Humility

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5 ESV). In 1908, the British writer G. K. Chesterton described the our immature culture as postmodernism. One mark of its “vulgar relativism” (as Michael Novak calls it) is the hijacking of the word “arrogance” to refer to conviction and “humility” to refer to doubt. Chesterton saw it coming. He wrote:

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert — himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt — the Divine Reason. The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. The essential nature of genuine humility is at the root of our reception of the grace to continue our journey in life. Think of how often humility would make every wrong easier to forgive and overcome. Think of how humility would make our interaction with all people so much easier. So, let me suggest five truths about humility.  Humility begins with a sense of subordination to God in Christ. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6).  Humility does not feel a right to better treatment than Jesus got. Therefore humility does not return evil for evil. It is not life based on its perceived rights.  Humility asserts truth not to bolster ego with control or with triumphs in debate, but as service to Christ and love to the adversary. “Love rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).  Humility knows it is dependent on grace for all knowing and believing. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).  Humility knows it is fallible, and so considers criticism and learns from it. Make these your goals and all the rest will become much easier!

The Boasting of the World - Pt 2

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:21-25 ESV).

It is an absolute truth that boasting is the outward form of the inner condition of pride. The truth that pride suppresses most is that God is greater than we are and should be glorified as the greatest reality in the universe, and that God is the Giver of all things and should be continually thanked. A Godward spirit of worship and gratitude is missing from most hearts because of pride. We want admiration for ourselves, not for God, and we don't want to be dependent like helpless children on God's mercy. Our reading today declares that when we think we are wise we are actually acting foolishly. Pride prefers not to have God in its knowledge. Pride does not like to submit to authority or depend on mercy. Therefore it is always rejecting or redefining the true God. Later in the Roman letter Paul shows the form this pride takes in the morally vigilant: "Do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (Romans 3:23). There is such a thing as the pride of the lecherous and there is also the pride of the legally careful, moral person. There is even the pride of the religious person who uses his knowledge of God to exalt himself (cf. Romans 2:17). The same could be true of any religious group. We are all tempted to make God himself a means of our own self-exaltation. So boasting matters to Paul because boasting is the outward form of the deep, root-problem of the human race, pride. This moral corruption lies behind all the evils and miseries of the world. And, worst of all, this pride has put us at odds with God, so that, "Every mouth is stopped and all the world has become accountable to God" (Romans 3:19b). We are under his judgment because of our pride and all the sin that flows from it. My sincere hope is that we will become people who stop arguing about who is right in the realization that only God is right. The rest of us can only be right when we unite in His perfect purpose.

The Boasting of the World - Pt 1

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. (Romans 3:27-30 ESV).

Well, today I have decided to go in a slightly different direction with the Morning Devotionals. It is prompted both by the current events of our culture as well as an incredibly important part of Biblical theology. I found a meme that was interesting. The simple statement is “When you’re busy bragging on Facebook, remember there are people who know you in real life.” Social media has given everyone with access to the internet the ability to “boast.” In our reading today the Apostle Paul makes a reference to our natural inclination to brag. His simple declaration is that we have no right to do such. His application is to the gracious act of our redemption, which is all rooted and completed in God. About that we cannot waiver. God begins and ends our redemption. We have nothing to do to receive this incredible gift of God. However, there is also an application to the broader patterns of our life. We all fail at some point in this common sin. Our fallen nature is to consistently elevate ourselves, typically by making others look worse than we are. We saw this played out in the original sin. As God questions Adam concerning his embarrassment at his nakedness, he does not admit his sin; he blames his failure on God (cf. Genesis 3:12). It is an amazing turn of events. Adam has gone from the amazing belief that Eve is “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (cf. Genesis 2:23) to the accusation of “it was that woman you gave me” who made me sin. That is nothing more than pride! Today we find it at nearly every level of our relationships. We see it in our families, our friendships, our business partnerships, and in general to every group that is somehow “different” than we present ourselves. Pride has been the root cause of all the evils and miseries of the world. Paul says earlier in this letter, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18 ESV). The truth is available to all people in one way or the other, and instead of humbling ourselves under it, we stand over it and push it down. This is pride. It may take hundreds of different forms, from the most petite and delicate to the most powerful and crude, but the reality is the same: we will stand over the truth and accept what we like and suppress what we don't. We are all sinners. No one is exempt from that failure. Starting there begins the journey toward humility and grace.

