know what each of the attributes is.  Do we know what being polite looks like?  What about the nuances of being rude?  Do we readily recognize inappropriate pride in our lives?  How does it differ from humility?

Where do you see yourself on each of the following spectrums?

• Rude               to                     Polite
• Proud             to                     Humble
• Boastful          to                     Not boastful
• Unkind            to                     Kind
• Easily angered             to         Not easily angered
• Remember wrongs      to         Overlook wrongs
• Impatient         to                   Patient
• Envious             to                   Not envious
• Self-seeking               to         Not self-seeking
• Delight in evil             to         Rejoice with truth
• Unprotective              to         Protective
• Untrusting                  to         Trusting
• Skeptical                     to         Hopeful
• Gives up easily           to         Perseveres
• Fails                             to         Never fails

We must recognize that the ingredients on the right are those of God’s Kingdom.  Those on the left speak of another kingdom in this world.  (It’s a place we aren’t even supposed to visit alone live there!)

You have probably surmised that this listing has to do with the attributes of love from 1 Corinthians 13.  The more our lives fall to the right side of each of the above continuums, the more they are demonstrating love of Christ.  Think of them as identifying ‘whose’ we are!  (Children of Light or children of darkness)  Here is the way Paul puts it:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸Love never fails.