Saturday February 22, 2014

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Mark 1:40-42  A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  41Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Our son Andrew is a wonderful actor who lives in Denver.  I watched a DVD of a marvelous Christmas program Andrew was involved in a few years ago where he played the role of Nathaniel, the leper.  In that role he was the narrator of the program that told the story of Jesus and culminated with him telling his story.

He told of being a farmer, of his home life with his wife and daughter, of becoming a leper, and then losing it all and the years of being alone.  He was considered unclean – untouchable.  But then he told of hearing about Jesus and what led up to his encounter with Him described in today’s verses.

The scene is very moving say the least but last night it seemed like the Lord just highlighted even more for me the fact of Jesus’ love for this man and the fact that Jesus touched him.  Seeing Andrew, as the leper, with tears streaming down his face describing with such passion this encounter with Jesus, left me totally captured by the wonder of being touched by Jesus. He described the look in Jesus’ eyes and the incredible fact that Jesus didn’t cure him with a word, but that Jesus reached out to him and touched him – an unclean leper. It was as though Andrew really had been the leper and Andrew was describing what had actually happened to him.

Sitting there watching this, I was so thrilled that I too had been touched by Jesus.  I had my own overwhelming wonder at what He had done for me – thankful that being touched by Jesus isn’t limited only to those who lived with Him 2,000 years ago.  Jesus Christ is alive – touching people every day!  Our God is not some distant, unapproachable, unloving being.  He is the very opposite.

This morning as I write this, I am consumed with gratitude and wonder that the God of the universe not only cares for us, but that He touches us and makes us His own.  The touch of God in our lives is every bit as real as the touch that healed this leper of his leprosy.  We are forever changed.  May we be forever captured by the wonder of it all!

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Friday February 21, 2014

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Isaiah 7:14,15  Therefore the Lord himself will give youa sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.

How do we know what is right or wrong?  What is good and what is evil?  What is our basis for identifying such things?  Such determinations don’t happen by accident or just come about naturally.  They require us to learn Scripture and learn to respond to the working of the Holy Spirit within us.  We become enabled to recognize and discern the truth no matter how convoluted the circumstances.

The world has its own idea about what is good and evil or what is right and wrong.  Are there circumstances that make it appropriate to lie?  How about situational ethics?  Sometimes it seems that the biggest evil to the world is Christians making any kind of judgment that something is evil or wrong.  We can become so accustomed to the world’s lies that we adopt behaviors that declare the Truth to be the forgery.  Isaiah addressed this problem when he wrote:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20)

Some things are so blatantly evil that you can’t miss them.  But that isn’t the general way the enemy of our soul attacks us.  He tries to blur the lines and induce Christians to walk in pathways that lead to temptation – that present unrighteousness in attractive packaging.  Just think of much of the commercial advertising and TV programming we are exposed to.  We become familiar with pathways that have his ‘forgeries’ presented as the norms of ‘good’ behavior.  His goal is to have us reach a point where we affirm the forgeries and reject the ‘original’.  Or where we succumb to societal pressures and tolerate his redefined ‘acceptable’ behaviors in our lives.

If we persist in the path of accurately identifying evil as evil and good as good, the enemy of our souls will try to move us to becoming overtly judgmental of others.  That can produce a prideful blindness that is repugnant to God.  Remember the Pharisees were so concerned with sin they missed Jesus.  But doing this the right way is our destiny and is included in learning to reject the wrong and choose the right.  God is our enabler.

The Scriptures are our standard.  They identify that ‘good and evil’ apply to behaviors, thoughts, attitudes – every area of our lives.  God wants us to walk in righteousness and it is imperative that we learn from Scripture what it is and isn’t, and His requirement to do it the right way.  We must recognize that with the Holy Spirit we can accurately reject the wrong and choose the right but it requires focus, intentionality and learning.  He expects no less of us.

