Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

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!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Yesterday’s guest devotional dealt with gratitude and used the specific example of a pastor named Martin Rinkart from 17^th century Germany.  I had never heard of him until I read Steve’s devotional nor did I recall the Great Pestilence of 1648.  The prayer that Martin wrote for his children and his story were so touching I wanted to find out more about him.  Wow – is there more to learn about him and the circumstances he lived in!

In 1617, at the age of 31, he became pastor at Eilenburg.  A year later in 1618 began the terrible conflict known as the Thirty Years War.  Army after army laid the countryside bare, having no regard for the civilian populations. Famine and disease became widespread; farms, livestock and crops had been destroyed and weak and hungry people had no resistance against illness. During this war nearly one-half the men and one-third of the total population of the German states lost their lives, mostly through hunger and illness.

By 1636, Martin Rinkart was the only pastor left in Eilenburg.  There had been four pastors in the town, one had left, and Rinkart buried the other two. The walled city had become a place filled with refugees, who brought with them further infection to add to that already present, and who placed further strain upon the town’s desperately short food supplies.  In 1637 8,000 people in the town were to die from the plague.  The illness had no regard for wealth or age.

In May 1837, he buried his own wife. He was to bury more than 4,000 people during the plague, which was followed by a severe famine that saw people fighting in the street over a dead crow or cat. He was faced with conducting up to dozens of funerals a day as the town struggled to cope with a huge mortality rate.  By the end of the year the bodies of refugees were being buried in trenches with no service.

The Swedish army that controlled the town in 1637 demanded a huge payment from the town.  Rinkart led a group of citizens from the town who went out to plead for leniency with the Swedish general. Their request was refused and Rinkart turned to his companions and said, “Come, my children, we can find no hearing, no mercy with men, let us take refuge with God.” An account of the event tells of how. ‘He fell on his knees, and prayed with such touching earnestness that the Swedish general relented, and lowered his demand’ (by over 90%).

Rinkart lived to see the coming of better times.  The signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought an end to the three decades of suffering and misery for the people of the continent ofEurope.  Here again is the prayer he wrote for his children.

Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices; 
Who wondrous things hath done, in whom this world rejoices. 
 Who, from our mother’s arms, hath led us on our way, With countless gifts of love… and still is ours today. 

Steve’s devotional led me to a sermon by Ion Poulton on Martin Rinkart that was my major source of additional information.  Ion is a canon of Saint Patrick’s National Cathedral, Dublin.  http://www.forthefainthearted.com/2011/09/14/an-a-z-of-hymnwriters-martin-rinkart/

Guest Devotional – By Steve Fry, our pastor at The Gate when we lived in Franklin, TN.

Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices; 
                                            Who wondrous things hath done, in whom this world rejoices. 
                                           Who, from our mother’s arms, hath led us on our way,                                                        With countless gifts of love… and still is ours today.

Those words were penned by a 17th century German pastor by the name of Martin Rinkart. He wrote this ‘prayer’ for his children to offer to the Lord. Not all that unusual… Until we understand the backstory.

For Rinkart pastored a small village, Eilenburg, which had been decimated by war. He saw his colleagues and flock perish by the hundreds, victims of what was called The Great Pestilence of 1648. He buried his wife, buried his friends…At one point he was conducting 40 funerals a day.

Yet… he had learned to be thankful. He had learned a secret that is often missed in the very rushed world we live in today. A secret that Brennan Manning speaks of when he says, “We’re not joyful and then become grateful—we’re grateful, and that makes us joyful.”

As we survey 2011, I’m sure that we can all find a fair bit of disappointments, discouragements, and perhaps even deep losses. I’m sure we can also find the chuckles and the friends – and the many moments where God made us so very aware of His Presence!

In all these things, we can truly be thankful, for gratitude doesn’t have to wait for circumstantial happiness. Thanksgiving is always just a breath away, for in that moment of thanks we take a stand for hope in God’s faithfulness, and repudiate the lie that our circumstances determine our future.

You have a future and a hope, the prophet Jeremiah said (29:11), and it is continuous thanksgiving that will give you eyes to see what that hope looks like. It may not look like what you think it should look like, and if you see life through the lenses of discontent, you most likely will be blind to that future. A life of thanksgiving will adjust your sight to rightly see your future. Complaint and regret will merely shut you in the prison of your memories, and your hope –though right in front of you – will go unrecognized.

Rather, may the Spirit of God grant us the perspective of an Apostle Paul, who could say “though dying, behold we live; though persecuted, we are not killed; though sorrowful, yet we always rejoice; though poor, we make many rich; though we having nothing, yet we possessing everything.” (2 Cor. 6:9-10)… An ‘everything’ that can say with joyous abandon, “Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices!” 


