Wednesday April 1, 2015

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Don Schmidt

Psalms 1:1  Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

In yesterday’s devotional, we wrote about the experiences two of our sons, Jamie and Andrew, had in gymnastics.  Good intentions and hard work did not bring excellence when they were at the first gymnastics club.  Their gymnastics routines had too many things wrong with them that were not dealt with.

When they transferred to the 2nd club where they became champions, it wasn’t a matter of just learning what the routines were supposed to look like.  Steve, the new coach had to work with them to undue all the bad habits that they had developed.  This was a challenge all in itself.  Bad process leads to bad results.  Watching video of themselves, they could see how they were doing things incorrectly.  By eliminating the bad habits, Steve was able to help them develop the good practice habits that would lead to excellence.

Fortunately at the new gymnastics club, there were a bunch of other quality gymnasts.  Jamie and Andrew could see others performing their routines correctly.  The gymnasts helped one another – pointing out glitches and helping each other to learn to do it right.  All of these gymnasts wanted to win, not only as individuals, but as a team.  In order to win, their performances had to meet gymnastics’ standards.

Many Christians today find themselves with habit patterns consistent with our sons’ first gym.  Good intentions, fun and participation are the rule.  Unfortunately, all manner of bad habits and bad practices (read that sin) abound because their lives are more formed by culture than by God’s word.  Worse still is the reality that these bad habits produce a spiritual deafness to the Holy Spirit making it more difficult to hear Him speak: Stop!  Don’t go there!  Don’t watch that.  Come this way.

The great news is that God doesn’t want to leave us there.  Once we recognize that our lives must be filled with His excellence, and choose to truly be His disciple, He will help us undue all the bad “practice habits” and show us how to do everything the right way.  After all, He is the best Coach there is!

To be continued…

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Tuesday March 31, 2015

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Don Schmidt

1 Timothy 6:11  But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Back in the 80s, two of our sons, Jamie and Andrew, were very interested in gymnastics.  Both joined a gymnastics club in NE Ohio.  They had a lot of fun and enjoyed their teams very much but there was a significant problem – in competition their respective teams didn’t do well because none of the individual gymnasts did well.  From year to year, when they passed from one age grouping to another, they still all did poorly.  The competing clubs whose gymnasts consistently did great, continued to excel as those gymnasts moved from age bracket to age bracket.

In talking to judges, one comment stood out: When in doubt, form wins out.  Unfortunately, the boys’ coach was committed to them doing difficult moves in their routines but he didn’t emphasize form – therefore their scores were poor.  Competitors doing simpler routines with great form were consistently beating them.   We listened to the judges and changed clubs.

Their new coach emphasized form.  When they did simple things well, they moved to greater difficulty, but the issue was always excellence.  Both boys were very talented and motivated – but now their energies and efforts were properly focused and directed.  The results were amazing!

They switched to the new club in the summer of 1989.  That previous spring Andrew had finished 70th out of 73 in the state meet as an 8 year old.  Jamie was middle of the pack as a 15 year old.  The following spring in 1990, after one year at the new club, both boys were state champions!  The issue wasn’t how hard they worked or how much they cared or wanted it.  It was that they were now doing the things “required by” the results they sought after. 

The same truth applies to our pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Wanting these things isn’t enough.  We must do the things required by ‘these results’ in order to get them.  God’s word tells us how we are to live so that – as we pursue these things, we experience excellence, not mediocrity.

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Monday March 30, 2015

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Don Schmidt

I Chronicles 12:32 men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

Have you ever felt clueless as to what is going on in the world around us?  It seems that the media and some of our leaders are clueless to reality – at least in terms of communicating facts and truth and making sound decisions.  Those erroneous communications and faulty decisions affect us all.

It’s almost like a tsunami of serious events is sweeping the world right now and these events affect God’s people everywhere.  On top of that is political correctness run rampant.  God forbid that a spade be called a spade; instead it must be called a garden implement.

We have massive media and societal reactions to events with little or no concern for the truth.  Don’t let the facts get in the way of a story – and if any of the facts are troublesome just ignore or change them.  It’s all about achieving desired outcomes, specifically for those creating the uproar.

We are living in the midst of this and it’s imperative that we, and our leaders, respond with understanding, wisdom and righteousness. Today’s verse in the Old Testament is a hidden jewel.  It’s easy to miss as it’s included in a list of the various groups of men who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him.

The men of Issachar are described here in Scripture in a way that is such an example for us.  They understood the times and knew what Israel must do!  We need to pray for this for ourselves, our leaders, for Israel, for Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel), for our military leaders and for Christians around the world.  God has wisdom, insight and understanding that is available to all those who seek Him.

