Wednesday May 23

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Mark 12:32 – 33  “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Years ago, I had a friend who was a marvelous golfer.  Better still, whenever friends played golf with Jay, he made it into a golfing lesson to help us.  I really appreciated the fact that throughout the round he would give me tips and help me become a better golfer.  One day another friend of mine joined us for a round of golf.  I had told him that Jay would help him with his game.  As we started playing it became apparent that his golf game was really hurting.

We played the first few holes and Jay hadn’t said anything to him yet in terms of helping his golf game.  As we were walking down the 4th fairway, Jay came over to me and said, “I will help him, but he’s doing so many things wrong, I haven’t figured out where to start.”

Loving God and loving one another have some interesting similarities to playing golf.  They all take practice and it’s wonderful to have friends around who will help us do it better.  We have to be around them and be willing to listen.  If we want to become better at golf, we work at it.  Maybe we take lessons.  We watch better golfers to learn what we can from them.  We find time to play more golf.  We have to be intentional about it.  The same principles apply to our faith.

How good it is when we have individuals in our lives who exemplify what scriptures teach.  But we need to know what scripture teaches in order to really recognize genuine Godliness.  In golf, we have par.  In life, we have all kinds of different things claiming to be right.

That is where scripture and the Holy Spirit are so important, along with being a part of a vibrant life giving church.  We have a lot to learn and God wants us to learn from one another.  One advantage of our faith is that we get to live and “practice” it everywhere: at work, at play, at home or out with friends.  No matter where we are, or what we are doing, loving God and loving one another applies. We need to learn to do it well.

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Tuesday May 22

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Matthew 24:9   “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

I find myself experiencing growing concern over the lawlessness occurring throughout our country.  Among our media and many of our government leaders there is such a disregard for honesty, integrity and truth, it’s appalling!  Unfortunately it’s all about power.  They are not interested in a world based on Judeo – Christian principles.

Some of the worst attributes of human nature are being cultivated to ‘enhance’ the expression of views that are contrary to all that is good: hatred, vengeance, violence, intimidation, judgment, jealousy, deception, coercion, just to name a few.  Instead of being recognized and called out for what they are, they are embraced and encouraged.

Isaiah 5 contains some serious warnings for us – and for any people.  Sadly, I have written “our country” next to these verses.  Here are some of those warnings that I see flourishing around us:

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
and wickedness as with cart ropes,

20 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.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.

24c for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

 We cannot and must not resort to similar tactics and attributes of the lawlessness we see.  Jesus Christ and the people of God (that’s us) represent good, light and sweet.  In their presence, the evil, dark and bitter are shamed for what they are – and threatened!  We embrace the word of the Holy One of Israel – they spurn it.  We do it in love – they do it in hate.

Today’s verse is part of Jesus’ answer to His disciples regarding what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the age?  He doesn’t paint a pretty picture.  We will be hated by all nations because of Him.  The evil spiritual forces at work in our country and in the world know where the threat to their plans and existence reside and Jesus has let us know how they will respond.

As we face threatening times let us hold fast to Jesus, for the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.  We are His for such a time as this.  We are light in the midst of darkness.  Let us live up to the destiny He has for us to always glorify Him regardless of the outcome!

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Monday May 21

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Don Schmidt

1 Corinthians 15:33  Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.

When we look out the kitchen window we see the garden I wrote of yesterday.  The roses and iris are in full bloom and they are so beautiful.  The pink, red and yellow colors are vibrant and abundant.  One thing that really helps is that these plants are a lot taller than the weeds – at least now they are.

The smaller plants around them though are another matter.  That is where the war with the weeds is really taking place.  But this week I am going to enter the fray and get rid of the weeds.  In my love of the dramatic I think of the battle of Helm’s Deep in the Lord of the Rings.  The good guys (the flowers) are on the verge of being overwhelmed by the bad guys (the weeds) and at the crack of dawn Gandalf and reinforcements (me) arrive and the bad guys are defeated.

