Wednesday December 4, 2013

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Philemon 22  And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

This verse reminds me of dear friends and a memorable answer to prayer.  Shortly after we were married, we were living in Lansing, Michigan.  We were going through the normal struggles that many new ministries go through.  God blessed us with an older couple, John and Sue, who were wonderful friends to us and were an inspiration to many.  They opened their home and lives to so many young men and women to help them grow in the Lord.

Fasting and prayer were vital to John and Sue and a part of their daily lives.  They viewed them as essential elements in seeking the Lord and being empowered to be the man and woman God wanted them to be.  We were often amazed at how God spoke to them and used them to bless others.  They were loving, kind and selfless.

The Lord spoke to them about establishing a foundation and pouring everything they owned into it where they could minister to people in need of help or encouragement.  They purchased a big old house and 50 acres and it became the center of their work and a place of prayer.  It was a home where they could have people stay with them for various periods of time to minister and help them.

There came a time when I was struggling with the work we were attempting to do.  While praying the Lord put on my heart to call John and Sue and ask if I could come and spend a few days there with them to seek the Lord.  When I did they encouraged me to come.  It was a blessing to be there – spending time in the word and prayer and gleaning wisdom from John and Sue.

While there I was reading Philemon and the Lord really quickened this verse to me – so much so that I mentioned it to John and Sue at breakfast.  They grinned and informed me that the Lord had spoken to them a couple of weeks earlier that I was to come and spend some time with them there.  They had the guest room prepared for me and were confident that through their prayers I would come.  I am still blessed by memories of this simple yet profound example of God answering prayer and His using Christians to express His love.

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Tuesday December 3, 2013

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 95:1-3  Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

What reality do these verses have in our lives right now?  Do they describe a vibrant inner excitement regarding the relationship we have with our God?  Or, are they words that we acknowledge as true, but they are just that – words?  Is there a ‘flatness’ in our experience of reading them that is more like a soda that has been opened and the fizz is gone?

Think of eating a meal where no seasonings have been used in the preparation of the food.  The food is bland to the taste, and while still nourishing, the enjoyment of it is not there.  With each bite we are thinking that it is not what it could be – or should be.  Our lives can become like that.

Are our days ‘flat’ as well?  Are we so caught up in busy-ness that we don’t savor or even see the wonder of the blessings we have in our lives.  I try to talk to my sons each week.  What joy there is in hearing their voices and when I can see them and their families!  Every day I get to see my Donna.  I get to hear her voice; see her smile; and feel her touch.  Just to be near her is beyond words. 

The blessing I receive when these devotionals touch those reading them.  The thrill never diminishes.  Yet all of these things pale in comparison to the daily wonder available to us in the relationship we have with our God.  He has given us the Scriptures to reveal Him and to lead us to Him – to daily guide our steps.  Finding Jesus is just the start of the adventure!

We get to serve Him with all our heart.  He will enable us to weep for joy and gratitude because of His love for us.  He draws us to learn to seek His face.  He teaches us to love Him with all our heart.  We can get so caught up in other things that we lose sight of the fact that loving and worshipping Him is the pinnacle!  Out of that will flow everything else.  Our hearts will be tender, our spirits will be responsive to Him and our lives will be an obedient walk with Him.  Our lives will be filled with the vibrant excitement that comes from knowing Him.

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Monday December 2, 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Galatians 5:16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Computers are a vital part of our lives. You likely wouldn’t be reading this devotional without one.  They are really wonderful when they are fast and have the software we need.  One thing about computers though, is that they are also targets and require protective software: antivirus, anti-spyware, firewalls, encryption, identity protection… the list just goes on.  We have spam filters, content filters and all manner of security to protect us from hackers, unwanted emails or to prevent access to sites with certain content.

Over the years Donna and I have been blessed to have friends who worked with computers.  They would help and advise us in setting up our computer with the appropriate protective software.  When we needed help, we knew who to call.

The focus in computers is what they can do – not that they are susceptible to all manner of negative things.  There is an old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  That really applies here.  Properly set up and maintained computers free the users from undue concern over vulnerabilities and enable them to focus on the things to be done.

The same principle applies to our Christian lives.  As Christians, we have the Spirit of God within us.  When we live by the Spirit, He enables us to overcome sinful desires we encounter.  By living in Him and God’s word, ‘firewalls’ are erected to keep sinful desires at bay. They keep us from going to those places where dangerous temptations are located.