We have a vital role to play.  We must not be clueless and resign ourselves to irrelevancy.  We are born to glorify our Lord and we are at His mercy – not the mercy of the events surrounding us. No matter how helpless we might feel, we are active ‘ingredients’ in the hands of our Lord and Savior.

Our prayers can move mountains!  Our faith-filled words and attitudes can impact those around us and influence them towards righteousness.   We too can respond faithfully to the events around us and further His kingdom.  Jesus, by His Spirit, will enable us to understand our times and will guide us in what to do.

Let us remember – we are players in the game – not spectators in the bleachers!

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Sunday March 29, 2015

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Don Schmidt

Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

One day, a number of years ago at work, I began experiencing significant chest pain.  My staff wanted me to go to the hospital and get checked over.  I thought I was going to be okay and refused.  They insisted that I call my wife Donna.  So I did and she told me just what they did – but I stubbornly insisted that I was okay.

A few minutes later my oldest son John called me in response to Donna’s call to him.  He had been a paramedic.  I’ll never forget his lovingly blunt words to me.  He said, “Dad.  There are two symptoms you never ignore: a pregnant lady having contractions and a guy your age with chest pain.  Get to the hospital – NOW!”

So my staff took me to the hospital and over two days I went through a bunch of tests.  The good news was – no heart problem. Every test came out good.  But John’s advice was still right on.  My stubbornness and lack of grasping the obvious could have cost me my life.

Chest pains and contractions are kind of hard to be unaware of.  They might be ignored for awhile but as they intensify, they sure can interrupt things.  Today’s verse is just as serious but is much more subtle.  It describes a deadly condition that we as God’s people can have and yet be blind to.  This verse is one that I have identified on my “Oh Jesus – keep me from this!” list.

There are many descriptions in Scripture of what to avoid but there are some – and today’s verse is one – that are particularly foreboding.  It describes God’s people as living in deception.  They think they are pleasing to Him but they’re not.  Their words and outward actions are rendered meaningless because of their hearts.

In the New Testament (Revelation 2 & 3), think of the letters to the Churches in Laodicea and Ephesus.  The Laodiceans thought they were rich, but Jesus considered them “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” – worthy of being spit out of His mouth!  The Ephesians were doing many things right, but Jesus charged them with having left their first love.  He commanded them to repent.

Unfortunately, the same things can and do happen to His people today.  “Oh Jesus – keep us from this!”  May we never give our Lord lip service, with our hearts far from Him.  May our hearts be truly His with our lives living examples of a people who are truly rich in Him.  Most of all, may Jesus be our first love – with us learning how and then loving Him more and more with each passing day!

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Saturday March 28, 2015

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Don Schmidt

Luke 17:15, 16  One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

These verses are at the heart of the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers.  All ten were cleansed but only this one returned and gave praise to God.  Jesus wondered where the other nine were – why they didn’t come back too.

But let’s focus on the one who responded as they all should have.  There’s a good possibility that he led a normal life until he became a leper. Maybe he was a farmer or a shepherd.  He likely had family and friends.  Then came the day when he discovered that he had leprosy.

I cannot imagine the pain of being separated from wife, children, parents, friends, your home – your entire world.  This separation is on top of having this dreaded disease.  Living a life where you are shunned by everyone except those who have the same disease.

Then you hear about Jesus – a Nazarene who is performing all manner of miracles.  Think of the discussions among the lepers as they dared to hope that Jesus might heal them.  And then He does.  All ten are cleansed. But this one, in his incredible joy, returns loudly praising God and finding Jesus to thank Him.

Then, imagine returning to your wife and children – to your parents and brothers and sisters and friends.  This man had his life not only returned to him – but it was as though all things became new.  Can you see him asking God to help him to never forget what Jesus did for him?  Can you see him thanking God every day for all the normal little things that he can now do again?

Spend some time thinking about the wonderful things that Jesus has done in your life.  Think of where you might be, if He hadn’t responded to your cry for help.  Ask the Lord to restore gratitude within you if it is missing.  Hopefully, we all will be overwhelmed with gratitude for the loving kindness of our God.

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Friday March 27, 2015

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Don Schmidt

John 12:37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

Years ago I met a pastor who had a most amazing story.  He had been born with club feet – which he no longer had.  When he was born, his parents were leaders in a non-Christian sect but they had a Bible.  They read in James 5 where it talks about elders anointing the sick with oil in the name of the Lord and their prayer of faith will make the sick person well.