Magnified Peace - Pt 6

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:1-2 ESV).

There is never a time in the mountains in the eastern part of Yellowstone where there is not ice glaciers in the crevices. This is because these gorges are so deep and narrow that they are always in the shade. The ice simply doesn’t melt. We must capture a means of walking “in the shade.” That the next principle of multiplied grace and peace. The apostles tell us that prayer is the means of multiplied grace and peace. The unique thing about a spoken blessing is that it is bi-directional. It is addressed both to man and God. When we say, “The Lord bless you and keep you”, we are asking the Lord (vertically) to bless you (horizontally). So it is with Peter’s words, “May grace and peace be multiplied (by God) to you.” God is being addressed. And the church is being addressed. And these words are not spoken in vain. Peter speaks them because he believes they matter. They are a means of bringing about what they aim at. They aim at more grace and more peace. So Peter believes that asking God to do this work will in fact be an instrument in bringing it about. It does; God answers prayer. We should believe that. Another means of multiplied grace and peace is the epistle these words introduce. It is astonishing that Paul begins every letter with some form of “grace be to you,” and ends every letter with some form of “grace be with you.” This pattern is unvarying. At the beginning the letter is about to be read. And in being read, grace and peace will come to us. The letter itself is the word of God. It will be the means of multiplying grace and peace to us. Then, at the end of the letter, Paul sees us leaving our encounter with the word and going out into the world, and he prays that grace go with us. Peter confirms this understanding. In our reading, he says explicitly that grace and peace are going to come “in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ.” “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (v. 2). In other words, not only am I praying for grace and peace to increase, I am writing a letter to give knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ as kindling for the fire of this increase. So, we come to the understanding that prayer involves both speaking to God and hearing from God. Hearing can only come through the Scripture. Discipline yourself to intentionally reading the Bible.

Magnified Peace - Pt 5

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5b ESV). The fourth principle the apostles share is that grace and peace are multiplied by God. Peter uses the passive voice, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” The implied actor is God. We are stewards of “God’s varied grace” (cf. 1 Peter 4:10). Grace does not just happen, it comes from God. Our reading today says, “God gives grace to the humble” (v. 5). Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22). Peter’s prayer is that God act. “May God multiply grace to you and peace!”

Thunder once roared over the vast plains of North America. It came not from the sky but from the soil, as myriads of black cloven hooves pounded the ground. However, they were hunted to near extinction. In the 1800’s they went from 30-60 million to 325 animals. Fortunately leaders in our country recognized the peril of these wonderful animals and put into place measure insuring the rebuilding of their numbers. In Yellowstone today there are two distinct herds that number about 5,000. Seeing them roam wild in the Lamar Valley reminded me of what it might have looked like when there were millions across the western plains. None of this could have happened without the intervention of men. We also must remember that grace and peace are multiplied by God through human means. If God did this multiplication without respect to human means, Peter would not say these words. They would be pointless. He says them because he believes his words are God’s means of multiplying grace and peace. We need to see this truth because of how common it is today to think of grace only as unconditional. There is unconditional grace and there is conditional grace. Paul speaks of the “election of grace” (cf. Romans 11:5). That grace is unconditional. God’s election is not a response to conditions we can meet. But there is grace that is a response to conditions we meet. Peter says in our reading today, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (v. 5). God responds to humility with more grace. Humility is a condition of receiving this grace. Of course, humility itself is a fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:23). But the fact that “God is at work in you to do his good pleasure” does not lessen your responsibility to “work out your own salvation” (cf. Philippians 2:12-13). In other words, to say that receiving some grace has conditions does not mean we are left to fulfill the conditions by ourselves. But it is a serious mistake to bring in the doctrine of justification at this point in a way that says, “Christ fulfilled the conditions of God’s blessing, so we don’t have to.” Christ performed some conditions in our place; namely, the ones necessary for God to be 100% for us in spite of our sin. But when he died, he also obtained for us the gift of the Spirit by which we fulfill other conditions for “multiplied” grace and peace. That is what Peter and Paul are praying for.