We wrote yesterday of our spiritual gardens that the flowers and weeds represent referencing the Parable of the Sower.  Jesus taught how the weeds could choke out the life of the good seed (flowers).  Today’s verse raises another serious threat that presents itself.  Using our illustration, it warns that the association with the ‘weeds’ will corrupt good ‘flowers’.

Who we are in Christ Jesus can become corrupted by those we associate with.  This speaks to those we enjoy being with or hang out with.  Unfortunately, we can be blind to this corruption taking place.  Consider today’s verse as it appears in the Amplified Bible:

Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.

We must understand that a culture war is raging and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “bull’s eye” for the enemy’s attacks.  The war is to eliminate or corrupt all those who claim to be Christians.  Sadly the evidence of the success of these attacks surrounds us.

When our love for God is what it should be, we resist accommodating the ways of the world – we embrace His ways.  We recognize right and wrong.  We reject the ‘weeds’ and keep them out of our lives. Our lives are not judgmental, but filled with love, grace and mercy.  We become those who come to the aid of others to help them rid their ‘gardens’ of ‘weeds’.

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Sunday May 20

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Mark 4:7  Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it.

It’s amazing how many weeds have flowers.  I’m not talking about the ones that you see along roads or out in fields.  I’m talking about the ones that come up in your gardens along with the flowers that have been planted.  The garden in the middle of the yard here at the home where we are house-sitting is loaded with both.  My problem is telling which is which.

Some flowers are easy to identify: roses, iris, tulips and daffodils.  Likewise dandelions are weeds.  Even though a field of blooming dandelions might be pretty, that beauty ceases to exist when they are in our yards and gardens.  The problem is all the other stuff that is coming up in the garden.

I have never been a gardener so when I look at this garden my thoughts are to get someone who knows this stuff and have them identify the flowers and the weeds.  When I look closely though, it’s apparent that some of the flower-bearing ‘growth’ is rapidly filling the garden and choking other plants out.  It’s almost like this ‘growth’ wants me to be distracted by its pretty little flowers while it takes over and chokes out the ‘opposition’ – the true flowers that are intended to grow.

Welcome to the spiritual garden of our lives where we have growing ‘cultural’ weeds and kingdom flowers – and each of us is responsible for what is found there.  The problem is that far too many who call themselves Christian have their spiritual gardens (read lives) filled with pretty little ‘flowers’ that are all weeds; and these weeds are choking out and obliterating the kingdom life that belongs there.

Jesus warned us about this in the Parable of the Sower from which today’s verse comes.  We must not underestimate the power of these ‘weeds’ in our lives when we allow them to become established instead of pulling them out.  Here is Jesus’ warning as given in The Message:

“The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.”              (Mark 4:17-18)

Pray that the Lord will help us identify the ‘weeds’ in our lives; and that He will enable us to see where we have allowed ourselves to become deceived into thinking they are genuine flowers that belong there

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Saturday May 19

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God.

Have you noticed that difficult situations can have a strong impact upon us particularly if they drag on and on?  They can wear us down.   I think of being in a boat without power at sea that is drifting with the current towards a reef.  The sound of the waves pounding the reef are harbingers of the doom that is about to smash our boat and us to smithereens.  It’s just a matter of time…

Think of being overcome with distress and ‘downcast’ as the boat drifts nearer the reef. But then an unseen voice cries out to us, “You are in a sailboat!” We respond, “So?”  The voice speaks again, “Put up your sail!”  (Let’s assume we are really dense)  To which we reply, “What will that do?”

The voice answers, “The wind is blowing away from the reef – and it is stronger than the current!”  We obey the voice and put up the sail – and as we do, the wind catches it and moves us away.  The reef and pounding waves are still there but we are not at their mercy.

At this point, instead of thinking this is a dumb illustration, consider how often we succumb emotionally and spiritually to the stresses in our lives, instead of looking to Christ.  Through our hope and trust in Him, He provides the ‘sail’ and the ‘wind’ to take us to safety.  He frees us from being downcast.

We are not at the mercy of our circumstances!  In the midst of whatever we find ourselves in, Jesus is our hope, our joy and our strength.  Let us look to Him.

