Monday April 14, 2014

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs  8:17  I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Donna and I are going to celebrate our 44th anniversary this year.  They have truly been wonderful years and my heart is to learn to love her more and more with each passing day.

But in the early 90s we went through a time of difficulty that could have ended our marriage.  I loved Donna, or so I thought, except I was doing all kinds of things that were a mass of contradictions.  I would tell her of my love, take her on dates and trips, buy her cards and flowers, help around the house, etc…

On the other hand, I would walk away from her when she was talking to me or just ignore her.  I would lose my temper with her.  My frustrations with work were taken out on her.  My anger would flare and she got so she never knew when I was going to vent or even why.  There was no infidelity or physical abuse – it was all thoughtlessness, carelessness and blindness on my part.  All too often I was a real jerk.  This all exploded out as my oldest son John and I were leaving for a few days on the Outer Banks.  Fortunately, a Northeaster arrived just as we got there so I got to face this situation instead of fishing.

I have a notebook from that weekend with pages of things I was doing wrong – things that were communicating “I don’t love you!”  These things were effectively undermining and obliterating all the good things I was doing that were speaking of my love.  God in His goodness turned me every way but loose that weekend.  He opened my eyes and let me see all the contradictions between my expressions of love and the actions of my life.

The Lord just did a wonder in me at the beach, and I needed it because I came home to a very hurting wife.  Fortunately, our commitment to Jesus and to each other trumped everything.  The Lord provided a marvelous Christian counselor who was priceless.  Although it took months, the Lord brought us through.  Our marriage wasn’t put back together – it was transformed – from a caterpillar to a butterfly!

This experience with Donna had a profound impact on my relationship with the Lord.  It made me aware of how blind I could be – how my expressions of love could be negated by my actions.  The good things I do being trumped by my sin – sin I could be blind to see.

Loving God is the most important thing we can ever do.  We don’t want anything in our lives that undermines that.  We want to love Him more and more.  The marvelous thing is that the more we genuinely love Him, the more we experience His love for us.

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Sunday April 13, 2014

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Don Schmidt

2 Corinthians 1:4  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Our God is such a wonderful God.  I never cease to be amazed that we get to experience His love in such wonderful ways.  Some of the very richest times with Him are when we are experiencing difficulty or pain.  In those times, He calls us to turn to Him and find the comfort that he has for us.

Today’s verse describes Him, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, as the One comforting us in all our troubles.  Sometimes He is simply a quiet presence there with us – enabling us to share our burdens and pain with Him.  His presence can be like an arm around our shoulders, simply holding us close.  As we recognize that He is with us, we make the choice to receive His comfort, which is a tangible blessing to us.

Learning to do this is so important because it enables us to comfort others with the comfort we received from Him.  Troubles are a part of life, and He wants us to be blessings to one another and those around us.  Sometimes we are able to share wisdom or insight that brings this comfort.  Other times it might be just listening – being there with them and sharing in their hurt or sorrow.

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was: a four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

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Saturday April 12, 2014

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Don Schmidt

1 Corinthians 16:14   Do everything in love.

This verse today is particularly interesting because of something we will get to in a moment.  It instructs us to do everything in love.  Think about that.  What is excluded from everything?  And how do we do everything in love?  What exactly does it mean?

But something else struck me about this verse.  Do we men have a tendency to view a statement like this as being more feminine?  Is it more “manly” to talk about the armor of God – shield and sword and breastplate?  Think of Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Brave Heart when he was riding back and forth challenging the men to fight.  “I am William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men… and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? “

Or how about Aragorn, who in Return of the King, challenges the men just before the last battle in front of the gates of Mordor?  Aragorn begins by saying, “Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.”

There’s no question that we have been strongly impacted by our culture.  We’ve also been affected by a lack of understanding of what love really is.  The interesting thing that I referred to about this verse, is it’s context – specifically, verse 13 in front of it.  Today’s verse is the last item in a list of five specific commands given by Paul.  Picture yourself in a group of believers being challenged with these five commands:

  • Be on your guard
  • Stand firm in the faith
  • Be men of courage
  • Be strong
  • Do everything in love

Wallace and Aragorn were talking to men about to fight with swords and spears.  We must recognize that we too are in a battle – a spiritual one – and that a primary weapon that we are to live with and fight with, is love.

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Friday April 11, 2014

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Matthew 5:16  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Amplified)

Think of it!  We have the opportunity to live our lives in such way as to bring praise and honor to God.  We get to live lives of righteousness and do good works that bless others and honor Him.  We get to be extensions of Him.  We don’t do it out of obligation – but out of love and gratitude for the amazing life that He has given us in Jesus.

Think of the attributes of people you interact with in normal situations.  Those attributes that you like – patience, kindness, goodness, love, truthfulness, helpfulness, honesty, humility, gratitude to name a few.  Isn’t it refreshing to interact with people whose lives are characterized by such qualities?  Whether you’re at work, or in a store or wherever – how noticeable it is when those around us demonstrate such positive traits.