Well they were leaders and they had a baby with club feet.  Even though they didn’t believe miracles could happen then, they were desperate and acted on what the Bible said.  So they got a jug of oil and poured it all on the baby’s feet in the name of Lord and prayed that God would do what the Bible said and heal him.  To their utter amazement, then and there, the miracle happened!  They watched both feet twist and became normal.  One moment their baby son had club feet – the next he was miraculously healed.  They were beside themselves with joy and excitement.

Just then there was a knock on the door and the main leader of their sect happened to stop by.  They excitedly brought him in to see the baby and witness the miracle that God had done.  The leader took one look and angrily declared how it wasn’t done by God and he walked out.  They were stunned!

Fortunately, they refused to believe him.  They recognized that they needed to find the truth and that meant leaving that sect.  Their search led them to Jesus and they became Christians – active in a local church.  This miracle baby grew up to become a pastor in that denomination and was standing with us telling us his own story.

Thank God that this man’s parents chose to follow the miracle – rather than the blindness of the leader.  The miracle led them to Jesus and they were set free.  That leader had much in common with many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who refused to believe their eyes.

For me, the most difficult thing to believe in the Bible is not the miraculous; but it’s how the religious leaders could see the thousands of miracles Jesus did and NOT believe.   Worse still, was their anger at seeing Jesus performing miracles, particularly those done on the Sabbath.  They were determined to kill Jesus!

And about this time 2,000 years ago, Jesus was headed for Jerusalem with his disciples, telling them it was about to happen.  Luke records that the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was saying about His death because the meaning of what He was saying was hidden from them (by God).  But we know what happened.  Let us make this journey with them as we approach the events of Passion Week.

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Thursday March 26, 2015

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Don Schmidt

Jeremiah 3:19  “I myself said, ‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.  I thought you would call me Father and not turn away from following me.”

Yesterday we looked at this verse that is so revealing of the pain associated with the Israelites going their own way and not responding to God and His love for them.  This morning I thought of the parable of the lost son who rebelled and spent his inheritance sinfully and wound up in the pigsty (Luke 15:11-31).  What do you think was going on with his father after his son went off?

Imagine his father watching his son walk away from home – not knowing if he would ever return.  At meal time he likely noticed his son’s empty seat at the table.  The stillness of not hearing his voice and not having his presence in the home at times could have been deafening.  Can you imagine the heartache whenever his father looked down the road and didn’t see his son returning?

I can imagine the pain.  He loved his son but was helpless to reach him.  Now into this context, think of our God looking at a world with his potential sons and daughters all in pigsties, no matter what their circumstances were; all ‘away from home and away from Him’.  But our God wasn’t and isn’t helpless.  He made a way for each and everyone of us to ‘come back home’ to Him.

The way that He made for us is so wonderfully described in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”  He didn’t and doesn’t just write us off – He made a way for us!  And His Spirit is wooing every one of us, in the pig sties of life, to come to ourselves and recognize that Jesus can and will ‘bring us home’.

When the son came to himself and returned he had no idea the joy that was awaiting him.  He recognized just how guilty he was and never expected the response his father gave him.  But his father saw him coming even when he was a long way off and ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son was stunned by the celebration; so great was his father’s joy that he had come home.

Jesus taught that this celebration is what happens in Heaven whenever one sinner repents!  And we get to experience it!!!  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to experience the overwhelming joy and love that I did when Jesus came into my life.  One moment I was lost and in the pigsty, the next I was ‘at home’ in the embrace of my God, absolutely overwhelmed by His love for me.

Because of the love of God in Jesus, we get to call Him Father and faithfully follow Him all the days of our lives!

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Wednesday March 25, 2015

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Don Schmidt

Question: What did God want when He gave us the gift of Jesus? My answer is probably different than you think.  Today’s verse is unlike any other and is at the end of the devotional.

Three months ago we celebrated the birth of Jesus – the greatest gift that God could ever give.  In less than two weeks we will celebrate His resurrection, which is the most important Christian holy day.  Yahweh so loved the world that He gave Jesus, His only Son for us.   Through faith in Jesus we are able to be born-again, saved, be born of the Spirit, freed from sin, become children of God, have eternal life, …

The blessings that flow from Yahweh’s love for us are beyond measure.  But they stem from His desire for something.  Can you think of what that might be?  Any number of answers might come close: He wanted to undo the results of the fall; He wanted a people for Himself; He wanted to redeem mankind.

A major clue is in the answer Jesus gives to the question, “What is the greatest commandment?”  My favorite recording of Jesus being asked this question is Mark 12:28-34.  I never cease to be moved by the response of this teacher of the law and then Jesus’ response to him.

Over and over again throughout scripture, Yahweh instructs His people to love Him.  He will keep His covenant of love to a thousand generations (Deut 7:9) with those who do love Him and keep His commands.  Is there a Old Testament verse that lets us see the impact upon Him of His people from not doing this?  The answer is yes.

