Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 115:3-9 (NIV):
“Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
O house of Israel , trust in the Lord –
he is their help and shield.”
In the 2000 movie “Gladiator,” Russell Crowe’s character Maximus carries around with him little statuettes in a leather pouch as a reminder of his gods. At the time, the Roman Empire was winding down to its last 200 years (the movie setting is about 180 AD, when Marcus Aurelius dies.). The Psalms were written several hundred years before, but the character of people were similar. People—even the Israelites—worshipped idols of wood, stone, or metal. When Maximus lost his idols, he, too, was lost.
In Psalm 115, the idols were made of silver and gold. Sort of like today with money and “things.” Today, people may not carry around little statuettes in their pockets as their reminders, but they worship “things” and not the true God in heaven. The psalmist wanted the Israelites to realize that anything made of man’s hands were not worthy of worship. Instead, we should trust the Lord, because he is our “help and shield,” or protector.
So what are our idols? What is it we place before the God in heaven? What is keeping us from putting God first in our lives. The psalmist is telling us that those things made of wood, stone, or metal can’t speak to us, hear us, feel what we’re going through, or walk with us. And God is in heaven, doing as “he pleases.” What pleases him is hearing from us. Our God has ears to hear, and his commands to us are written down in his word, the Bible. When we open it up and read about his love and grace, it pleases him. We gain wisdom whenever we connect with God.
The false idols we put before God will never fill the emptiness we feel in our guts. That emptiness can only be filled by God’s truth and mercy. We want money to fulfill us, but it fails. We want that big house to meet our needs, but it doesn’t. We want that prestigious position at work to fill us up, but it leaves us empty. We want the love of another person to make us happy, but human love is never enough. We are here on earth to seek God and please him. When we obey his commands, God sends us blessings we cannot fathom. Our reverence for the Lord is what meets all our needs and fills us up, be they physical, emotional or spiritual. Earthly idols cannot compare.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to put aside all my earthly idols and put you first. Help me to seek out the blessings you have set aside for me. Amen
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
Holy, not happy
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 112:1 (NIV):
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who finds great delight in his commands.”
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
A history worth reading
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 111:2 (but please read the entire Psalm) (NIV):“Great are the works of the Lord;
They are pondered by all who delight in them.”
As part of my online degree studies, I’m taking a History of Western Civilization class. I find history fascinating and I love reading about the different cultures of the world. When I looked into seminary a few years back, I was most interested in studying the history of my faith. Those stories tell us who we are and where we come from. I’m only halfway through the class, and so far we’ve studied the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Romans.
The history of the Hebrews shows that they are the only civilization that left information behind in order to understand him better and to live a better life. The Psalms consist of writings from man talking back to God in an ongoing conversation. Mostly, we hear from David, pleading for help with his enemies, later praising God for his wondrous works, and, finally, he is confident that God will act righteously – again. We read these stories in order to increase our faith that God is working behind the scenes on our behalf. It’s a story of redemption.
The Greeks’ history tells us how they started the democratic process, but the famous Greek philosophers eventually came to the conclusion that the gods lived on the mountaintops and didn’t interfere with our lives here on earth. The Romans believed in self-determination in conquering the known world, and they let people retain their religious beliefs, for the most part, as long as they worshipped Caesar first. The rest of our world history is about man, not God.
Yet, the Bible shares a constant story of a God wanting to be first in our lives but isn’t demanding. He wants our love in return, certainly, but he gives us freewill to choose or deny him. God constantly interacts with his people in order to show his love for us. He wants us to know him, so he shares his story with us in a period covering some 6,000 years, from the time of Adam in Genesis to John’s writing of Revelation in about AD 95. Even though mankind does not deserve God’s grace, he continues to reach out to us in ways we can’t fathom. Just when we think all is lost, and we have no way out, God restores us. Open the Bible today and find out more about who God is.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, you are truly an amazing God. You reach out to us, your people, every day of our lives. Even though we don’t deserve it, you give us unconditional love by wanting to be a part of our lives. Even in the most minute details, you care about us. Amen
Monday, October 05, 2009
God helps us find the truth
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 109:1-2 (NIV):
O God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
for wicked and deceitful men
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
Sometimes kids lie. No, really, they do. They lie to each other, they lie to themselves, they lie to anyone who stands in front of them. They even lie, gasp, to their parents. This may come as a total shock to a parent whose child hasn’t yet reached adolescence. As a teacher, I was utterly amazed when some kids would lie to my face after being caught breaking a rule, and continue to deny it even when presented with evidence. The plan seemed to be deny, deny, deny … and then, blame it on someone else when that failed!