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Thursday February 20, 2014

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Don Schmidt

1 Peter 4:9, 10  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

There is an old story that has a powerful message about opportunities.  An Arab was traveling through the desert at night to escape the daytime heat, guided by the stars.  Crossing a deep dry riverbed he heard a voice call out in the night.  It said, “Dismount and gather up stones from the bed of the river and go on your way.  In the morning you will be both glad and sad.”

He did what he was told and gathered up a handful of small stones from the riverbed, and mounting his camel, he continued on his way.  At first light he opened the pouch in which he had put the stones and discovered that they were priceless jewels.  At first he was ecstatic and then he was sad.  He was grateful for what he had gathered but sad that he had not gathered more.

An opportunity had come to him and he had responded by filling one pouch.  He could have ignored the voice; or he could have filled several pouches with stones. The blessing he received – or missed – was based on the choice he made.   We encounter opportunities all the time.  The question is do we have the eyes to see them and the motivation to respond if we do?  We can be so caught up in our busyness that we don’t recognize or even consider them.  All too often, opportunities can appear to us as burdens – a pocketful of stones.

Today’s verses describe a way of life that is rich both in blessings and rewards; being a blessing to others and receiving the rewards of administering God’s grace.   These aren’t ‘stones’ to encumber us, but jewels to enrich us.   Offering hospitality and serving others are pathways to building relationships, establishing community and expressing the love of God to one another.  They are also marvelous blessings to the recipients.  The wonderful thing is that our Lord opens our eyes to see the treasure that these things are while we are doing them.  Pray that we will all respond faithfully to the opportunities He sends us each day.

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Wednesday February 19, 2014

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 20:11  Every child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.

One of my favorite memories is the time a few years ago when I drove to Akron where our son Jamie and his family live.  He and his wife Tiffany have a daughter Sophia (now 11) and a son Sam (now 9).  My wife was already there and I had not seen them in 16 months.  I didn’t realize how much Sophia and Sam wanted to see and be with me.

I was the recipient of repeated hugs and lovin’s.  They snuggled next to me and curled up in my lap, just wanting to be near me.  They expressed their love verbally and physically.  Sometimes it felt like they were applying a tourniquet to my arm or leg they squeezed me so tightly.

The marvelous thing is that they weren’t asking for anything.  It was clear that they were not “doing to get” but they were “doing to give”.  They were expressing what is within them.  They simply wanted to be with me and they freely expressed their love and affection in wonderful ways.

It’s amazing the impact that their expressions of love had on me.  I wanted to be with them even more.  I wanted to bless them and I found myself looking for new and creative ways to express my love for them.  This struck me as a significant aspect of what God wants in us as His sons and daughters.

He desires us to express our love for Jesus, not out of duty or obligation, nor as an attempt to get something from Him.  He desires that our lives express the genuine reality that we are thrilled to have Jesus; that we don’t take Him for granted.  Our actions and attitudes determine the genuineness of our love.  The more we walk in His ways and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, the more we express our love for Him.  And He responds to that love in ways that allow us to experience even more apsects of His love for us.

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Tuesday February 18, 2014

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Luke 1:45  “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she declared this to Mary when Mary came to visit.  Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant with John and Mary was pregnant with Jesus.  What a blessing and encouragement they were to each other.  Both women were chosen by God to do what appeared to be impossible – Elizabeth bearing a baby at her age and Mary a pregnant virgin.

Each of them was going to bear their first child.  Then there were the incredible prophecies delivered by the angel Gabriel regarding both boys and their destinies.  What conversations they must have had!  The Christmas Story is truly miraculous: encounters with angels, God’s supernatural intervention, skies opening and heavenly choirs singing, the Star in the East – a Savior is born!  The story is amazing.

But behind the scenes, God basically chose 2 couples to each bear a son and raise him.  The task of bearing and raising children is common to nearly all.  But the circumstances were incredible!  God has a way of asking us to do ordinary things but the circumstances might be anything but ordinary.  He assures us that He will provide what we need while asking for sacrifices that appear to be beyond what we have or are capable of making. Or maybe it is just responding to His Spirit in a particular situation but we are afraid to obey for various reasons.