Unfortunately, all too often, we experience the negative attributes of people, particularly in difficult situations, or when they are rushed or simply preoccupied.  More difficult still is when the ones acting negatively are Christians – or claiming to be.  The question then becomes how are we going to respond?   Will it be as they are treating us?  Or will we treat them the way we wished they were treating us – in the way Scripture instructs us to?

It’s amazing what kindness can do when it’s offered in response to unkindness; – or patience to impatience – helpfulness to selfishness – honesty to dishonesty – courtesy to rudeness.  Sometimes the only affect will be within the conscience of the ill-mannered person as they walk away thinking about your positive behavior.  Other times, it can produce an immediate change where they respond positively.

But the issue isn’t really them and their behavior.  The issue is us and the attributes we demonstrate to those around us – day in and day out.  What kind of co-worker, friend, relative, spouse, parent, neighbor, teammate, classmate, lab partner are we?  The more our lives are characterized by Godly attributes, the greater the positive impact on those around us will be.

These Godly attributes are the praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds we all can do. They are vital components of the light we are to shine forth.  They bring honor and glory to our God and blessing to all those around us.

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Thursday April 10, 2014

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Luke 10:33  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to help his questioner identify who his neighbor was.  When Jesus finished, the questioner rightly concluded that of the three travelers, the Samaritan was the neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of the robbers, because the Samaritan had mercy on him.

Our focus today is on the Samaritan – not the other two who failed to respond.  Note that when the Samaritan saw the man in need, he took pity on him.  It wasn’t a matter of the Samaritan having an internal argument within himself on what was the right thing to do in this situation.  His kindness and generosity were expressions of his life. The Samaritan was a loving man.

We Christians must become the same kind of loving people that he was.  We want our love to be genuine – a love that moves us to respond with right hearts.  This is something that we grow in.  By responding to the situations we see, He opens our eyes to see more.  God is working within each of us so that kindness and generosity will be natural responses that we make to situations we encounter.  This is how we love those around us – how we love our neighbors.

Do you realize that we can be the answer that God sends in response to the prayers of those in need around us?  That’s want He wants!  Maybe they don’t pray or think about God, but because of the kindness through us, they will take note of our love and wonder where it comes from.  Think of the joy and honor of being asked by someone, “Why are you so different?  Why are you so thoughtful and kind?”  To which we can answer, “Let me tell you about Jesus.”

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Wednesday April 9, 2014

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Matthew 5:14  You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Years ago a wonderful Christian friend of ours named Hal was hired to manage a type of music store by a major corporation.  They informed him that they were giving him a young salesman who had all kinds of potential but it wasn’t being realized.

This was due to a problem he had – he was forever witnessing to employees and customers about his Christian faith.  He was more interested in witnessing than he was in doing his job.  Hal was informed that this was the young man’s last chance.  If he didn’t turn it around, he would be fired.

Hal called the young man into his office.  After talking a bit, he asked the young man to take the lampshade off the lamp that was on an end table next to them and to turn the lamp on high so that the light was at its brightest.  He then had the young man look directly at the light and Hal asked him to describe what he was experiencing.  The young man complained that the glare of the light was uncomfortable to look at.

Hal then put the lampshade on the lamp and asked him to now describe his experience.  He said that the light was attractive and pleasant to look at.  Hal explained that with the lampshade, he was seeing a glow.  Without the lampshade, he was seeing a glare.  A glow attracts and a glare repels.

The same was true of his Christian witness.  God wanted his witness done wisely, so that it was a glow – not a glare.  It was also critical that his manner of working not compromise or undermine the testimony of his faith.  By witnessing the way he had been doing and by not doing his job, he was coming on with a glare.

Fortunately, the young man was teachable and embraced the wisdom from Hal.  He became the star salesman that everyone knew he could be, and importantly, he eliminated the compulsiveness of his witnessing.  He was still able to share his faith, but with Hal’s help he did so in a manner that drew people to him and to the Lord rather than pushing them away.

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Tuesday April 8, 2014

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Staying with – I Corinthians 7:19b  Keeping God’s commands is what counts.

What really matters in our lives, overall?  What are the main convictions / values that drive us?  If one of our answers is our faith, what is it about our faith that is at it’s core?  How does our faith impact our lives and those around us?  Although this verse is in a particular context, it can really stand alone.  It is telling us that it isn’t enough to talk the talk.

Think of buying a product with a brand name and then having nothing but problems with it.  Or maybe it’s okay most of the time, but it has a knack of not working when we need it most.  If someone asked us if we would recommend it, we’d say NO.  Although the product might look good, and it might perform well much of the time – that’s not enough.  The issue is that it’s lacking in quality and reliability.  It’s subpar.  You might even call it a lemon.

In light of this illustration, consider the verse again, “Keeping God’s commands is what counts.”  I’m reminded of a major manufacturer whose corporate motto was, “The quality goes in before the name goes on!”  We were bought at a great price.  We are new creatures in Christ Jesus.  We have His Spirit within us.  We are freed from the power of sin.  God has expectations and requirements of all of us as His sons and daughters.  They are not optional.