The verse is in Jeremiah 3 and reveals His heart so uniquely.  In this chapter, our God is calling for unfaithful Israel to repent and return to Him.  The verse that is so revealing is 3:19 where Yahweh declares, “I myself said, ‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.  I thought you would call me Father and not turn away from following me.”

Do we see and feel the pain revealed in that verse??!! He thought they would call Him Father and not turn away from following Him.  I know of no other verse where Yahweh so reveals the pain associated with the failure of His people to respond to Him.  It’s as though His heart is bleeding on the floor in front of us.  More than anything else, God wants a people who love Him.  How can we do anything less?

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Tuesday March 24, 2015

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Don Schmidt

1 Peter 1:7  These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Have you ever thought about the difference between what’s real and what’s artificial?  Depending upon the circumstances it might be irrelevant or it might be significant.  I don’t think we’d want to bite into artificial fruit – we might break a tooth; but seeing a bouquet of artificial flowers is another thing.  But you sure wouldn’t expect to see a garden of artificial flowers.  Context can make a big difference.

Personally I love bouquets of fresh cut flowers.  In the spring I love having, daffodils, hyacinth and seeing blossom trees in full bloom.  Given my love of flowers, their beauty and fragrance, I love to have a couple of bouquets in the house to enjoy.   But many are the times I’ve experienced the disappointment of being attracted to plants or bouquets only to discover they weren’t real.

I remember years ago we were being shown around a friend’s big new home.  The wooden furniture in one room was amazing.  At least it was amazing until we touched it and discovered that the ornate fronts of each piece were plastic.  They were pretty but it seemed the intention was to have the furniture give the appearance of being something it wasn’t.  It wasn’t genuine.

Do we realize that any discussion of real versus artificial takes on a whole different dimension when we talk about our lives and relationships?  What kind of ‘front’ do we put up when we go somewhere?  .  How often do we hear of marriages breaking up and it comes as a total surprise to even close friends or family?  Instead of a genuine quality relationship, the representation of the marriage was artificial.

The same problems can appear in individuals, families, friendships or working relationships.  The issue isn’t to broadcast our problems to the world but to recognize the importance of our lives; that as Christians – Jesus followers – they must be the real thing.  There are times when we need help to get through stuff and we mustn’t let pride get in the way.  That’s why quality relationships with other believers are so important.  They provide the opportunities to receive needed help.  Beautiful gardens don’t happen over night; they take work.  So do quality lives and relationships.

We must take advantage of the grace, mercy, instruction and resources that God gives us; plus the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to become the genuine reality that He desires.  When we do, our lives are real – not artificial – because they are the work of His of hands.  He is the potter – we are the clay.

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Monday March 23, 2015

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Don Schmidt

1 Corinthians 8:3  But the man who loves God is known by God.

When I read this verse I think of Moses and the burning bush.  The bush was on fire but it didn’t burn up.  It caught Moses’ attention and in the midst of shepherding his sheep, he turned aside to see this strange sight.  Once God saw that he had turned aside to look, He called to Moses from within the bush.

Moses responded and encountered God in a stunning way.  It strikes me that in today’s verse, ‘the man who loves God’ is the bush and ‘is known by God’ is the burning part – the fire that doesn’t consume.  This verse is there, like a bush on fire, that doesn’t burn up, with God waiting to see who will be attracted and turn aside.

There are other verses that have this same feature – this same element of mystery and attraction.  They are there – waiting – to see if they will cause us to ‘turn aside’.  James 4:8a says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”  Stop and think about that.  God is everywhere.  He’s omnipresent.  As Christians He lives within us.  So what is He talking about when He says if we come near to Him, He will come near to us?  Could He be talking about something more intimate?

Then in John 14: 21b Jesus says, “The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  This verse is explosive!  The one who loves Jesus will be loved by His Father!  But, doesn’t God already love us?  Isn’t that why He sent Jesus?  Is it possible that somehow, when it comes to the love of God, there is a whole lot more we can experience?

The Amplified Bible states the last clause of John 14:21 this way, “…and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]”  WOW!!!  This shouts that there is unspeakable treasure waiting for those who love God!  Not in terms of things, but in terms of relationship and intimacy with our Lord God.  All of this is there waiting for the ones who love Him.

These experiences are reserved for those who truly pursue loving God.  It’s almost like God saying that when we first come to Him, as marvelous as our experiences might be, it’s only the ‘tip of the iceberg’.   There is so much more of Him that only the ones who love Him will get to experience.  The choice is ours.

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