We have the opportunity to respond in faith – to demonstrate that what we believe the Lord has asked of us, will be accomplished.  God is going to use us to proclaim His word and accomplish many things.  The more we walk in faith and keep Him at the center of our lives, the more we will be able to experience the blessing of seeing Him accomplish His purposes through us.

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Monday February 17, 2014

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Job 1:22  In all this Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

It’s difficult to imagine the impact of all the disasters that happened to Job in chapter one.  Scripture describes him as being blameless and upright; one who feared God and shunned evil.  But through no fault of his own, loss, destruction and death were involved in each of the 4 messages brought to him, one after another.  The last one being word of the death of his seven sons and three daughters by a mighty wind causing the house they were feasting in to collapse on them. Yet his response was to fall to the ground in worship.

Seldom will we or anyone we know experience loss of the magnitude that Job did.  But we do experience loss, pain and tragedy in many forms.  In such times, how wonderful it would be for our immediate response to be one of worshipping the Lord as Job did.  Unfortunately many would find it difficult to worship freely in such a time of agony.  But that is where the verse today is so critically important.

Job didn’t charge God with wrong doing.  He didn’t say, “God how could you….”  He didn’t lash out at the Lord or blame Him in any way.  It’s so important that we understand that such responses are sin. Let’s say that again but more pointedly: ‘Charging God with wrongdoing is sin.’  The importance of all this is further emphasized in Job 2:10b where we learn, “In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

It’s not that God won’t forgive such responses, but it’s what they reveal about us.  They reflect an inadequate and inaccurate understanding of who God is and of our relationship with Him.  To respond negatively towards God shows us we are weak where we should be strong.  When we find ourselves in such situations, think of the difference between these responses: 1) “God how could you…” and 2) Oh Lord, I’m so glad that I have you in the midst of this…”

There are times when we are experiencing difficult and painful things that our hearts are not in the place to worship.  But hopefully, they are also not in the place to charge our Lord with wrongdoing.  In such times let us take the faith position of thanking the Lord for keeping us from sinning and asking Him to work the change in us so that our heart-response is to worship Him in the midst of it all.

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Sunday February 16, 2014

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Romans 12:13  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

In the spring of 2010 when the greater Nashville area experienced severe flooding, the churches played a huge role in bringing relief and assistance to those who were victims of the flood.  Some areas received as much as 26 inches of rain in 36 hours.  The motivation of the churches wasn’t to receive recognition; it was a spontaneous response to the obvious crisis that descended upon this region.

While applicable to major disasters, today’s verse particularly speaks to the needs we Christians have in our daily lives.  It speaks to us about the importance of being aware of the needs in the lives of Christians around us and helping to meet them.  Widows, the unemployed, the sick, those in financial distress, family crises, accidents, the hungry, – the list of needs goes on.  The Lord wants to use us to meet the needs of one another.  This is another powerful attribute that must characterize who we are

Last week we began looking at the verses starting with Romans 12:9.  They contain a list of righteous attributes that identify God’s people.  In order for the church to be what God intends it to be, these attributes must characterize it.  That means they must characterize

  9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.

I have underlined the phrases that form a consistent thread running through these verses.  They are all other-oriented – and all positive in nature.  They reflect Christians loving one another in practical, useful ways.  They reflect the body of Christ living out a lifestyle that is most attractive; a lifestyle of salt and light.  Such lives will cause people to become thirsty for God.

Unfortunately we allow our lives to become self-oriented.  We allow the business of life to deprive us of rich opportunities to bless and be blessed – to see and become aware of needs in other Christians’ lives, and to help meet them.  One example of this: instead of extending hospitality to others, we assume they prefer a motel – thus missing the blessings hospitality bestows.  The more we do these things, the better and richer it becomes for us and those around us.  May our lives richly reflect these wonderful attributes that glorify our Lord

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Saturday February 15, 2014

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Romans 12:12  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

This is a wonderful memory from 2 years ago.

