Thursday February 23

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Colossians 3:17  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In the summer of 1970, I was in my last quarter at Michigan State.  I had been a Christian less than 2 years and was going to be married in September after graduation.  I had seen and experienced genuine miracles since becoming a Christian, but nothing like what the Lord did one summer day.

Donna was in Lexington, KY working at a Christian ministry.  Randy, a college friend offered to drive me down for a weekend to see her.  This meant missing a Botany Taxonomy 4 hour lab on Friday.  The instructor said that if I helped set up the plots on Thursday afternoon for the field work, I could miss the lab on Friday.

The weather was rainy on Thursday.  After helping the instructor and some others set up the plots, Randy picked me up.  We were located next to an expressway entrance.  We no sooner got on the expressway and cars began honking and pulling off the road!  There in front of us in a field to our right was a tornado, touched down and coming right at us – several hundred yards away!!

At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came down in the car and I came against the tornado in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and commanded it to disintegrate in Jesus’ name and it disintegrated – right in front of us!  It did not jump up into the sky – it just disintegrated – poof!  We praised the Lord all the way to Kentucky and back.

On Monday I was in class waiting for it to begin and telling the other students (college seniors and grad students) about the tornado we’d seen.  A little voice in my head said to tell them the rest of the story.  So I took a deep breath and told them exactly what happened – as I just described it here.  They knew I was a Christian, but when I said how the tornado just disintegrated they all lost it – big time!

Amidst the laughter and uproar, I sat there thinking “Oh Lord…”.  But then the instructor entered the room and came over to where she lectured.  I looked up at her and asked her if she had seen the tornado on Thursday afternoon.   Her answer stunned the class and stopped all the laughter and ridicule.  She said, “Yes we all did.  And it was the strangest thing.  As we were standing there watching it, all of a sudden it just disintegrated!”

I cannot help but think of one of my favorite professors there at MSU who was Jewish and an atheist who I witnessed to after this experience.  He felt he could explain away most of my testimony – BUT….  I can remember him looking at me and saying with a serious thoughtfulness, “I don’t know what to do with the miracles.”

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Wednesday February 22 – Ash Wednesday

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Psalm 37:4  Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Today is Ash Wednesday.  See if you notice any people with ashes on their foreheads today.  Hopefully you will be able to attend a service today as we begin the Lenten season. May our focus upon Jesus increase in these coming days leading to Easter as we draw ever closer to Him.

*****

Yesterday we looked at I Kings 3:5 where the Lord appears to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”   As we proceed, it is important to remember that this is not a test – in terms of a right answer means acceptance and a wrong answer rejection.  It is the “quality” of our answer, in the context of our lives and our relationship with the Lord that is important.

Today’s verse is remarkably similar to the scenario we have been considering.  We simply change the question from, “What do you want me to give you?” to the Lord asking you, “What are the desires of your heart?”  If you’re like me, that can be a tough question to accurately answer.  The difficulty isn’t being able to verbalize an answer, but lies in whether the answer I give truly reflects my heart.

But this verse does something wonderful.  It tells you how to get the desires of your heart – whether you are aware of what they are or not.  The key is to delight yourself in the Lord.  Consider it an “if, then” situation.  If we delight in Him, then He will give us the desires of our heart.

This is a wonderful “trap” He has set for us.  When we focus on delighting in Him, He transforms our motivation and our desires.  We become caught in the wonder of delighting in Him – that becomes a major desire of our heart!  We find ourselves caring less and less about getting anything.

The focus changes from us to Him.  We become thrilled with the realization that delighting in Him is something we can grow in.  The more we delight in Him, the more we are able to delight in Him.  Delighting in Him, and all that entails, can become the desire of our heart!

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Tuesday February 21

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Don Schmidt

I Kings 3:5  At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Suppose when you went to bed tonight the Lord appeared to you in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  What would you ask for?  Do you know?

Some answers to this question are better than others.  Solomon’s answer (1 Kings 3:6-9) was pleasing to the Lord and He specifically noted some of the things he didn’t ask for.  I don’t think that Solomon was trying to please Him; he was just answering the question as honestly as he could.  The Lord was pleased with his honest answer.

That honesty is what we need to look for within us.  What answer truly reflects where we are?  What might we learn about ourselves by our answer?  We can submit our answer to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to show us anything we need to see.

Years ago when I was a young Christian, I wanted a supernatural ministry, but I was unaware of a problem I had.  One night in a dream, Jesus took me to a river nearby and told me to pick up the cloak that was there by my feet (just like Elisha in 2 Kings 2:13).  He told me to strike the water with the cloak, so I did.  The river immediately parted just like it did for Elisha!

