Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Isaiah 5:20  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.

I read this verse and sensed that my devotional this morning was supposed to be based on it.  Then an entirely different perspective of this verse came to mind and resonated with me.  Instead of viewing this verse from the perspective of it being a warning, our focus today is upon the reality of what the Lord enables us as Christians, and the Church, to be.

Because of Jesus, we are able to live lives that identify good as good and evil as evil.  Because of His love for us, we can put light for light and darkness for darkness.  Because of the Holy Spirit we are able to put sweet for sweet and bitter for bitter.  We, and the lives we lead, are God’s answer for those amongst us who are searching for Him and His ways – and who often don’t even know they are searching.

A few verses before this in verse 5:16 it says, “But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy by his righteousness.”  Our calling
as Christians means we are to be light and salt.  We are to show forth His love and live lives of righteousness that glorify our God.  Amidst all the darkness and deception that our cultures and the world have, God has placed us!

This opportunity we have is expressed wonderfully by Paul: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)  Think of it!  In a world of darkness and despair He has chosen to spread His fragrance through us.  Some will recoil because they are not interested in Him.  But others will be attracted because they are
responding to the work of His Spirit, drawing them to redemption.  We get to share His fragrance with all who surround us, knowing and trusting that there are those who will respond to Him.

Luke 8:24b, 25  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm
subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Fear and amazement!  This was the response of the disciples to this demonstration of power and authority even though they had already seen Jesus do all manner of healing
miracles and deliver many from evil spirits. We’re not talking about healings that only the person who was healed would know if the pain went away.  The miracles included those paralyzed, leprosy, withered hands, and demon possessed.  Think of the magnitude of the miracles that would attract thousands to pursue Jesus.

They had seen these miracles first hand, yet the disciples were stunned by seeing the storm, the wind and the waves obey Him.  Mark uses the word terrified to describe
their response and Matthew describes them as being amazed.  Somehow this was different for them.  Maybe it was the magnitude of what responded.  Having life come to paralyzed limbs or wholeness to a withered hand appeared small in comparison to a storm that was
threatening their lives immediately becoming calm.

I think of the word wonder.  The wonder of seeing and experiencing the miraculous power of God.  Have you thought of this aspect of our God recently?  Hopefully, you have experiences in your life that left you breathless and in awe of what God had done.  In fact
just the memory of such experiences can bring goose bumps or tears.  Think of the powerful testimonies and answered prayers that you have read and heard and ponder the wonder-working power of our Lord and Savior.

If you don’t have memories of such experiences, ask your Christian friends to share ones that they have or read about them.  There are lots of books available that recount inspiring experiences with our God.  Also, and most importantly, look to Jesus and ask Him to allow you to experience such wonder and awe.  The Christian life is the most wonder-filled life that can be lived.  Let us rejoice together because we get to live it.

Mark 4:35  That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”

Have you ever noticed how sometimes it seems that everything happens at once?  While such times can be filled with pleasures and wonderful experiences, that isn’t usually the case.  More often it seems that they are filled with stretching and demanding difficulties and problems that all demand our attention – right now!  In such times we might wonder, if we see a light at the end of the tunnel, is it an oncoming freight train!

Then when our plate is as full as we think it can get, something more piles on and we feel like we’re about to go under.  In times like these, when the situation seems to go from bad to worse with no let up in sight, my primary reaction is to view myself as having been ‘set up’ by the Lord.  I ‘see’ a great big sign in the sky above me that says, “This is a test!”

The story involved in today’s verse is something similar.  The disciples think they are just going across the lake to get to the other side – just like the chicken crossing the road.  Little did they know what was in store for them.  There was this storm awaiting them.  The good news  as that Jesus was with them.  The bad news was that not only was he sleeping through the storm, but here is how this storm is described in scripture: 1) furious squall, 2) waves broke over the boat, 3) the boat was being swamped, 4) there were raging waters, 4) they were in great danger!

Think about these descriptions from the gospels and remember many of these disciples had worked on the water so they could recognize their situation.  It wasn’t just a storm, it
was a furious squall.  They were not just contending with wind and waves but with raging waters and the boat was being swamped.  On top of that, scripture declares that they were in great danger.  This wasn’t just a storm made to sound worse through later retelling,
like a fish story.  They think they’re going to drown and Jesus asks them, “Where is your faith?”