Magnified Peace - Pt 4

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:17-20 ESV).

When we were looking at the Yellowstone River running through the gorge from a height of 8,000 feet it was easy to be overwhelmed with the thought of its power. I also was impressed with the comparison to life. Real life in a fallen world is a river. You go upstream with growth, or you go downstream. There’s no standing still. Our reading today is very important to our understanding of how we may navigate this powerful surge in life. Our anchor is not straight down. It’s in heaven (v. 19). It is always located at the headwaters; and, it is pulling us in. The third principle we see from both Paul and Peter is that there is always more grace and peace to be enjoyed. Paul and Peter never assume your present experience of grace and peace cannot or should not be increased. They assume the opposite. They do not say, or imply, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you, unless you have all there is to have.” You never have all there is to have. That’s why each of their letters begins with a prayer for them to have grace and peace. All of us always need more grace and more peace. John Piper says: “Every day, we need new measures of grace and peace for new moments.” Since Paul doesn’t use a verb (“grace to you and peace”), you might try to water down his meaning to something like: “I pray you are now enjoying grace and peace.” No increase implied. However, this approach will not yield any truthful application. The word “to you” implies movement. Grace and peace are on the way; and, more is coming. With Peter, there is no doubt what he means. He makes it explicit with a verb. The word “be multiplied” means “be increased,” “be more,” “be expanded.” He assumes we need more grace and peace. And we do. In this life we will never be able to say, “I have arrived. I have all the grace and peace I can use.” We simply don’t. If there is more coming, you can have more. And you need more. The Christian life is not static. It is movement. We are growing in grace and peace, or we are going backward. Don’t be swept away!

Magnified Peace - Pt 3

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV).

As I began to think about today’s devotional I remembered our experience in Yellowstone visiting Old Faithful. You may know that it was so named because of its regular schedule of eruption. However, the truth is a little different than that. It is not as “faithful” as you may have been led to believe. Basic prediction of Old Faithful is dependent upon the duration of the previous eruption. Intervals can range from 60-110 minutes. Eruptions normally last between 1.5 to 5 minutes. The famous geyser currently erupts around 17 times a day and can be predicted with a 90 percent confidence rate within a 10 minute variation. Now, that’s pretty “faithful.” However, it is nothing compared to the faithfulness of our God. Our reading today declares, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (v. 22). Both Peter and Paul help us understand the second truth in our series regarding the “multiplied peace” God gives us. Grace and peace vary in measure in our lives. That is what the word “multiply” means. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” May there be an increase of grace and peace in your experience. Grace and peace are not static. They go up and down in our lives. Hour by hour and day by day, our enjoyment of grace and peace changes. It ebbs and flows. One moment we are carried by a wave of grace into a harbor of peace. An hour later, after a painful phone call, we are storm-tossed out of sight of land again. That is reality. However, we can always count on God giving us more grace and peace than we can imagine possible. When we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, there were several times when it would bubble up and spew some steam. Some of the folks could be overheard asking, “Is that it?”I thought, “If that’s all there is, someone has certainly photo-shopped all the pictures I’ve ever seen. Of course, that wasn’t all there was. When the time was right, it erupted, sending water and steam over a hundred feet into the sky. It was truly a magnificent sight. That’s God’s peace and grace. It varies, but it is consistent. We are never left to fend for ourselves. Regardless of the challenges of our journey, God is ever-present to do an abundant work of grace in our lives. We can count on God for every new measure for every new moment.

Magnified Peace - Pt 2

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:14-16 ESV).