Jesus then asked me if I saw anyone else around or were we alone. I saw no one else; we were alone. He then asked me how much it meant to me. With that question came the painful realization that it didn’t mean as much because I wanted people to see me do it. I wanted to be recognized as a man walking with the power of God.

The wonderful thing is that I didn’t feel condemned or put down.  I was embarrassed but mostly I experienced the loving touch of someone who was for me and wanted me to be free of anything that would hinder me.  In my repenting He affirmed me – I was His!  Fortunately God is so good and kind at showing us our faults and weaknesses and helping us to repent.

Note: Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday marking a wonderful season of repentance.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see the things we need to repent of.

To be continued…

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Monday February 20

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Luke 2:19  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

This week is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  It’s difficult for me to imagine what Mary went through as she experienced events leading up to Easter.  Fortunately the Lord laid a remarkable foundation that enabled Mary (and Joseph as long as he was alive) to be rock solid in Him.  Consider the power of these events in their lives.  And let us remember them as well as we walk with Jesus in these days leading to Easter.

Prior to appearing to Mary, the angel Gabriel first appeared to Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, Mary’s relative.  Zechariah lost the ability to speak because he didn’t believe what Gabriel told him.  But true to the angel’s word, despite their old age, Elizabeth became pregnant.  After the birth of their baby, Zechariah regained his ability to speak once he acknowledged the baby’s name was John.

Joseph had an angel appear to him in dreams multiple times, giving him instructions on what to do.  The angel(s) also explained both to Mary and then later to Joseph, exactly who this child was going to be. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed Mary to be “the mother of my Lord” upon Mary’s visit.

The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of a Savior, Christ the Lord.  A great company of heavenly host suddenly appeared with the angel praising God.  Then there was the star and the Magi from the east bowing down and worshipping the baby Jesus, “the King of the Jews”.

In Jerusalem they met Simeon and a prophetess named Anna.  The Lord had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. They both prophetically acknowledged who the baby was.

Mary and Joseph were a young couple, newly married and now new parents.  I believe that whatever difficulties they faced then or in the coming years were pale in comparison to the wonder of all that God had given them.  One can only imagine their joy as they shared their stories with one another: Gabriel, angels, babies, prophesies, dreams, stars, Magi and heavenly hosts.  I can see them sitting alone together looking at the sleeping Jesus and saying, “Tell me again…”

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Sunday February 19

Posted on February 19, 2012 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 couple 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 9) and a son Sam (now 7).  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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Saturday February 18

Posted on February 18, 2012 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.  Elizabethwas 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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Friday February 17

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Don Schmidt

Numbers 14:24  But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Have you ever been a part of a project or team where it seems that the task at hand is just too overwhelming and everyone is just bogged down?  Then someone joins the group and things change.  This new person has a ‘we can do this’ type of attitude and all of a sudden progress is being made.  Things start getting accomplished and the ‘can do’ spirit seems to infect everyone.  They seem to have a different perspective and attitudes that become contagious.  Recently we have had two major examples of this in the sporting world: Tim Tebow with the Denver Broncos and Jeremy Lin with the New York Knicks (currently going on).

In both these cases the teams were losing and playing poorly – in spite of the talent they had.  Their attitudes and the atmosphere around each team were not conducive to playing well and it showed.  At their best they would have been doing far better than they were.  Then these two players were added to the starting lineups and things changed.  They brought skills, but more importantly, they brought intangible ingredients that resulted in the teams playing at a much higher level.  In both cases the teams began to win.

While there are significant differences in these two stories, there is so much in common.  When anyone looks back over the past twelve months there is no question that these are the two biggest stories in all of sports.  Millions of people have been affected by both.  Isn’t it wonderful that both of these individuals at the heart of each story happen to be committed Christians!

Both of these men are characterized by so many of the Godly attributes that we have been looking at that are so critical to our lives in Christ.  And these attributes aren’t just when they are in the spotlight but are spoken of by their teammates and those who know them well: humility, honoring their teammates, being zealous in their opportunities, not reacting negatively to criticism, having faith in God and in their teammates, being genuine all the time, and doing all for the glory of God.

We aren’t likely to be in the spotlight like Tim and Jeremy are but we have the opportunities to affect those around us with our Godly lives.  May we be described by those who know us as being of a different spirit; that we are men and women who wholeheartedly follow the Lord.  May we be individuals with a ‘can do’ spirit that brings life and results to the difficult situations in life.  May we be individuals who are infectious to all around us with the glow of His Spirit and the vitality and encouragement that come from Him.

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Thursday February 16

Posted on February 16, 2012 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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Wednesday February 15

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Don Schmidt

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

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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Tuesday February 14 – Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 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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