Note: Donna and I are so grateful for the year we were able to spend at The Gate; the many wonderful friends we made, the love of God we experienced there and the blessing of Steve Fry & his wife Nancy.

Psalm 107:1  Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever.

A Politically Incorrect Hstory of Thanksgiving

Posted: November 17, 2007              http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=44599
By Jonathan Falwell
© 2011

It was a bitter two-month sea journey the Pilgrims endured on their passage from England to Plymouth Rock. Upon landing, they gathered for a prayer service before setting out to build shelter. They were severely unprepared for the harsh New England winter that was approaching.

After that winter of 1620 killed almost half of their population, the Pilgrims were befriended by members of the Wampanoag Tribe. The Indians taught the naive colonists about fishing, planting and hunting, thereby ensuring their survival. When the fall of 1621 began to set in, they had reaped a bountiful harvest and preserved enough food to allow them to survive the coming winter, thanks to their Indian neighbors.

As an expression of their thanks to God, the colonists hosted a three-day feast to celebrate the harvest and the transformation of their fortunes from the previous winter. This meal today is thought of as the first Thanksgiving.

In the years to come during the fall, the governor of each New England colony would declare a day of Thanksgiving so that the people could prayerfully thank God for supplying their needs.

In 1777, the Continental Congress decreed that all 13 colonies were to jointly celebrate victory over the British.

Twelve years later, the first national Thanksgiving occurred. In the Congressional Record for Sept. 25, 1789, Elias Boudinot issued a resolution stating: “Resolved, That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the president of the United States to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. …”

The resolution was delivered to President George Washington who wholly concurred with the request, declaring: “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor … Now, therefore, I do appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November 1789 . . . that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.”

Days of Thanksgiving were celebrated on varying dates throughout the nation for the next several years. It was not until 1863, following the 30-year effort of Godey’s Lady’s Book editor Sarah Joseph Hale, that a National Day of Thanksgiving was declared.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a National Day of Thanksgiving in hopes of bringing healing to a land that had suffered greatly in Civil War.

He set aside the last Thursday in November, declaring: “We often forget the Source from which the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies come. … No human wisdom hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God. … I therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States… to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

In 1941, Congress established the fourth Thursday of November as a national holiday.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to understand the Judeo-Christian history of our nation. Our forefathers were not uneasy about openly thanking God for His blessings or beseeching Him in times of trouble. Our nation is deeply rooted in Christianity and candid expressions of faith.

I urge readers across the nation to ensure that their children and grandchildren understand the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. There are many who wish to ignore and/or rewrite our history as our nation further embraces secularism.

I am thankful for this nation and for the God of the Bible who shed His grace on us, beginning with the landing of the colonists at Plymouth Rock.

Jonathan Falwell is the pastor of the historic Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., the church his father started in 1956

James 1:14, 15  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. (TLB)

Over the last year we have seen the reputations of two major college football coaches be devastated due to judgments and the resulting actions taken or not taken by both men.  Both men have accomplished a great deal of good.  One is particularly known for his Christian faith.  The other has been beyond an icon at his school and nationally. It seems that 99+% of what they have done is beyond reproach.

The events that occurred in the past year will overshadow what they have done and likely be pre-eminent in the consideration of their legacies.  Both men lost their coaching positions and left all who knew them wondering how this could happen – particularly to them.  In the busy-ness of their lives, both men encountered situations that called for responses different than the ones they took.

Something was amiss in their judgment process, because both men chose responses that were not the right ones – and that should have been apparent to them.   Unfortunately, it appears they were both blind to the reality and consequences of their actions when they took them.  Thank God for forgiveness.  My question is what can we learn from this?

The frightening fact in all this is the same type of misjudgment can happen to us.  We can be men and women of excellent reputations who find ourselves in trying situations where our judgment is clouded and the resulting choices we make are inconsistent with our lives, our faith and what we believe.

Maybe we see the reality of what we are facing but when the choices are ‘weighed’ upon the ‘scales’ in our minds, our ‘scales’ are faulty – they reflect inappropriate weighting of the various options before us – leading to decisions we shouldn’t have made.  How many times has this led to affairs, taking something that isn’t ours, lies, abortions, deceptions, cheating on taxes or tests, losing our tempers – to actions that later produce much regret?