In other words, they’re shirking responsibility for their actions. OK, confession time: I lied to my parents, too. This isn’t a new trend in the 2000s. Kids have been lying since before David’s days. Yes, people lied to David, too, and he was king! He cried out to God about how mad it made him. Then he asked God to speak up about the liars who were ruining his good name.
This is what my wife and I have been confronted with for the past few months. We learned a couple of valuable lessons we want to pass on to others. One, when we were suspicious, we asked God to reveal the sin to us. God was not silent. Two, when presented with the evidence, graciously confront the sin. Ask open-ended questions that gives the kid a chance to confess; don’t just make accusations. Third, there must be consequences to sin. God disciplines his children because he loves us and doesn’t want to see us in pain down the road, and parents must model that with their kids. And, finally, love must be a constant
Imagine if there were no consequences to our sins. What if we placed a finger over a hot flame but didn’t feel anything – and the next day our finger would fall off. We need pain and consequences in order to teach us not to repeat painful mistakes. How do teenagers learn if there are no consequences? Without consequences, kids would continue down the path to destruction. When kids get on the wrong path, we, as parents, must do whatever it takes to get them back on a godly path. We can count on God being on our side when it comes to lying and deceit. He will not remain silent.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, we praise you for being a God who loves us so much you confront us daily with our sins. Your goal is always to have a relationship with us, and you know this is the only way. Amen
O God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
for wicked and deceitful men
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
Sometimes kids lie. No, really, they do. They lie to each other, they lie to themselves, they lie to anyone who stands in front of them. They even lie, gasp, to their parents. This may come as a total shock to a parent whose child hasn’t yet reached adolescence. As a teacher, I was utterly amazed when some kids would lie to my face after being caught breaking a rule, and continue to deny it even when presented with evidence. The plan seemed to be deny, deny, deny … and then, blame it on someone else when that failed!
In other words, they’re shirking responsibility for their actions. OK, confession time: I lied to my parents, too. This isn’t a new trend in the 2000s. Kids have been lying since before David’s days. Yes, people lied to David, too, and he was king! He cried out to God about how mad it made him. Then he asked God to speak up about the liars who were ruining his good name.
This is what my wife and I have been confronted with for the past few months. We learned a couple of valuable lessons we want to pass on to others. One, when we were suspicious, we asked God to reveal the sin to us. God was not silent. Two, when presented with the evidence, graciously confront the sin. Ask open-ended questions that gives the kid a chance to confess; don’t just make accusations. Third, there must be consequences to sin. God disciplines his children because he loves us and doesn’t want to see us in pain down the road, and parents must model that with their kids. And, finally, love must be a constant
Imagine if there were no consequences to our sins. What if we placed a finger over a hot flame but didn’t feel anything – and the next day our finger would fall off. We need pain and consequences in order to teach us not to repeat painful mistakes. How do teenagers learn if there are no consequences? Without consequences, kids would continue down the path to destruction. When kids get on the wrong path, we, as parents, must do whatever it takes to get them back on a godly path. We can count on God being on our side when it comes to lying and deceit. He will not remain silent.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, we praise you for being a God who loves us so much you confront us daily with our sins. Your goal is always to have a relationship with us, and you know this is the only way. Amen
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Deliver us, Lord
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 109:21 (NIV):
“But you, O Sovereign Lord,
deal well with me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me."
Many of David’s enemies were foreigners – from the dreaded Philistines, to the Edmonites, to the Moabites – but they were also those close to him, King Saul, and even David’s son Absolom, as well as Sheba, who lived near David’s palace in Jerusalem. To David, it didn’t matter who was attacking him; he cried out to God for his infinite mercy and love, all the same. David was ready to pull out his sword and do battle, but in the end, he counted on God’s deliverance. We must be ready to do the same.
