Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (NIV) – (Amplified Bible):   Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

There’s the story of the two guys in a boat way out in the ocean.  The one says, “Man – look at all the water!”  The other replies, ‘Yeah – and to think that’s just the top of it!”  Words have meaning – and those meanings usually involve a whole lot more than we might think.  It’s amazing how life changing words in scripture can be when we understand the depth of meaning that they have.

When I first read this verse in other versions of the Bible it seemed like a simple, straightforward recipe for success.  In order to succeed, all we have to do is commit what we’re doing to the Lord.  That seemed pretty simple to do.  But what exactly does it mean to commit something to the Lord?   What about all the times when our plans are unclear or we’re questioning what God wants us to do?  And doesn’t God’s idea of success sometimes differ from what we think?

When I first read this verse in the Amplified Bible it seemed to jump off the page.  I saw what was involved in committing my way to the Lord!  But more than that, the verse describes how God would respond and impact our thoughts, our plans and their development!  The understanding that “He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will” is priceless to the committed believer. 

We want to do His will.  We want our plans to conform to His plans for us.  We want every decision we make – from the big ones to the little ones that fill our day – to be consistent with a Christ-centered life.  This verse contains the promise and blueprint of how it can happen.

By embracing this process, the Lord will grow our confidence in Him.  We will see the quality of our decisions and lives improve.  The more we commit our way to Him; the more we allow Him to transform our thoughts and plans – the more we will experience the ‘God-results’ that He has for us.  (‘God results’ = God’s idea of success)

Isaiah 12:5  Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.

We arrived at the Christian Camp on Sunday that was held in Georgia.  Donna was from North Carolina and I was from Michigan.  We met and were engaged on Monday.  But the best was still to come.  The Lord had something scheduled for Donna on Tuesday afternoon that would change her forever. 

Donna’s attendance at the camp was a last minute occurrence, just like it was for me.  She was invited by a college classmate to go with her to a “dumb old Christian camp” that her folks were making her go to.  The friend’s parents would pay her way to come.  Donna, on the other hand, was excited to come to the camp because God had been wooing her to Himself. 

Donna had spent the previous two school years at St. Mary’s in Raleigh, NC- a private Episcopal Girl’s School.  She was there for her senior year of high school and her freshman year of college.  At St. Mary’s she found herself attracted by the Church’s Liturgy and enjoyed being an altar girl.  Both the morning service and Evening Prayers on Sunday were important to her.  She thought the sense of peace and the beauty of the services that she experienced there was as close as she could get to God.

Donna’s honest answer to my question regarding whether she was saved, revealed the fact that she was still in the process of being drawn to God.  In her short time at the camp she was already a bit confused by the way people talked about Jesus.  They spoke of Him as though He was actually there with them.  Donna believed in God but thought of Him as an ethereal being up there somewhere.  When she asked people why they spoke of Jesus in this way, they just smiled and said that she would find out, which did little to help.  Little did she know the miraculous vision that God would give her in order to reveal the Truth to her.

The following afternoon after we met and were engaged, Donna was in the little chapel for a meeting.  People were being prayed for after the talk and although she had been prayed for, nothing had happened for her as it had for the others in the room.  She was sitting in the front row of this small chapel and was too embarrassed to get up and walk out so she just sat there.  There was an empty life-size wooden cross hanging on the wall in the front of the chapel and as she sat there looking at it, God gave her a vision. 

She saw Jesus nailed to the cross—so clearly that she felt that if she could have stood, she could have touched him.  As she looked on, she noticed blood dripping from His hands.  Suddenly it was personally real to her that Jesus had died for her!  She began to weep and couldn’t stop as she realized that Jesus had loved her enough to die for her, not just “the world” but her, personally.  Later she recalled experiencing the feeling of being in a waterfall, only the waterfall was inside her rather than outside her.  Afterwards she says she felt scrubbed clean on the inside.  Nothing was the same again.  She was a different person.  Though she couldn’t articulate it clearly, she knew it was true!

To God be the glory great things He hath done!  Continued from yesterday…

After my thunderous conversion the previous fall, I received some wonderful advice about praying for my wife.  The leader instructed me, “I want you to pray for your wife – but don’t pray, ‘God, send me a wife’.  I want you to pray for her like this.  Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have the girl I am going to marry.  I pray that she will come to know you – that you will protect her and bless her.  Thank you that you are preparing us for one another.  I acknowledge that in your time and in your way, you will bring us together.  I commit her and our relationship to you.”  So I regularly began praying in this way for the unknown girl who would be my wife.  This was the framework of my declaration of “THAT’S HER!”   

When we finished dinner, David asked Donna to go with him to take some film to be developed.  Great was my relief when she said no.  After he left, I asked if we could go for a walk and she said yes.  Even though I was beside myself with what was going on within me, I wanted to tell her about Jesus and how I met Him.  She wanted to find out what was the glow that was around my head in the meeting.