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Friday May 18

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 42:1-2  As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?

Today’s verses and the Revelation Song seem to go hand in hand with each other.   This song (link attached) is truly a doorway to enter into the reality described by this verse.  As wonderful as this reality is to visit, the Lord offers the amazing opportunity to live there!  Panting and thirsting for God can become our normal reality. He is with us.  He satisfies.  Yet at the same time, as we respond to His love, He will create a longing for Him within us that is an unspeakable treasure.

These words of the Revelation Song, declare the glory and wonder of our Lord Jesus, the Lord God Almighty.  As we enter into worship with this song I find thirsting for God to come alive within me.  I’ve included the link to hear this sung by Kari Jobe.  The lyrics also appear in the video.  Please take 5 minutes and worship our Lord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zk-E55dRk&feature=related

Lyrics to Revelation Song

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah…

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

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Thursday May 17

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 17:9  He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

You’re driving down the road in wintery weather.  A truck goes by and suddenly your windshield is covered with slush and dirt.  Visibility has just decreased about 99% and you can’t see anything.  Even with your wipers on high it just becomes a brown blur.  At that moment isn’t it nice to push the button and have your windshield sprayed with washer fluid? In seconds you can see again.

One of the nice things about this illustration is that in real life the consequences of not having a functional windshield washing system are immediately apparent when the need arises.  For most of us, the one item that most likely could go wrong is to be out of fluid.  Driving and not being able to see just don’t go together.

We might not realize it but failing to overlook offenses in relationships is like driving in traffic without being able to see; accidents happen and damage occurs.  Such ‘mud’ on the windshield of life is normal.  Jesus followers have the ‘spiritual fluid’ and the practical ability to clear it away.  We cover over the offense.  We overlook it.  We forgive.

We do not allow offenses to become wedges in relationships.  That is exactly what the enemy of our souls wants to have happen.  The Message puts today’s verse this way:

 Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

 The Amplified Bible spells out a bit more the actions involved in this:

 He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.   

 May we have the spiritual eyes to see the ‘mud’ on our windshield when offenses occur so that we will respond in a way that reflects the love we share.

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Wednesday May 16

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Romans 12:14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

What does it mean to be persecuted?  Can we think of a time or times where we believe we have been persecuted?  Do those experiences, if we had them, seem more like they fall in the categories of insult or disrespect?  Or, do they fall into the category of physical threat or intimidation?  Were our lives at risk?   Do we view persecution to be more of a general category where Christians as a group are ‘persecuted’ by being discriminated against?  Might the Supreme Court decision in 1963 banning organized prayer in public schools be an example of such ‘persecution’?

When it comes to persecution, here in the West, it is a different world than that which many Christians deal with particularly in the Middle East, parts of Africa or the Far East.  I think it is accurate to say we would prefer to be prohibited from publically reading or displaying our Bible than to be arrested for having one. Likewise, we would rather be ridiculed for our faith than to be imprisoned and tortured.

Think of being forced to choose between Jesus and a son or daughter or spouse.  If you choose Jesus, the likelihood is that you will never see your family member again in this life.  This is happening today and has been happening for decades in other parts of the world.

Persecution runs the gamut from being picked on or discriminated against to martyrdom.  The amazing thing is that our response to those who do the persecuting is to be the same – we are to bless them.  Hating them or cursing them isn’t an option.  Not even cursing under our breath.  This means that annoyance, anger, disgust and other ‘fleshly’ responses are off limits too.

I cannot help but think of two different scriptures that speak to this topic.  Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  Then there is the wonderful attitude expressed by the Apostles in Acts 5:41 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

We must learn to bless those who persecute us.  We must learn to be the expressions of the Kingdom of God that He wants us to be in the face of opposition.  Our goal must be to do it His way – bless and not curse!