As a parent, our children’s enemies may not be from foreign countries, and they certainly won’t walk into our house with a sword at their side. Today, it’s a lot harder to know who our enemies are. David knew he had to flee when Saul flung a sword by his head as he played the soothing harp. Make no mistake, our children have enemies just the same. They are enemies any time Satan uses them to lure our children from the safe, godly path we have shown them over the years. Most of David’s problems with Absolom stemmed from David’s refusal to confront his son’s rape of his sister.
My wife and I have been dealing with some “enemies” for the past few months. Sometimes, his enemies are his best friends; he just doesn’t realize it. It is our job as parents to protect him from the enemy, even if it’s just for one day. As my wife and I have done battle for her son, I sometimes have to remind my wife that it’s OK to do battle over her son’s spirit. It’s OK to say no to certain friendships – even best friends – if that friend is doing something wrong. The enemy is relentless, and we must respond in kind. Tomorrow, it is God’s ideal for that friendship to be reconciled to Him. To reconcile the friendship, sin must be confronted.
Our kids are worth battling over, and if we check out your kid’s MySpace or Facebook account and see a red flag, we better be ready to do battle and find out what’s up. This is not the time to walk away when we see sin in our teenager’s life. The Bible tells us to lovingly confront sin when we see it. Do not believe the enemy’s contemporary arguments that we must accept everyone for being diverse. The battle lines have been drawn – by the enemy, I might add – and we’re fighting for education, drugs and alcohol, sex, lewdness, politeness, respect, and even joy (the opposite of depression). Confronting sin is not easy; it takes guts to pull our kids out of harm’s way. It may mean alienation from their friends, but our kids are worth fighting for. We’re fighting for their futures – futures with hope and love.
Need help with a tough parenting issue? Try reading “Parenting Isn’t for Cowards” by Dr. James Dobson.
Today’s prayer: Lord, give us strength to fight the battles that need to be fought. Give us rest when we are weary, so that we may awaken tomorrow, ready to do battle again. Amen
“But you, O Sovereign Lord,
deal well with me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me."
Many of David’s enemies were foreigners – from the dreaded Philistines, to the Edmonites, to the Moabites – but they were also those close to him, King Saul, and even David’s son Absolom, as well as Sheba, who lived near David’s palace in Jerusalem. To David, it didn’t matter who was attacking him; he cried out to God for his infinite mercy and love, all the same. David was ready to pull out his sword and do battle, but in the end, he counted on God’s deliverance. We must be ready to do the same.
As a parent, our children’s enemies may not be from foreign countries, and they certainly won’t walk into our house with a sword at their side. Today, it’s a lot harder to know who our enemies are. David knew he had to flee when Saul flung a sword by his head as he played the soothing harp. Make no mistake, our children have enemies just the same. They are enemies any time Satan uses them to lure our children from the safe, godly path we have shown them over the years. Most of David’s problems with Absolom stemmed from David’s refusal to confront his son’s rape of his sister.
My wife and I have been dealing with some “enemies” for the past few months. Sometimes, his enemies are his best friends; he just doesn’t realize it. It is our job as parents to protect him from the enemy, even if it’s just for one day. As my wife and I have done battle for her son, I sometimes have to remind my wife that it’s OK to do battle over her son’s spirit. It’s OK to say no to certain friendships – even best friends – if that friend is doing something wrong. The enemy is relentless, and we must respond in kind. Tomorrow, it is God’s ideal for that friendship to be reconciled to Him. To reconcile the friendship, sin must be confronted.
Our kids are worth battling over, and if we check out your kid’s MySpace or Facebook account and see a red flag, we better be ready to do battle and find out what’s up. This is not the time to walk away when we see sin in our teenager’s life. The Bible tells us to lovingly confront sin when we see it. Do not believe the enemy’s contemporary arguments that we must accept everyone for being diverse. The battle lines have been drawn – by the enemy, I might add – and we’re fighting for education, drugs and alcohol, sex, lewdness, politeness, respect, and even joy (the opposite of depression). Confronting sin is not easy; it takes guts to pull our kids out of harm’s way. It may mean alienation from their friends, but our kids are worth fighting for. We’re fighting for their futures – futures with hope and love.
Need help with a tough parenting issue? Try reading “Parenting Isn’t for Cowards” by Dr. James Dobson.
Today’s prayer: Lord, give us strength to fight the battles that need to be fought. Give us rest when we are weary, so that we may awaken tomorrow, ready to do battle again. Amen
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fathoming the mysteries of God
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm Job:11:7-9 (NIV):
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens – what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the grave –
what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.”