Recognize that ‘those places’ can be websites, TV programs, books, magazines, video games, etc… as well as actual physical locations like bars, clubs, stores or hangouts; being with individuals or groups that  lead us astray by us becoming more receptive to the sinful desires and behaviors they manifest.  When we ignore the Holy Spirit’s warnings, the unacceptable can – and will – gradually become acceptable to us.  Unfortunately, this problem is rampant among far too many Christians.

The Holy Spirit helps us understand and apply God’s word in unfamiliar situations where danger might be lurking.  He is ever vigilant.  Unlike computer software, there is absolutely nothing that can get by Him – we don’t have to worry about upgrades.  He simply requires that we live by Him.

Remember, in a computer, protective software simply enables it to do what it is designed to do.  The same principle applies to us as Christians.  Living by the Spirit, enables us to become the men and women of righteousness that God intends.  I love 1 Peter 2:9 because it presents such a glorious picture of who we get to be in Christ:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

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Sunday December 1, 2013

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Don Schmidt

1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Years ago one of our dearest friends named Ric was a pastor of a small church in West Virginia.  A pastor friend of his came to the church for some meetings.  As I recall, when the friend first arrived Ric and some of the members were showing him the church building where the meetings would be.  It was then that the friend spotted the little organ.

The church happened to have a small Hammond organ that had been there for years and the people didn’t think much about it.  Well, Ric’s friend happened to also be an amazing pianist.  Right then and there he sat down at that little organ and the music that came forth was beyond anything the members of that church had ever dreamed off.

They were stunned and amazed to realize that what they were hearing was coming from their ‘little Hammond organ’!  They had no idea that it was capable of such magnificent beauty and power.  Yes, the friend was a great musician, but this was coming from their little nondescript organ.

Let me borrow from CS Lewis a bit.  Suppose that little organ was alive and could talk like the animals and trees in Narnia.  My guess is that it would have been as stunned as those listening.  I can just see this little talking organ incredulously asking Ric’s friend when he finished, “How did you do that?!!!”  It had no idea what it was capable of until played by a master.  From that day forward, its whole world changed.

Today’s verse is not to intimidate but to inspire.  It is to thrill us with the glorious beauty of who we are and get to be.  Because of Jesus and our response in faith to Him, we are “…[God’s] own purchased, special people,…”.

Just as this little organ was the source of stunningly beautiful music when played by a master, so are we.  God wants each of us to understand that He is the ‘master musician’ in our lives.  He desires, “…that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (Amplified)

It is absolutely amazing what He can accomplish in and through us when we commit ourselves to Him.  We must understand who we are and what our destiny is from His perspective, not ours.  We are not to be content with mediocrity.  Because of Him, we are capable of excellence – and He is holding us accountable for it.

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Saturday November 30, 2013

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Hebrews 5:14  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

In Colorado Springs it sure is easy to know which way is west – and from that all the other directions are clear.  This is because the Front Range and Pike’s Peak are directly to the west of the city.  When facing the mountains, north is to the right, south is to the left and east is behind you.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were that easy to tell good from evil – or right from wrong?

How do we know what is good and what is evil?  What is our basis for identifying such things?  Years ago I remember reading about an art forger who commented that one of the highlights of his ‘career’ was having art critics in Europe declare his forgery the original, and the original work of art the forgery.  Apparently, his forgeries were common enough that the critics got used to them.

We have this problem that the world has its own idea about what is good and evil.  Sometimes it seems that the biggest evil to the world is Christians making any kind of judgment that something is evil or wrong.  Isaiah addressed this problem – that we must contend with daily – 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 they are like a Pike’s Peak– so big 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.  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’.  God forbid that we should call his redefined ‘acceptable’ behavior sin!

If we insist on 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.

God’s word, the Bible, is our standard.  It identifies that ‘good and evil’ applies to behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, actions – every area of our lives.  God wants us to walk in righteousness and it is imperative that we learn to do it – and do it in the fullness that it entails.  This means we have to learn what His word says.

We are surrounded by ‘forgeries’ and His word is the standard that identifies them and enables us to choose wisely.  This doesn’t happen by accident.  We must recognize that walking in righteousness requires focus, intentionality and training to do it His way.

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Friday November 29, 2013

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 12:22 The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.