I was telling her about Jesus while we walked but my mind was in a whirlwind.  There was a popular song at the time with the line, “Then I went and spoiled it all by saying something stupid like I love you.” And it was running through my mind.  We walked to a stone bench under the pines next to a stone chapel and sat down.  What was going on within me was so consuming I finally couldn’t continue talking.  So I said to her, “There is something I have to tell you.”  Donna said, “Go ahead.”  I replied, “I love you.”  She replied, “I love you too.” 

At that point, I said, “Let’s pray.”  My prayer was simply this, “Lord Jesus – If this is not of you, stop it.  But if this is of you, please confirm it.”  And “heaven landed with a thud!”  That is how I have described it for 42 years.  We were immediately surrounded and embraced by a manifestation of God’s presence!  He imparted (downloaded) everything into both of us – the knowledge, the thrill, the excitement, the affection, the commitment, the utter joy and the complete settledness.  It was done!!  We knew, sitting on the bench praying, that God had chosen us for each other and we were to be married.  We belonged to each other. 

From that moment, there has never been any doubt that God chose us for each other – not the slightest doubt – ever!  I always knew that I was capable of loving someone.  I never dreamed that anyone could or would love me the way Donna does.  This was and is something beyond my wildest dreams.  Later I discovered that Donna had been proposed to by a friend the weekend before but had to tell him no.  She was unable to say she loved him. 

God impressed on us we were to be married – He didn’t say get married.  I still had my senior year of college to go and He knew that I needed to be loved not married.  Now I was able to focus on my studies.  We were married 13 months later just following my graduation from college.

Tomorrow – Donna’s vision of Jesus on the cross….

To God be the glory great things He hath done!  42 years ago today!

Thanks to what can only be described as the miraculous intervention of God, we were engaged 2 hours and 15 minutes after we met!  We’ve joked that the reason it took so long was the first hour was in a meeting and the second hour was at dinner.  God supernaturally communicated, independently to each of us that we were His choice for each other and were to be married.  It’s as though we had been betrothed to each other without ever knowing it. 

God imparted (in computer terms, think “downloaded”) knowledge, understanding, wisdom and a passionate affection for each other – into each of us.  He not only imparted this to us, but He gave us the incredible experience of a manifestation of His presence as confirmation to us as we sat on a park bench together in prayer.  He gave us in a moment what many don’t experience in a lifetime.

“But what exactly happened?” is a response we have received when friends and acquaintances hear about this.  Neither one of us knew that we were coming to this Christian camp in Georgia until the last minute.  Donna, from North Carolina, was invited by a college classmate to go with her to a “dumb old Christian camp” that her folks were making her go to.  Donna, on the other hand, was excited to come because God had been wooing her to Himself.  I received an invitation to come and be one of the youth counselors just one week before the camp began.

On the second day of camp, as I approached the auditorium for the afternoon meeting, I saw David, a young man I had met there the day before.  As we were talking, up walks this lovely young lady named Donna.  She too didn’t know hardly anyone there, but like me, she had met David the day before as well.  So she joined us and we went in to the meeting.

After sitting down in the auditorium, I asked Donna if I could ask her a personal question.  She said yes, being curious what I would ask.  I asked her, “Are you saved?”  She replied, “If you tell me what you mean, I’ll tell you what I think.”  I then said, “If you were to die or if Jesus returned, would you go to heaven or to hell?”  She gave me the answer when she said, “I’d probably go to hell because I haven’t done anything good enough to go to heaven.”  I knew I wanted to tell her about Jesus. 

During the course of the meeting, the speaker said something funny and everyone laughed.  While we were laughing Donna looked at me and there was a bright glow around my head.  She was startled by it and wondered what it was? I was totally unaware of this phenomenon.

The three of us went from the meeting to the cafeteria to have dinner.  David sat to her left but the thought struck me to sit across from Donna so I went around the end of the table, put my tray across from her and sat down.  As I looked up, our eyes met and my heart exploded with “THAT’S HER!”  I was beside myself, not knowing what to do – except play with my food for the rest of the meal because my appetite was sure gone.  A stunning, tumultuous event was going on inside of me.

The rest of the story tomorrow….

Matthew 28:19a  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations….  Acts 11:26b  The disciples were called Christians first atAntioch.

I wonder if among God’s gifts, is one of food appreciation.  If there is, I think I have it.  Good food, prepared well is such a joy to eat.  Each bite is a pleasure in itself.  Have you noticed how we especially anticipate a meal where a favorite dish is being served?  Then, when we take the first taste, we evaluate everything about it to see if it measures up.  That might take all of a split second if it is done right.  A friend of ours describes his response to one of Donna’s desserts as a ‘party in his mouth’!