Monday, Tuesday and this morning I’ve received a wonderful email and phone calls from three dear friends who had me on their hearts.  Those contacts were beyond encouraging – they were tokens of kindness from the Lord.  As most of you know I have been without a job since the end of October and so far the search hasn’t produced one.  There was a great job opportunity that I thought for sure was going to be mine, but the Lord had that door close.  In the ongoing job search I haven’t been without hope but sometimes we flounder because the results seem to be in hiding somewhere.

Monday was a very difficult day and later in the afternoon I received the first of these communications from a friend I’ve mentored and is like a son to us.  WOW – what a blessing it was.  Then yesterday morning another friend called because the Lord had put me on his heart for two days.  We had been involved with Afghanistan together.  The message and encouragement he spoke to me were priceless.  Then just a few minutes ago – while writing this devotional – a third friend called, concerned about us.  He is a soon to graduate student at the college we were with.  Three days – three major touches from the Lord through friends.

Then there is the treasure contained in today’s verse – which so powerfully declares how we are to live no matter what is going on.  I’m thrilled with the encouragement God has given me through friends.  All of that just enhances my focus upon Him and the power of His Word.  Our Lord gives us hope and enables us to be joyful in it.

Life is filled with trials and He enables us to develop patience (one of the fruit of the Spirit) in the midst of it.  He teaches us to pray and through spending time with Him we want to pray more.  On top of all that we learn that these concrete actions have an ever greater reality to them.  They are specific expressions of our love for Him.  We love our Lord by being joyful in hope.  We love our Lord by being patient in affliction.  We love our Lord by being faithful in prayer.  And, each of these actions are things that we can grow in.

There are those around us who need to be encouraged.  We need to ask the Lord to show them to us so that not only will they be encouraged by our contact, but also by this wonderful scripture.  Help them remember the power of prayer and to see that they too can have joy and hope and patience in the midst of all they’re going through.  God will provide us with the opportunities to share our faith as we live out these qualities each and every day.  God wants to use us to show them Himself.  We get to be the frame and He is the picture! 

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Friday February 14, 2014

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Don Schmidt

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.

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Thursday February 13, 2014

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Don Schmidt

Romans 12:11  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

This morning when I was asking the Lord about today’s verse, I was reminded of some friends of ours.  Their home is in the north where the winters are long and cold – like below zero.  They heat it with a wood burning stove.  Having a bonfire in the fireplace once a week, while nice, just doesn’t do it.  They have a wood supply and habit patterns that include tending that stove so it produces heat around the clock; day after day.

If they want the house to be a comfortable temperature, they maintain the stove and all it involves.  Their physical bodies are constantly aware of how well they are doing or not doing.  When the temperature in the house is comfortable, their ‘bodies’ are ‘quiet’.  But let the temperature drop in the house (somebody forgot to put wood in the stove) and their bodies start ‘communicating’!  Can’t you just imagine being busy and all of a sudden your ‘body’ speaks up and saying, “Excuse me!  We are shivering and turning blue.  Put some wood on the fire!!”  Ignore it some more and it says, “The pipes are going to freeze to say nothing about us!”

At this point we look at the goose bumps on our skin; notice that we are rubbing our hands trying to warm them up; the ‘rice-buddy’ around our neck isn’t keeping us warm – so we go tend the fire.  Again, we don’t build a bonfire, we just add wood to the stove to produce the needed warmth.  A fact of life is that our bodies are very difficult to ignore; they can get our attention.

In a similar manner, we must learn to pay attention to our spiritual condition.  It, along with the Holy Spirit, will communicate that our ‘fire’ is getting low.  Unfortunately, it is much easier to ignore our spirit – and the Holy Spirit – than it is a shivering physical body.  Today’s verse in The Message reads, “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master.”  We must train ourselves to tend to this because it is far more important than physical warmth.  Tending this ‘fire’ is a daily thing – not something done once or twice a week.

We cannot be the people we must be – that He wants us to be – if we don’t.  The Amplified Bible states the phrase in a wonderful way, “…be aglow and burning with the Spirit…”

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