Praise God for forgiveness and the mercies He extends to us.  Praise God that He enables us to so walk with Him in His ways that we are protected from such ‘failings’.  He enables us to consistently make decisions that glorify Him; we just have to rely upon Him.  I am so grateful for the fear of the Lord!  (If you don’t understand the value of the fear of the Lord, your ‘scales’ are amiss).  Proverbs 16:6b “…through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.”  The fear of the Lord also teaches us wisdom (Proverbs 15:33).

May we have the humility to recognize just how dependent upon our Lord our lives must be each and every day in order for us to persevere in all trials that come our way; that our choices will always reflect His righteousness.

Isaiah 26:3  You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

This morning I woke up thinking about this peace that God will provide and the last stanza of Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken.  Reading the entire poem it would seem that the name of the poem might have been more fitting to be The Road Less Traveled because as he writes, that has made all the difference.  Although the author might not have meant it this way, I have always related it to choosing to follow Christ:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.                        Robert Frost 

In Matthew 7:14 Jesus says, “But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  This is the Biblical “Road Less Traveled”.  While great is the blessing by simply not taking the other road (that leads to destruction), there is more to it than that.  It involves who we are and who we become as we take this road leading to life.

Colin Harbinson, a friend of ours, has a statement that focuses on this and my wife loves to quote him:  “We are human beings – not human doings.”  This really gets at the heart of today’s verse.  The Lord will keep in perfect peace him who is steadfast, because he trusts in the Lord.  Being steadfast and trusting in the Lord are the keys.  The Amplified Bible helps us by ‘amplifying’ the meaning of these words in Isaiah:

^“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”

These are the attributes of the Road Less Traveled that the Lord wants to develop within us.  These are things we learn and grow in.  It is so much more than a list of ‘dos and don’ts’.  Remember that it is not only the destination that is a prize, but it is the journey that makes the difference.  It is as we walk along the road (with Him) that we experience the life-giving, life-transforming relationship with our Lord.

Life is filled with difficulties and uncertainties, but His peace is not subject to them. Likewise, neither are we.  His plan and provision are for us to walk in His peace no matter what turbulence is going on around us.  By focusing on Him, He transforms us so that today’s verse becomes the reality of our lives.

Proverbs 4:6a  Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;

In the summer of 2007 I got to spend a month in Afghanistan.  Among other things, the organization I was with had medical centers and community centers out in the rural areas – in places we would describe as the middle of nowhere.  We were visiting these locations and sometimes would ride for hours to get there on these incredibly bumpy paths that were loosely called roads.

A major goal was to bring medical care to areas that had never had any.Afghanistanhad the highest maternal and infant mortality rates of any county.  One medical center served 57 villages and many villagers would walk for hours to get there.  In the preceding 6 months, there had been 50 babies born there with all mothers and babies surviving!  As we were driving to get to this particular center, I noticed that in various places along side the road there were small stones every few yards that had a brush-stroke of paint on them.  There were sections of the road where the paint was red and other sections where the paint was white.

When we got to the medical center I asked Dan, the organization’s leader what was the meaning of the painted rocks that we encountered in different places along side the road.  His answer got my attention. Afghanistan had experienced years and years of war.  Many areas were minefields where these explosive devices had been planted.  The white stones indicated fields that the military had ‘swept’, meaning they had been cleared of the mines.  The red stones indicated fields that had not been swept free of mines.  To walk in those areas marked by the red stones would likely result in serious injury or death.  No matter where we were going it’s amazing how easy it was to notice any red rocks and avoid those areas.

God’s word and His wisdom will do the very same thing for us in our daily life.  He tells us what to avoid and where it is safe to go.  The more we listen and walk with Him the easier it is for us to spot danger areas where he has ‘red rocks’ in plain view warning us not to go there.  In fact His Spirit within us will even point them out to us if we are missing the obvious.  His wisdom will protect us and keep us safe but we must listen to it and not forsake it.

Galatians 6:10  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

This morning I was pondering this verse and while pouring myself a cup of coffee, I thought of a moving scene in the movie Ben-Hur.  Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince, is betrayed into slavery by a friend who is an ambitious Roman officer.  While being marched with other slaves to the sea they go through Nazareth.  All of the slaves are desperate for water.

The entire group is getting water from the people of Nazareth- except for Judah.  The people are forbidden by the guards from giving him any water. Judah collapses to the ground in utter anguish overcome with thirst.  But then, into the scene comes a young man, a carpenter, who had observed what was happening from his hut.  Ignoring the guards, he comes and kneels and lifts Judah’s head and gives him water to drink.  I am in tears writing this, overcome with the power, tenderness and kindness exhibited in the scene.