As believers, the Holy Spirit uses Scripture to teach us how to live.  He also convicts us of sin in our lives.  He shows us our wrong motivations, our frailties, weaknesses, shortcomings and all manner of things in order to help us to obey – to become more like Jesus.  He convicts.  We repent.  He empowers and transforms us.  We co-operate with Him.  Our lives become testimonies of keeping His commands.

A portion of this verse is a very important definition (1 John 5:3).  Keeping God’s commands is the Biblical definition of loving God.  Why is obeying His commands so important?  Paraphrasing today’s verse sums it up really well: “Loving God is what counts.”

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Sunday April 6, 2014

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Don Schmidt

I Corinthians 7:19b  Keeping God’s commands is what counts.

Have you ever noticed how doing the right thing is a whole lot easier when you have a right attitude / good motives?  Obedience just seems to flow out of a right attitude, when our motives are good – even when the circumstances are difficult.

Your spouse or kids or parents need help with something and you just got home and have just collapsed into a chair exhausted.  All you want to do is relax.  But when your heart is to help them, getting yourself up isn’t that difficult to do, in spite of how you feel.

But what happens when your attitude isn’t right? Doing the right thing can be made a lot more difficult if our wrong or bad attitude prevails.  Another trap is to disobey because we wrongly focus on our motives rather than on repentance and obedience.

Picture this:

Godly Motives & Attitudes <—————Faith—————- > Obedience

Right motives and attitudes coupled with faith lead to obedience. The great news is that the opposite can happen!  Obedience, coupled with faith (honesty with God) can lead to Godly motives and attitudes! This continuum can go either way!

When our attitudes / motives are less than they should be (or are awful), our obedience can become the framework for God to use in shaping and transforming them.  Think of cement forms for laying a walkway.  The forms are put into the correct shape and the cement is poured in.  Once it hardens the forms are removed.  Our obedience is like the concrete forms.  It, coupled with our acknowledgement of our sin, provides the framework for God to use.

We cannot avoid obeying God because of a bad attitude.  When I am in situations like this, I find myself confessing my sinful attitudes / motives to God and asking Him to transform them as I obey and do the right thing.  Through my continued obedience and repentance, God transforms my heart moving it to the Godly end of the above continuum.

It is a marvelously redemptive process that we can confidently use whenever our attitudes and motives are less than they should be.

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Saturday April 5, 2014 –

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This morning I thought I was going a different direction with today’s devotional, but then my mind was filled with a chorus that I haven’t sung for many years.  But more than a chorus, it expresses the reality of our lives:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know, I know, I know He holds the future.
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

This chorus is from the song Because He Lives – by Bill & Gloria Gaither. The first verse says it all:

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus.
He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died, to buy my pardon.
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

In the good times, the hard times and the bad times – life is worth living because Jesus lives!  He is who we are all about.  But it’s more than just having a reason to live for.  He touched us!  He changed us!  He lives within us and transforms everything – most of all us!  In Jesus, we possess the greatest gift ever given to mankind and it wasn’t just a one time event.

Each and every day, we get to awake to the wonder of our God.  Because He lives in us, each day is filled with opportunity to walk with Him – to experience and express His love in the midst of whatever we find ourselves in. We don’t live in fear, but in hope – no matter what things look like.  His joy and peace fill us and sustain us.  Our lives become a fragrance of Him to all those around us.  Peace, joy and hope are not common commodities in the world today.  Our lives are about Him!

All of this is possible and a treasured reality for us – because Jesus lives!

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Friday April 4, 2014

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Don Schmidt

James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I would like us to focus on the last thought of this verse, “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  It involves the disparity between the lives many Christians lead and the lives scriptures call them to.

My parents had a young dogwood tree in their backyard that had pink and white flowers.  The flowers were all supposed to be pink and they wondered how this could be happening.  We called a family friend who had a nursery and he had the answer.  He told us if we examined the trunk of the tree, we would likely see two intertwined trunks growing out of the ground.  In the grafting process, somehow the natural growth (white) was able to take hold and grow along side the grafted (pink).

Sure enough, it was just as he said.  We had to carefully identify which trunk was which and cut off the trunk with white flowers at the ground.  If we didn’t, the natural, wild dogwood would eventually eliminate the grafted in – the pink would disappear and the tree would be entirely white.  When we cut off the trunk with the white flowers, we had to be careful as we separated them and removed the white.  The two “trees” were totally intertwined with each other

This is a frighteningly wonderful illustration of our lives in Christ.  He intends for our lives to show forth the “pink attributes” – the grafted in desirable ones that come from walking in His ways.  If we don’t live as He directs us, we produce the old nature “white attributes” – that come from being polluted by the world.  If we try to have it both ways, the result is an intertwining of pink and white – righteous and unrighteous – and the unfortunate message that sends to those around us.  Left undealt with, the unrighteous white will slowly replace the righteous pink.

May we live lives that only produce the righteous attributes of Him.

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