But what if that first taste generates a ‘something is amiss’ response?  Maybe it’s something simple like salt or pepper which can be remedied right there at the table.  But what if it’s overcooked or undercooked; too dry or watered down; or somehow significantly different?  What if it’s not at all the dish we were led to believe was going to be served because the recipe has been changed – it is new and improved!  Unfortunately, it sure isn’t the dish we love. 

Three things are at work here: 1) Recognizing that specific dishes are called for, 2) Making those dishes correctly and 3) Being able to recognize the correct dishes when tasted.  A dish might qualify as food, but if it isn’t a required dish or made according to the correct recipe, it’s not acceptable – no matter how well meaning or sincere the cooks are. 

You might be asking yourself, where is all this going?  Christians are disciples of Christ.  As Christians we are to be disciples – and are to make disciples.  In today’s illustration, disciples are made according to very specific recipes found in God’s cookbook (Bible). Disciples are NOT simply things that fall into the general category of food.  Contrary to our culture, the term Christian is only correctly applied when it refers disciples (‘dishes’) made by truly Biblical recipes. 

The term ‘Christian’ is being used less and less by many because it has become far too general.  In our food illustration it now refers to anything edible – rather than the specific dishes the Bible requires.  The descriptive terms ‘Christ follower’ and ‘follower of Jesus’ are attempts to bring the focus once again upon the required characteristics of such a life.  God requires us to not only be such people, but to work with Him to produce such people.   He has the recipes and they must be followed in order to be a disciple of Christ or to make them.  His recipes are the only ones that count.

Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

This morning I’ve been thinking about the amazement I still have over my experience of becoming a child of God forty-three years ago.  The encounter I had on that day where Jesus became my Lord and Savior was so beyond imagining – so radically life changing, that I am still in awe of it.

The thing about it that struck me this morning is that I didn’t see it coming.  I wasn’t aware that I was seeking God or that I was ‘lost’.  The only reason I went to the retreat was to honor my parents.  There was nothing going on at school (Western Michigan), the camp was nearby and I knew it was important to them for me to go. 

The message of the evangelist was unlike anything I had ever heard.  I had never heard anyone talk about Jesus like they had met and knew Him.  As I listened, I was struck by the thought that he described Jesus in a way that, if He were real, it was what He would be like.  I had no idea that I was about to meet Him too!  It’s like I was a ripe fruit ready to pick and just didn’t know it. 

The question this morning is how many people that we interact with are in a place similar to where I was?  They are going to having a life-changing experience with the Lord but might not even have an idea that they are searching?  God is simply working in their lives to prepare them for that moment.  We need to understand the impact our lives have in that process.  If our lives are Christ-centered it will be positive; if not, we have missed an opportunity – or worse, created an obstacle to be overcome.

Jesus said we are salt and light.  Our very lives are to reveal Him and His love to others.  All of our encounters and interactions in life are opportunities.  When we live our lives wisely we are going to be a significant influence for Christ in the lives of people around us.  God will use His richness in our lives to draw others to Himself – and sometimes we get to be there when it happens!

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Whether it is one task or situation or a slew of them, it is not unusual to find ourselves being confronted with anxiety.  Our situation can be so daunting we feel like the disciples in the boat in the midst of the storm:  we’re overwhelmed and Jesus is asleep.  Their focus was on the storm, the wind and the waves – rather than upon the fact that He was with them.  Then when they did cry out to Jesus, they were frantic.  How often do we do the same?

From reading today’s verse, it’s pretty clear that God knows about our tendency to become anxious.  From finances, to illness, to family issues, to jobs – our lives are ripe with opportunities for us to choose the wrong way to go when the ‘storm’ of anxiety comes.  But it’s important that we recognize that His prescription isn’t intended to be a ‘fire alarm’ – pull in case of fire – although it can still work that way.

It prescribes a way of life and the establishment of a relationship that will enable us to live in peace while in the midst of stormy situations.  We are to live the verse day by day.  Think of a college student who doesn’t really study all term and then crams like crazy for the final, versus the student who has faithfully studied day by day throughout the term. Both might do well on the final, but one has chosen wisely and the other hasn’t.

Each day, the Lord wants us to be looking to Him.  He cares about us and the situations we face and wants us to become confident of that.  A very helpful illustration comes from nature.  Waterfowl 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 – but more importantly it makes the outer feathers waterproof.  Without this protective barrier, a duck’s feathers would become water-logged.

Praying and presenting our requests to Him daily with thanksgiving is His wisdom for us.  Doing this develops a protective barrier for us and is an antidote to becoming ‘water-logged’ with anxiety.  Through these actions He also enables us to become so much more aware of His working in our lives.  Our confidence in Him becomes strong resulting in appreciation and gratitude.  Thankfulness becomes the reality of our lives.