We too might feel like our circumstances are a furious squall – our boat is being swamped and we’re about to go under.  But the Lord is with us!  Our situation didn’t catch Him by
surprise.  Instead of feeling like we are threatened by the storm, we can rejoice in the opportunity to stand in the midst of it, with our faith focused on Him.  Instead of feeling like we are overwhelmed and facing each day with dread, we can be filled with gratitude for the ‘testing opportunity’ He has given us.  He’s watching and enabling us to glorify Him in the midst of it.  What an opportunity!!!

Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

This is a verse that is so rich in promise and at the same time contains a foreboding
warning that we must not ignore.  As born again followers of Jesus, we can have ‘pollutants’ in our hearts – stuff that just shouldn’t be there.  Unfortunately, we tend to be far more concerned over what is in the food we eat or the water we drink.

I think of the religious leaders in the time of Jesus.  Here they had Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God right in front of them and the ‘pollutants’ in their hearts caused them to focus on everything but the reality God had right in front of them.  What were miracles, signs & wonders and the greatest teaching that mankind has ever heard compared to who Jesus was eating with; who he was talking to; who he was associating with; and whether he did something he ‘shouldn’t’ do on the Sabbath.

The scary thing is that the same thing can happen to us.  We can be so affected by the unclean stuff in our hearts, that we miss God.  We can become spiritually blind and disoriented.  That which should be avoided is embraced; while that which should be embraced is avoided.  It results in us missing the life and blessing that God has for us – the
wonder of Him working in us day by day.

We like to hear about being ‘Blessed’ and ‘seeing God’ but it is the core of being pure in heart that must command our attention.  We must come to understand what that means and commit ourselves to getting there.  Matthew Henry has some helpful thoughts on
this verse:

“Here holiness and happiness are fully
described and put together. The heart must be purified by faith, and kept for
God. Create in me such a clean heart, O God. None but the pure are capable of
seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure. As God cannot endure
to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot look upon his purity.” 

A clean heart is what God desires.  Let us remember Jesus’ words that describe the uncleanness that can come from within – when we do not take following Jesus seriously:

 “’For from within, out of men’s hearts, come
evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come
from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” Mark 7:21-22

Numbers 6:24-26  The LORD bless you and keep you;  ²⁵ the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;  ²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Remember the story of the little boy who was the ring-bearer for the wedding ceremony and when he went down the aisle he growled at everyone.  When asked why, he replied, “That is what a ring BEAR does!”  We probably all have wonderful memories of children and the words that they hear being a bit different than the words that are spoken.

When our son Andrew was little, he was convinced the name of the movie was Raiders of the Lost Dark.  No matter how Donna tried to convince him otherwise, he wouldn’t budge.  She finally said, “There is no DARK in the movie!”  To which he replied with great exasperation, “I KNOW – IT”S LOST!!!!

Such an event in the heritage of misheard words occurred here Monday evening.  Every night Fabi sings to and prays with our 2 granddaughters at bedtime. Well Monday night something really sweet happened.   We heard about it yesterday morning and every time I think of it I laugh.

Fabi sings the song that consists of today’s verses to the girls at bedtime.

The Lord bless you and keep you; 

The Lord make His face to shine upon you;

And bring you peace, And bring you peace, Forever!  

So after she finished, one of the girls says to her, “Mom, why do you pray like that for me?  Do I really need it?”  Fabi answered, “Of course, Honey!  We all need it!”  To which our granddaughter replied, “But Mommy, I really hate PEAS!  Please don’t ask for that again!”

But after the laughter, remember these thoughts about this hymn that was adapted from Numbers 6:24-26. The great evangelist D. L. Moody, in his Notes from My Bible, made the following statement about this benediction:

“Here is a benediction that can give all the time without being impoverished. Every heart may utter it, every letter may conclude with it, every day may begin with it, every night may be sanctified by it. Here is blessing—keeping—shining—the uplifting upon our poor life of all heaven’s glad morning. It is the Lord Himself who (gives us) this bar of music from heaven’s infinite anthem.”

Psalm 145:9  The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.

Saying goodbye is not one of my favorite things – particularly when it leads to not seeing one another for long periods of time.  Over the past 8½ years we have experienced this many times with our sons and their families.  Whether they moved or we moved or military duty or college – we were apart.  While it is a fact of life for many, it doesn’t make it easier, particularly when the family is close relationally.