Is it okay sometimes to not tell the truth or to deliberately mislead?  Are ‘white lies’ appropriate sometimes?  Are there ever situations where avoiding hurting someone’s feelings should take priority over telling the truth?  Are ‘half-truths’ okay?  What qualifies as dishonesty?

Have you ever done something like this?  You’re running late for an appointment – say 20 minutes late because you got busy and forgot the time.  En route to the appointment there is a traffic accident that delays you 2 minutes.  Upon arriving at your appointment, you apologize for being late and inform them you were delayed by an accident on the highway.  The impression you want to give is that your tardiness is due to something beyond your control – a highway accident – versus your own negligence.

Think of being asked the question, “What were you doing?”  Suppose you were playing or reading stuff on the internet instead of working; or watching an inappropriate movie; or visiting inappropriate websites; or looking at inappropriate magazines.  How truthful will our answer be?  This brings up an entirely different subject of “What is inappropriate?” which we will look at later.

Our God is a loving God.  But He also informs us of His view of actions and behaviors.  Today’s verse is rather unambiguous to say the least.  On the one hand He detests those who lie and delights in those who tell the truth.  Note that it isn’t just the lies that He detests – it’s the one telling them!  Conversely, He delights not only in truth but in the one telling the truth.

Here is today’s verse in the Amplified version, “Lying lips are extremely disgusting and hateful to the Lord, but they who deal faithfully are His delight.”  The point isn’t to bring condemnation, but to bring God’s word into play in an important area of our lives.  The world thinks nothing of lying.  The world would answer the questions in the opening paragraph with a resounding “Yes!”  Unfortunately, far too much of the world is roosting in the lives of Christians.

While it is unpleasant to ponder the idea that God might detest some things we are doing, it is redemptive if we turn to Him and ask for His help to change.  We are commanded to please Him.  A more redemptive view is that we “Get to please Him!”  What a blessing it is when His Word and His Spirit show us areas in our lives where we fall short.  He enables us to repent and change – to replace our unrighteous actions with righteous ones.  He doesn’t leave us to ourselves, but is committed to enabling us to live lives that bring Him delight.

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Thursday November 28, 2013 – Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Don Schmidt

1 John 3:1a  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

A few weeks ago I had my 45th birthday in Jesus.  In this Thanksgiving season, I am so mindful of the wonder of what He did in my life.  It was the day my world was forever changed.  Prior to that day, it never entered my mind that anyone could have a tangible, loving relationship with God; a relationship that went both ways.  He loves to express His love to us and we get to express our love to Him.

A relationship with Jesus is not just a theological reality – it is a whole new world.  Being born-again means we become His son or daughter but there is so much more to it than that.  It means that we become restored to a place where we can live our lives with Him and for Him.  It becomes our starting place.

Think of it!  We get to walk with Him.  We get to love Him.  We get to please Him.  We get to experience His affection.  Likewise each day He is with us.  He loves us.  He blesses us.  He guides us.  He disciplines us as sons and daughters.  We are His!

Our relationship with God is so incredibly practical.  He deals with who we are – transforming us into the image of Jesus.  He gives us the desire and helps us learn the things we need to learn – the doing part.  The more we become like Him, the better able we are to glorify Him in our daily lives.  A man or woman with a life characterized by the love of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit is in a much better place to become a Godly husband or wife; a father or mother; friend; neighbor; son or daughter….

As I write this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  It is like an artesian spring within me.  It just never ends.  No matter how difficult things might become from time to time, it is there.  What a treasure He gives us.  When I met Him, 45 years ago, I wondered how such an incredible experience could last a lifetime.  It never occurred to me that it could or would get even better!

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Wednesday November 27, 2013

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 42:1  As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

We had the blessing of living for twenty years in a little village in the middle of a 32,000 acre national park in NE Ohio between Akron and Cleveland.  We were in a valley, surrounded by forests and fields with a river running through the middle of it.  It was home to a great many white-tailed deer.  We could hardly drive anywhere without seeing them particularly in the morning and evening.

After moving into our home there we soon learned that the deer considered the flowers we planted ‘lunch’!  Later we built a wrap-around porch on our house with hanging plants centered in the railing sections.  We had to install gates on the porch because the deer would come onto it to eat the plants.  Whenever we drove, we had to keep an eye out for the deer because deer accidents were so common.  We had four in those years with several near misses.