1 Corinthians 14:1a  Follow the way of love…

This morning I woke up thinking about one of the more important and useful concepts that I became aware of in Grad School.  God has used it ever since to give me insight and help me in my daily life.  It involves tasks and relationships – two things that fill our lives.  Each day is filled with tasks to do and many of them involve working or interacting with people.

In a class, we grad students took a test that measured our personal orientations to tasks and to relationships.  When the scores were graphed we each discovered a picture of how we functioned in such situations.  At one end of the spectrum were those whose pre-eminent concern was the task.  Whether big or small, it had to get done.  If it meant sacrificing relationships, so be it.  Relationships were irrelevant to getting the job done. 

At the other end of the spectrum were those who placed pre-eminence upon relationships.  No task was so important that it would warrant sacrificing relationships.  When these individuals are confronted with situations where they have to choose between a task and a relationship(s), the task won’t get done.  They don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or create an unpleasant situation for themselves or anyone else.  They back away from tasks where they perceive a risk to relationship might exist. 

Then there was everyone in between where they reflected a mix of task or relationship priorities.  The goal was to be in the middle where both tasks and relationships are important.  Such individuals find ways to get tasks done while preserving and strengthening relationships.  They don’t sacrifice the task for a relationship and they don’t sacrifice a relationship for the task.  Both are important and vital.

This seems to be the way of love that we are called to walk in.  God’s Word and the leading of His Spirit enable us to find the balance that preserves relationships while getting tasks done.  Sometimes they might be painful even when done wisely in love, but the way of love produces righteous fruit – both in us and in others.  Think of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

In all situations we want to glorify the Lord.  We want our lives to accomplish His purposes and reflect His life within us.  The way of love enables us to do that day by day and His Word tells us how to do just that.  It’s up to us to embrace it.  The way of love enables us to transform situations that seem to be ‘Lose-Lose’ or ‘Win-Lose’ into Win-Win’.  Tasks get done and relationships are strengthened.

Psalm 43:4  Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.

What are your favorite things?  What brings you joy and delight?  Remember this song that Maria sung in The Sound of Music?

 Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

 When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

What things come to mind when you list your favorite things?  The first thought in my mind this morning when I think of my favorite things is my darling Donna.  I think of playing with my grandchildren and seeing them laugh; in beautiful sunsets; seeing flocks of Canada geese; being with our children; walks on the ocean shore; being with good friends; seeing the Ohio State Buckeyes football team win; talking about the Lord with young men and women.

Our favorite things bring us delight.  ‘Delight’ is far beyond being merely satisfied or pleased with something.  It is truly something special.  Think of the pleasure, the joy, the warm feelings – the satisfaction – the sensation of not wanting the moment to end.  These sensations are so characteristic of our favorite things.

In making this list that reflects our own personal reality, is God one of our favorite things?  Does He make the list?  Not the list that is supposed to be true of us – but the list that really describes the reality of who we are.  Is He, and our relationship with Him, a source of joy and delight?  When ‘the dog bites and the bee stings and when we’re feeling bad’ do our thoughts go to Him?  Is He at the top of our list?

Proverbs 3:5, 6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;  ⁶ think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. 

Have you ever considered the idea that ‘trusting the Lord’ is a learned skill?  The more we do it, the better we can become at it.  Trusting the Lord comes through making daily choices as to where will we place our confidence.  It frequently involves outward decision making, such as tithing or giving when finances are tight.  We might be faced with situations that appear to require a ‘small’ inappropriate compromise in order to prevent a larger negative – like loss of a job, or a sale or a relationship.

Doing the right thing is important, but trusting in the Lord offers so much more.  Think of the verse where we are commanded not to be anxious over anything (Phil 4:6).  We can do the right thing while being beside ourselves with anxiety and concern.  The children ofIsraelcould have chosen to enter the land in spite of the giants and the negative report of the 10 spies.  They were frightened but they could have still obeyed the Lord.

A most vital component in this process is the relationship we have with the Lord.  The closer our walk is with Him, the greater is our freedom from anxiety and worry in difficult situations.  Consider the following situations and what you are likely to experience internally in each of them: 

1. You are lost, driving in a city you’ve never been in; you are in an unsavory area and your cell phone is not working; you have an important appointment to keep – if only you can find it.
2. Same as #1 but your cell phone begins working; so you call your friend you’re meeting with – and get his voice mail.
3. Same as # 1 but you ask someone for directions and they sound a bit confused as they give them to you.
4. Same as #1 but you remember you have a Garmin (GPS).  You plug it in; enter the address of the appointment; push the go button and you immediately know how to get there and how long it will take.

The point isn’t to go out and buy a Garmin – but to recognize how different our state of being can be in different situations.  The more we learn to trust in the Lord, the more we are able to have the peaceful heart response of situation #4 while in situations like #1.