As I said yesterday, grace and peace are experienced in real life. This picture is a more panoramic view of the lodge we stayed in while in Montana. It gives you more of the perspective of the relative seclusion of this location. I suppose that’s why I enjoyed our time here as much as I did. I find it is much easier for me to hear from God when I am in the midst of the grandeur of His creation. I am reminded that our promise is for an eternity of this grandeur; however, God‘s intention is not just for the “then and there,” but “here and now.” Grace and peace are not only the objective status we enjoy before God. They are also the experiential enjoyment of that status. Our reading today makes it abundantly clear that God made an objective peace between him and us by the blood of Christ. And he did it by a historical act of divine grace that was firm and unchangeable (cf. Ephesians 2:8). But Peter clarifies it even more when he says that grace and peace are “multiplied” to us. They are not static. They are not only a status. Peter is offering to us, and praying for us, that we experience an increase of grace and peace. He does not mean that God is variable, as if he were a gracious God some days and not others. Nor does he mean that the objective status of peace between us and God comes and goes. If we stand in the unshakeable grace of God (cf. Romans 5:2), and if we are reconciled to God in unchangeable peace (cf. Romans 5:1), then what is multiplied to us is an increased and deepened experience of grace and peace. This reality is not simply status. It is the overflow of status in serenity, strength, and sweetness. Let me illustrate. It is absolutely true that I can experience the wonder of God at the sunrise in Aledo, TX from my deck. However, it is increased and deepened when I able to see all of it in each of the many wonders of God. The incredible gift of God is that he will never exhaust his ability to reveal himself with the passing days. He “multiplies” his grace and peace to us. Our part in this is to look for it. It is all around us. Let it wash around your soul and refresh you. You do not need to be anywhere in particular; He is with us everywhere in specific.

Magnified Peace - Pt 1

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:2-7 ESV).

I apologize for returning to my Yellowstone experience so soon for inspiration; however, this series is being written while we are actually in Montana at the “Falcon House.” It is a beautiful lodge set in the mountains just outside of the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. This picture comes from our first morning there as I watched the sunrise over the mountains from our back patio. Drinking a cup of Texas Pecan coffee and being still drew me to the incredible peace God gives us. As I drank my coffee and watched the world wake up with birds singing and the deer moving in the distance I was struck with the Scripture from today’s reading. The apostle Paul starts all of his letters with the prayer that “grace and peace” will come to the reader. But he never uses a verb. He never says, “Grace and peace be to you,” or, “Grace and peace come to you.” He assumes the verb. Peter makes it explicit. He begins both his letters, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” Paul would be very happy with this verb. It’s what he means when he says thirteen times, “Grace to you and peace.” The verb “be multiplied” is used twelve times in the New Testament and always means “increase.” It indicates a movement from lesser to greater. Reading all of these verse again today I am reminded there are at least five important implications in these words for our lives. Today I will merely list them; however, we will explore each of them in the days ahead. They are:  Grace and peace are experienced.  Grace and peace vary in measure in our lives.  There is always more grace and peace to be enjoyed.  Grace and peace are multiplied by God.  The means of multiplied grace and peace is prayer and meditation in the Scripture. Today, as we start, be encouraged that God desires you to have this abundance now and forever!

Going Home - Pt 2

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:4-10 ESV).

Today we will continue to look at not losing heart in our journey because we are going home. The question we must answer is, “Why doesn’t Paul lose heart? The first part of the answer is again in our reading from yesterday. Paul says, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). He doesn’t lose heart because day by day his heart, his inner man, is being renewed. If his decaying body tends to make him lose heart, something else tends to make him gain heart. The apostle’s renewed heart comes from something very strange; it comes from looking at what he can’t see. He goes on to say, “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (v. 18). Paul’s way of not losing heart is by looking at what he can’t see. Recall how Jesus criticized the religious leaders in his day: “Seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear” (cf. Matthew 13:13). In other words there was something to “see” in Jesus’ life and teaching which they didn’t see but should have seen. That has got to be reversed if we are to get our hope and our courage from Jesus and not lose heart. It has to be said of us, “Not seeing, they see; and not hearing, they hear.” That’s what Paul was doing in verse 18; he was looking at things that are not seen. Paul illustrates this in chapter 5, verse 7: “We walk by faith, not by sight.” This doesn’t mean that we leap into the dark without evidence of what’s there. But it does mean that the most precious and important realities in the world are beyond our senses now, and we “look” at them (v. 18) through what we know of Christ from faithful witnesses who have seen him and heard his voice. We strengthen our hearts, we renew our courage, by fixing the gaze of our hearts on invisible, objective truth that we learn about through the testimony of those who knew Christ and were taught by him (cf. Ephesians 1:18-23). Do you best to focus on “there” more than “here” for encouragement to continue in your journey.