The guard angrily yells at him to stop but the carpenter doesn’t.  Instead, he stands and faces the guard who then backs down, unable to withstand the power of this carpenter as they face each other.  All during the encounter, you can see in Judah’s face the gratitude, the wonder and bewilderment of what just happened.  He knows that his life was just saved.  As he later learns, he just encountered Jesus of Nazareth.

While this is a dramatic scene, the point I want to make is the value of offering someone who is thirsty a drink of water; someone who is weary, a helping hand; someone who is discouraged a word of encouragement; someone who is heartbroken, a shoulder to lean on; someone who feels overwhelmed, a friend who says you’re not alone.  May we recognize and respond to the many opportunities that surround us to do the good that our Lord expects of us.  This is loving one another and is at the heart of following Jesus.

Psalm 30:12b  O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

What an adventure we are on!  Laid off from my job at the college – but in a kind way in which I wasn’t blind-sided by the event; able to move to NE Ohio to be with three of our sons and their families; able to look for a job amidst an economy where jobs are scarce; able to watch my two granddaughters just here from Brazil have a snowball fight before they caught the school bus; able to experience disappointments in opportunities that weren’t and finding new opportunities where there didn’t seem to be any.

It’s like the game of Sudoku that challenges our puzzle-solving abilities.  The numbers we start with provide the clues to identify the missing numbers and locate them appropriately in the grid.  The games are structured from very easy to very difficult.  Sometimes identifying what number goes where seems beyond me.  But bottom-line is the reality that there is a solution to each one.  Some are just more challenging – just like the situations we face in life.

Our God is our solution in the ‘puzzles of life’.  In the midst every adventure, whether easy or difficult, He is with us, helping us whether we are aware of it or not.  The more we rely upon Him, the better our ‘solutions’ will be.  We are never hopelessly lost in a maze.  He, His love and His support are the givens in our lives – no matter what happens.  The amazing resource we have when we recognize the security we have in Him!

There was a job opportunity that seemed tailored expressly for me.  Much to my surprise that door was closed.  That simply meant the Lord has something else for me.  No matter what happens we are not victims – even if someone else makes a mistake or is wrong in their judgment!  We are not at the mercy of anyone but our Lord.  This trust and confidence are bedrock convictions in our lives that reflect the reality of the wondrous work Jesus has done in us.

Remember in Matthew 7:24-26 where Jesus taught about the wise and foolish builders.  The reality of the story is that storms come – both to those who build upon sand and those who build upon rock.  How wonderful it is to build our lives upon the Rock so that when the storms come, we are able to glorify Him and give Him thanks forever – in the midst of the storm!

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.

Continue to imagine that you are this man – whom we have assumed is a farmer, a husband and father.  You had to leave everything because of your leprosy.  The pain of separation, and the pain of life’s hopes and dreams being dashed had become a given in your life – until that day Jesus healed you.

Although he warned you not to tell anyone and to show yourself to the priest, your excitement and joy caused you to tell everyone about this amazing miracle.  On your knees you begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  He responded, “I am willing. – Be clean!”  How can you ever forget the compassion in his eyes!  And his touch – the very fact that he touched you, an unclean leper!  No one had touched you in such a long time.

Now you are approaching your home, grateful for the bath you took and the clean clothes you now have on.  Your wife and daughter do not know yet of this miracle – but they are about to find out.  Approaching your home you experience the joy of walking across your fields.  When you are near the door to your home, your young daughter comes out but she doesn’t see you.  You stand there a moment watching her – how she’s grown.  And then you call her name – your voice cracking with emotion.  She turns and you see the stunned look on her face.  That is quickly replaced with a smile and a squeal of joy you will never forget as she runs to you and leaps into your arms.  Never, in your wildest dreams did you think this could ever happen again.

After holding her close, you tell her to go get her mother, your wife, but she’s not to tell her that you are there.  In a moment, she comes out of the door pulling your wife who was busy working inside.  Your wife is fussing with her, wondering why she had to come out.  Then your daughter slowly lifts her arm and points in your direction.  Your wife turns and sees you standing there – smiling.  You have never seen her look so stunned and so speechless.  You can no longer hold back the tears.  As you open your arms, she runs to you and is enfolded in your embrace.

For the longest time you just stand there holding each other and then your daughter comes to join the hug.  Finally, the questions burst forth from their lips.  They want to know what happened.  How can you be healed of your leprosy?  You take them inside, sit down and take a breath.  Looking into their faces you begin, “There is this man named Jesus…”

Note:  Max Lucado has a wonderful story of the leper Jesus touched.  We have had the joy of seeing our son Andrew act out the above story in performances where the audiences wept because the story came so alive.