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Tuesday May 15

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Proverbs 16:22a  Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it,

Mistakes – Errors – Goof-ups – Bad judgments – Blunders.  They sure are all part of life.  In sports they would be called fumbles, strikeouts, errors, interceptions, turnovers, holding, off-side, interference, wild pitches, yellow cards, red cards, etc…  A very important principle applies to both categories (life and sports): when these things happen, the ‘game’ goes on – it doesn’t stop.

Continuing the sports comparison, our error or wild pitch or yellow card might cost us the game but losses are part of sports as well.  In the major league sports I recall only once has a team gone undefeated throughout the entire season and won the championship (1972 Miami Dolphins).  Think about that: losing is normal – it’s a fact of life.

Losing is easier to take when we do our best and our efforts are error free.  Our opponent simply was better.  It’s harder when we believe we are the better team or the better player and we lose because of our mistakes.  The issue is learning do better – to improve – to make fewer mistakes – to learn from our mistakes.  Remember the adage “practice makes perfect”?  It has a much greater chance of being true if we recognize where we need to improve and practice doing it correctly.

The other day we went to see our 9 year old granddaughter Gabi’s soccer game.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie.  A few weeks ago the opponent had beaten Gabi’s team 5-1.  On this day, Gabi’s team outplayed them except for the final score.  It was exciting to see how her team has improved. [Side point – I’m sitting here laughing because I just remembered the time when our oldest sons were little and playing soccer.  During one of their games we happened to look at our goal and there was no goal keeper!  Then we saw him behind the net picking dandelions!!!]

The Lord has given us His Spirit, Scripture, grace, mercy, forgiveness and a new life freed from the power of sin. They all are active ingredients in His provision for us to improve – become more Christ-like – live more error free lives.  He enables us to put our confidence in Him and participate wholeheartedly in life – to not get side-tracked by our failings.

Thankfully Jesus enables us to see our shortcomings and learn to from them.  We cannot stand around and mope about our mistakes, or when we fall short.  He enables us to get over it and stay focused on Him and stay involved.  Because of Him we are able to win even in life’s losses.

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Monday May 14

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear.

Years ago a friend of ours named Paul bought a home that had been through a fire.  He was good at construction and was able to do most of the work himself.  The plumbing had to be redone for most of the house so he had a plumber friend come and handle all of that.  When the plumber was about finished he came to check out his work.  Paul was amazed by what happened.

As they were walking down the stairs into the large basement, the plumber stopped.  He asked Paul, “Do you hear that?”  They were both quiet and Paul didn’t hear anything.  The plumber said it’s over there and pointed toward a corner of the basement.  Paul asked him what was over there.  His friend said, “A leak” – as he motioned with his finger the timing of the drips.

Sure enough, when they got to the corner, behind a bunch of stuff, there was the leak.  Drops of water were falling to the floor at a frequency just like the plumber had indicated.  Paul asked him why he (the plumber) could hear them while Paul couldn’t.  The plumber responded, “This is my business.  I have my ears trained to hear such sounds.”

Typically, today’s verse is thought of in terms of recognizing or understanding God’s truth.  But today, let’s consider our lives to be the plumbing system of the house and the leak(s) to be the sinful behaviors that we allow to encroach into them.  (We can develop ‘leaks’!)

In difficult, stressful times it seems our blindness and deafness can increase regarding negative behaviors and responses in our lives.  We can get so overwhelmed by our circumstances that we lose sight of the stuff growing in our lives that is incompatible with our faith.  We have ‘leaks’ and don’t know it – and those leaks cause real problems for us and those around us.

No matter how overwhelmed we might feel, let’s stop to seek the Lord and ask Him to open our eyes and ears and enable us to see and hear the ‘leaks’ in our lives; and enable us to repent and repair them.  In difficult times, we can be ‘deaf’ to things in our lives that in quieter, less stressful times would not likely occur.  Remember, the more difficult the situation we find ourselves in, the greater is our opportunity to glorify Jesus with how we respond.

When the difficult times end, we will look back.  Hopefully it will not be with eyes of regret.  We have such opportunity to live righteously in the midst of difficulty.  I often think of Esther and Mordecai…”for such a time as this.”

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