Going Home - Pt 1

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV).

Our trip was wonderful. You’ll be hearing more about some of the specific things God spoke to me about during those experiences later. Today I want to look at “Going Home.” For those of you who have known me for a while, you know that we have called many places “home.” Each of those places had a special attraction to us. Of course, we now call Aledo, Texas our “home.” We love it here, as we have had a deep love for the other places also. We have made friends in each of the locations we have been. We have had family near us in each of those locations. However, all of these places have always been temporary. Many of you have heard me say that our home in Tennessee was my “casket house.” It was a way that I could express my belief that I wouldn’t be moving to another location except when I took the final step into my eternal home in heaven. That thought took me to our reading today. The Apostle Paul is showing the Corinthians why he does not lose heart in spite of all the troubles and afflictions he has experienced, encouraging them to do the same. He knew he was dying; his body was wearing away. Follow his line of thought to see what is threatening to make Paul lose heart and lose courage, and what is keeping him from losing heart. His body, “the outer man,” is decaying; it is wearing out. He can’t see the way he used to. He can’t hear the way he used to. He does not recover from beatings the way he used to. His strength walking from town to town does not hold up the way it used to. He sees the wrinkles in his face and neck. His memory is not as good. His joints get stiff when he sits still. In other words, he knows that he, like everybody else, is dying. His outer man is decaying. That’s the threat to his courage and joy. But, he clearly says, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (v. 16). That’s a great word for us today. It is utterly crucial that we not lose heart. Some of you have taken such a pounding physically and financially and relationally that you have often been tempted to “lose heart”; to give up. To say, “It isn’t worth it.” Paul faced the same temptation (vv. 8–12) and this text holds one of the keys to why he did not lose heart. He earlier mentioned this same truth. In chapter five he talks about “being of good courage” (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:6, 8). That is the effect I would like this principle to have on you. Today, remember you are on your way to your real hom

Silence and Solitude

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. (Matthew 14:22-23 ESV).

It’s surprising how loud silence can be, especially when you’re not used to it. That’s my experience when I find myself by a quiet stream or sitting in a tree during hunting season. When I am alone in the woods, it is silent. The only sounds come from the natural unfolding of the day as nature goes about its way. It is then that my soul is decompressing from the daily grind of life. Body and soul find fresh air there that is hard to come by otherwise. So, today I want you to join me in some silent, occasional solitude of your own. You need a break from the chaos, from the noise and the crowds, more than you may think at first. You need the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. We are humans, not machines. We were made for rhythms of silence and noise, community and solitude. It is unhealthy to always have people around, as well as to rarely want them. God made us for cycles and seasons, for routines and cadences. From the dawn of time, we have needed our respites. Even Jesus was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (cf. Matthew 4:1), “went out to a desolate place” (cf. Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42), and “went up on the mountain by himself to pray alone” (Matthew 14:23). Getting away from time to time has always been a human necessity, but it’s all the more pressing in modern life. By all accounts, things are more crowded, and noisier, than they’ve ever been. One of the singular challenges in our culture of technology and its ever-increasing advancement is a greater temptation to avoid quietness. It is so easy for us to become addicted to noise. Sometimes I catch myself thoughtlessly flipping on the radio every time in the car. On occasion I’ll turn it off and try to consciously be mindful of God and pray. In the middle of a busy week, it’s remarkable how strange, and wonderful, the silence can be. And so the excesses and drawbacks of modern life have only increased the value of silence and solitude as spiritual disciplines. We need to get alone and be quiet more than ever before. You may not be able to take an extended trip to one of the great natural parks in our country, or you may not have access to a quiet stream or forest vista; however, you can find silence with intentional planning. Do that today and God will show up in an incredible way!

The Incomparable Power of God

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. (Isaiah 40:25-26 ESV).