One of the important side benefits of being around the deer was the way they reminded me of this verse.  For years it presented a fascinating picture, but I just glossed over the part of the verse that talks of my soul panting for God.  Later when the Lord began dealing with me about passion for Him I came to realize that this verse describes how He wants me to become.  He wants my soul to pant and thirst after Him just like a thirsty deer pants for streams of water.

This began a great adventure for me in seeking the Lord as to how to make this happen.  It’s one thing to say it or claim it – it’s another for it to be descriptive of what is actually occurring.  One of the things that helped me in the process was the conviction that it was the Holy Spirit, at work in me, who was causing me to seek after this.  Since He was the source, my hope was grounded firmly in the fact that He would enable me both to pursue and grow into this goal He had for me.

Thus began a process of daily praying for this to become me. Overall it was part of a much bigger picture of becoming passionate for God.  The focus was upon seeking Him.   The amazing thing is not only that God loves to play ‘Hide & Seek’ with us – but that He loves to be found!  (When we’re playing this game with our little kids or grandkids, think of the joy we have in them looking for us and finding us.)

It is now the fall season with Christmas just ahead.  We will see many deer in nature, in calendars, in pictures – even reindeer hitched to a sled.  Let them all trigger thoughts of this verse and the wonderful gift that God has in it for those who seek after Him.

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Tuesday November 26, 2013

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Luke 4:18-19  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

What kind of people do you like to be around?  When you’re having difficulty or need help, who do you call on?  Or better still, are there people you know that will see your need and offer to help without being asked?  Isn’t it wonderful to have friends who encourage us and we don’t have to watch our backs around them.  They are kind, considerate and thoughtful.

The past couple of days a friend and I were talking about the incredible good news that the Gospel is.  Then this morning I was reading this in Luke about Jesus and was impressed with how this verse also provides a marvelous picture of the Gospel that our words, lives and relationships are to proclaim.

This proclamation of our words, lives and relationships is supposed to be – and must be – good news to the poor; freedom for those in bondage; enabling those who are blind to see again and the oppressed to be released.  We are to be living examples of God’s favor.  That doesn’t equate with financial or material prosperity, but with lives and relationships that glorify our Lord.

The words we speak aren’t primarily the 4 spiritual laws or just a ‘verbal presentation of the gospel’.  But our words speak of kindness, encouragement, integrity and honor.  We mean what we say and our words do not reflect anger.  We don’t gossip and say unkind things.  Think of having a reputation where if someone was told you had said or done something negative, it wouldn’t be believed.  The response would be, “He or she doesn’t do that.”

God’s intention is for us as Christians to live such lives.  He wants everything about us to be consistent with and reflective of the Gospel.  That is good news because Godliness is attractive.  People will be drawn to Him because they know us.  This includes both Christians and non-Christians.  Remember, our lives are to be all about Him.  What an incredible privilege we have!

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Monday November 25, 2013

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 9:10b  and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding

Why is this happening?  Why did that happen?  How could that happen?  I don’t understand!

How often are these expressions in our minds, on our lips and evidence of a storm raging within us?  They reflect a cry for understanding – and given our culture, we have developed an inordinate requirement to have understanding.  Something has happened or is happening that we don’t understand.  Frequently, it involves significant difficulties or tragedies that occur.

The world is filled with a growing amount of strife, wars and disasters.  Earthquakes and tsunamis; the killing and rebellion that is going on throughout the Middle East and North Africa; Christians and their churches being targeted for extermination; terrorism striking throughout the world – to name a few.

These are on top of the day to day difficulties of losing jobs, unexpected tragedies and dealing with things that the enemy of our souls is so quick to strike us with the question, “How could a god of love allow that?”  We find ourselves buffeted by the storms raging around us and the inner difficulties that stem from our inability to understand it, let alone explain it.

This is where knowledge of our God is so critical.  The more we know of Him, the more readily we experience the shelter and source of strength that He is to us.  The more we know of Him, the more embedded within us is the response to turn to Him like a compass pointing ‘North’.

The way we increase our knowledge of Him is by walking in His ways.  The more we do, the greater is our desire and opportunity to learn of Him.  Because of His Spirit working within us, our knowledge and understanding of Him go through a marvelous transformation as our eyes see more and more of the Glory of who He is and what we have in Him.  He gives us peace in the midst of the storms.  Jesus referred to this as having our house built upon the Rock!

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