I have not written this devotional in a couple of weeks. My reasons are many – from being exhausted in dealing with my step-son, to work-related matters, to being brain dead. Oh, yeah, and I went to Hawaii for five days with three buddies and soaked up the sun and beach a little. That wore me out! When I got home, I needed a day of rest to recuperate.
This scripture came from Sunday’s sermon at church. The sermon was one my step-son, my wife and I needed to hear, because no matter what we’re going through, we can never truly understand “the mysteries of God.” When we give up and think God has limits and isn’t capable – or willing – of getting us out of our current scrape, he steps up to the plate in the 11th hour and delivers a home run. That’s what God has been doing for us during the past few months, over and over and over. God has given us grace beyond what we deserve.
For one reason: He loves us. Because he loves us, he knows exactly how must grace and truth to give us at any one time. He wants us to learn from our mistakes, so he doesn’t wipe away the consequences most of the time. And just when we think we can’t take it any more, he heaps on a pile of grace to get us through another ordeal. Some of you with rebellious teenagers know what I’m talking about and may be laughing – or snickering – under your breath. “Yep. Been there, done that.” Others are hoping they never have to face such difficult situations when your young children come of age.
My faith in the almighty God has deepened greatly during this difficult battle. Time and again, I have seen God answer our prayers. I can see his hand in everything we do. Even in a quick trip to Yosemite, we marveled at God’s creation and realized he created it the snap of his fingers so that we could witness his beauty. My wife and I have learned to turn the problems with her son over to God, then wait for him to act. When things look bleak, I’ve simply grabbed my wife’s hand and said, “I don’t know what to do, so we’re going to pray and trust God.”
In that waiting comes new-found trust and growth. God is slowly stretching our faith, getting ever closer to the level we need to reach, yet never quite getting there. Our journey continues. We hope you join us. It’s a grand experience.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, I can’t do this without you. I need you. Give me strength to face life today. Amen
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens – what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the grave –
what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.”
I have not written this devotional in a couple of weeks. My reasons are many – from being exhausted in dealing with my step-son, to work-related matters, to being brain dead. Oh, yeah, and I went to Hawaii for five days with three buddies and soaked up the sun and beach a little. That wore me out! When I got home, I needed a day of rest to recuperate.
This scripture came from Sunday’s sermon at church. The sermon was one my step-son, my wife and I needed to hear, because no matter what we’re going through, we can never truly understand “the mysteries of God.” When we give up and think God has limits and isn’t capable – or willing – of getting us out of our current scrape, he steps up to the plate in the 11th hour and delivers a home run. That’s what God has been doing for us during the past few months, over and over and over. God has given us grace beyond what we deserve.
For one reason: He loves us. Because he loves us, he knows exactly how must grace and truth to give us at any one time. He wants us to learn from our mistakes, so he doesn’t wipe away the consequences most of the time. And just when we think we can’t take it any more, he heaps on a pile of grace to get us through another ordeal. Some of you with rebellious teenagers know what I’m talking about and may be laughing – or snickering – under your breath. “Yep. Been there, done that.” Others are hoping they never have to face such difficult situations when your young children come of age.
My faith in the almighty God has deepened greatly during this difficult battle. Time and again, I have seen God answer our prayers. I can see his hand in everything we do. Even in a quick trip to Yosemite, we marveled at God’s creation and realized he created it the snap of his fingers so that we could witness his beauty. My wife and I have learned to turn the problems with her son over to God, then wait for him to act. When things look bleak, I’ve simply grabbed my wife’s hand and said, “I don’t know what to do, so we’re going to pray and trust God.”
In that waiting comes new-found trust and growth. God is slowly stretching our faith, getting ever closer to the level we need to reach, yet never quite getting there. Our journey continues. We hope you join us. It’s a grand experience.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, I can’t do this without you. I need you. Give me strength to face life today. Amen
Monday, August 31, 2009
Descriptions of God
Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Psalm 104:30 (NIV):
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.”
The Psalms give several descriptions of God, which I’ll get to in a moment. Here, He is called a spirit (with a capital S, signifying His deity) that renews or changes us. Great things can happen to us when we are filled with the Spirit. In Acts 9:17, Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit after his encounter with Jesus on the road to
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