This has made moving back to NE Ohio all the more special because 3 of our 4 sons and
their families are here.  It is so wonderful to be near children and grandchildren.  It is so wonderful to be a part of their lives – to see them, be near them, to love on them and be there for them.  It is like having treasure and getting to use it.

Circumstantially our move was based upon being laid off at the College where I was working.  But the Lord used a visitor to the College, who was unaware of our situation, to put it into the proper context for us.  He spoke of how his parents were moving from where he lived to Buffalo,  NY to be near his younger brother and his young family so that they could be a part of their lives and give to them just as they had done with our visitor’s family when his children were young.

It was all Donna could do to hold back the tears as she heard this story.  God was using our circumstances that appeared to be negative, to bring about a blessing that was important – not just to us but to our family as well.  The timing and all the details have been worked out by Him in amazing detail.  We are so blessed.

This morning as I prepared this devotional, Snuggles had to be in my lap, as we sat by a wonderful fire in the fireplace.  Then 2 of our granddaughters, Becca and Gabi, came and snuggled both of us as they were getting ready for school.  What a way to start a day!  He has such compassion on us!!

Philippians 2:12b,13 …continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for
it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

In high school I took a reading improvement course.  It was a one semester speed reading course where we were taught to increase our reading speed (words read per minute) without losing comprehension.  Part of the course was regularly viewing films that were the printed text of a story.  All of the text was blurred except for a section of one line.  The purpose of the films was to teach us eye movement and to grasp all of the words that appeared in the readable section of the line.

Initially, each line was divided into three segments.  Rather than our eyes moving from word to word, the film forced us to absorb the words in one-third of the line at a time.  The highlighted, readable section would rapidly move across each line in three jumps and so on down the page.  Following the film we took a test over what we had just read to measure our comprehension.  In order to stay with the fast group, we were required to maintain a 70% comprehension score on each test.  Each film required us to read faster than the previous film.

Over the weeks, the films changed from showing three readable sections of each line to two sections and finally to one section.  In it, the entire line was then readable and our eyes had to take in the entire line of text in one moment as the highlighted section moved down the page.  I remember barely being able to keep up week after week, from the very first film until the last film at the end of the semester.  It was always a strain.  It never felt like I was making any progress except for the fact that I knew the word per minute reading speed was increasing.

I am so grateful that in our last class of the semester, the teacher showed us the very first film of the series we had worked through.  I was amazed.  This film, that 15 weeks ago seemed to move so fast that I could barely keep up with it, was now slower than molasses in winter.  It was one thing to know my word per minute reading speed was much faster.  It was entirely different to go back and see just how far we’d come.

Sometimes in our Christian walk we experience the strain of thinking we are not making any progress.  It can seem that we are always under strain from being stretched by our
circumstances and things in our lives that God is dealing with.  It is important to recognize that God is at work in us – and that He is a very capable worker.  Be encouraged!  Let your confidence be in Him.  He is making progress with us and accomplishing things in us that we might not be aware of.  Ask Him to open your eyes to see what He has done.

Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send
some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not
grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

I was recently struggling with something and my wife Donna was able to greatly encourage me and get my focus back on the Lord – where it belongs.  By focusing on Him, I was able to tap into His marvelous reservoir of joy and wonder that is so transforming.  This is such a marvelous and important lesson for us.

We may be in the midst of grief, difficulty, disappointment or despair – like the children of Israel were who received this word from Nehemiah.  But it’s amazing what God can do within us while we are in the midst of such things!  When we tune in to Him, He shares His joy with us that provides us with such strength.  We recognize who He is for us and that is dominant over whatever difficulties we have.

Think of the scene in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe when Aslan arrives at the witch’s castle and starts breathing upon all the creatures who have been turned to stone by the witch.  We see these stone creatures being transformed and coming back to life.  We
see the vibrant colors of life replacing the drab, lifeless gray color of stone.  That is what God’s joy can and will do within us.

I found this wonderful quote from CH Spurgeon, a great man of God who lived in the 1800s.  It vividly describes what is involved within us as we focus upon Him, with His joy
becoming ours:

“All these attributes of my God are mine: his power, my
protection; his wisdom, my guidance; his faithfulness, my foundation; his
grace, my salvation.” He is a God who cannot lie, faithful and true to his
promise; he is all love, and at the same time infinitely just, supremely holy.
Why, the contemplation of God to one who knows that this God is his God for
ever and ever, is enough to make the eyes overflow with tears, because of the deep,
mysterious, unutterable bliss which fills the heart.”

If the joy of the Lord is elusive to you, don’t give up. It is there for you to find – and when you find it, you find Him!

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…

I grew up next to Lake Michigan and there was a large marsh nearby called Grand Mere where ducks and geese were abundant. Waterfowl have always held such a fascination for me whether watching  them fly in formation, land in a marsh or pond or just swim and feed.  If I had gone into Wildlife as a career, it would have been as a waterfowl biologist.

One of the interesting details that I learned about waterfowl is that they have a tiny oil-secreting gland located at the base of their tail known as the uropygial gland or ‘Preen Gland’.  When a duck is preening, as we have all seen, its head and beak are spreading this oil over its feathers. This oil helps to maintain the luster of the feathers and makes the outer feathers waterproof.  Without this protective barrier, a duck’s feathers would become water-logged.

Water is a fact of life for waterfowl.  It is not just an occasional thing that these birds encounter once in awhile.  The daily preening creates and maintains this protective barrier for them.  Think about all the things that happen in our lives, on a daily basis that can cause us to respond in a way harmful to ourselves and others: change, the unexpected, criticism, bad news, insults, the thoughtlessness of others, additional work to be done, disappointment, discouragement.  I’m sure you can think of more.

Remember the expression, “Like water off a duck’s back”?  The water just rolls off – it doesn’t penetrate or soak in.  Now, think about all those items we just mentioned.  They
happen – all the time!  God’s plan is for us to be protected from the negative effective they can have.  But we play a role in the development and maintenance of that protective ‘barrier’.  Our focus and trust must be upon the Lord – not the circumstances.  Trusting in Him means we don’t succumb to discouragement because we don’t know the answers to the challenges facing us.

If our focus and trust aren’t in the Lord, we likely become ‘water-logged’ with anxiety and fear.  The ‘adventures’ in our lives are opportunities for us to hold steady in Him.  Think of it – what the oil in the ‘Preen Gland’ does for a duck, faith and trust in the Lord does for a Christian.  When regularly and actively applied, they provide a protective barrier enabling us to live securely and walk faithfully through the challenges that come.

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 was a long, wonderfully special day.  Jim & Nancy were in one truck and Donna
& I were in the other as we drove from Franklin, TN to Richfield,  OH.  Although we experienced light rain much of the way, it didn’t distract from the joy we were experiencing.  We were just overwhelmed with the goodness of God and the kindness of dear friends who helped make this transition a blessed one.

Although I am currently unemployed (along with a host of others) that is merely a detail to be addressed.  And we are saddened to leave so many dear friends in TN.  But yesterday, throughout the 11 hour drive, Donna and I were repeatedly cognizant of our joy and gratitude for God and how He has been with us, providing what we need as we need it.  We are aware of the many kindnesses He has enabled us to see – the little ‘touches’ that are like his autograph on situations.

Today’s verses present such a treasure chest of blessing that is ours if we focus on Him instead of our problems or difficulties.  I am reminded of the story I’ve told about our two oldest sons when they were little and we took them to Morton Arboretum.  We loved to take John & Jamie for hikes there.  In the spring of one year something important occurred.  We were walking through the woods and I asked them what colors did they
see?  They answered, “Brown, black, gray.  They just saw soil, leaves covering the ground, tree trunks and tree limbs without leaves – all brown, black and gray.

Then I pointed to a tree and said to look beneath it.  When they started to answer, “Brown”, I said, to look closer – in the leaves to the left of the tree.  All of a sudden they shouted, “Oh, there’s green!”  I pointed to other areas, they shouted, “There’s pink!  Blue!  White!”

They began to see the spring flowers in bloom all around us.  They just hadn’t seen the colorful flowers before because they were distracted by the dominant brown, black and
gray.  Their eyes were opened, by being trained in what to look for.  The flowers and the colors were there all along – they just didn’t see them.

While there are times we might thank Him when in difficult circumstamces all we see are ‘brown, gray and black’; the reality is the ‘color’ is there – both in Him and in our circumstances.  God will open our eyes to see the wondrous ‘color’ of His goodness and kindness to us; surrounding us. Great is our joy, our praise to Him and our gratitude, as we see His hand at work all around us.