Sunset in Yellowstone is an incredible sight. I’ve always thought that the sunset is God’s way of putting an exclamation point on the declaration of his power. Perhaps even more incredible is the transition of the vibrant color of sunset to the blackness of night in such a wilderness. When the ambient light from the cityscape where most of us live is removed we are able to see the night reveal the countless stars, brilliantly shining. That is the picture of the prophet’s declaration in our reading today. The prophet looking up at the star-filled sky and is stunned at the power of God to create and name and sustain every star in the heaven that he could see. I wonder what would be his worship today if he were shown that the nearest of those stars in his sky, Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri, are 25 million million miles away, and that what he was seeing in his night sky was a tiny patch of our galaxy which has in it a hundred billion stars, and that beyond our galaxy there are millions of galaxies? It reminds me that this universe is nothing but the lavish demonstration of the incredible, incomparable, unimaginable exuberance and wisdom and power and greatness of God! God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation; however, this is not for its own sake. He means for us always to look at his creation and say: If the work of his hands is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself! And, these are but the backside of his glory seen through a glass darkly. What will it be to see the Creator himself! Not his works! Not even a billion galaxies will satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul's end. In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons or the clouds or the great galaxies that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouths with eternal praise. It will be God himself. Perhaps this is the greatest reminder of any time we are able to spend in the spectacular vistas available to us in our national parks. We also are reminded that, as great as these things are, they are nothing compared to what we will experience in our eternal home which is even now being prepared specifically for us by God’s own hand. If he made this temporal creation so incredible, what must that eternal creation be like? None of the writers of the Bible had words to describe it. All they could do was praise the incomparable power of the Creator. We would do well to follow that example!

The Transfiguration

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5 ESV).

Today’s picture comes from the Grand Teton National Park. It is the Chapel of the Transfiguration near the community of Moose, Wyoming. The chapel was sited and built to frame a view of the Cathedral Group of peaks in a large window behind the altar in 1925. It has become a favorite spot for photographers, sightseers and weddings. Services are still held there from May through September depending on the weather. Visiting this little chapel is certainly a highlight of anyone’s visit to the area. It reminds me of how the Apostle Paul reminds us to “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” God created the world for his glory. God did not create out of need. He did not create the world out of a deficiency that needed to be supplied from outside himself. He was not lonely. He was supremely happy in the fellowship of the Trinity. He created the world to put his glory on display, to communicate his glory for the fullest satisfaction of his creatures. We are forced to ask why did he create a world that would become like this world? It is a world that fell into sin; it is a world that exchanged the glory of God for the glory of images. Why would God permit and guide and sustain such a world? the answer is evident in the Scripture: For the praise of the glory of the grace of God displayed supremely in the death of Jesus. This means that the ultimate reason for all things is the communication of the glory of God’s grace for the happy praise of a redeemed multitude from every people and tongue and tribe and nation. All things are created and guided and sustained for the glory of God. And that glory reaches its final goal in the praise of the glory of God’s grace, which shines most brightly in the glory of Christ, and comes to focus most clearly in the glory of the cross. We ought to ask today, is the glory of God the brightest treasure on the horizon of our future? Do we join the apostle Paul in saying, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God”? Is the glory of Christ our own personal experience of the grace of God? If not, look to Him now!

The Faithfulness of God

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:6-11 ESV).

Where would a trip to Yellowstone be without seeing the Old Faithful Geyser? I have read that it is the most photographed attraction in Yellowstone. It is not be the largest geyser in Yellowstone, but it's certainly impressive when it erupts steam and water up to 180 feet into the sky. Eruptions last around one to five minutes. The boiling water shooting from Old Faithful sends out up to 8,400 gallons. Over 137,000 eruptions have been recorded so far. It gets its name from the fact that it is very predictable. It erupts on a regular schedule every 55 to 110 minutes. Our reading today speaks of the original “Old Faithful.” God is eternally faithful. The Prophet Isaiah simply declares whatever God speaks, happens. Because He is the never-changing God, what He says is truth and will be done. One day, the Bible tells us, the very foundations of this earth will perish. The writer of Hebrews says that the universe in which we live will "wear out like clothing. You will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like a robe. But you are the same, and your years will never end." (cf. Hebrews 1:10-12). Jesus Himself clearly said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (cf. Matthew 24:35). That means He will keep all His promises. It means that God will fulfill every prophecy. A.W. Pink wrote, "He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word. To every declaration of promise or prophecy the Lord has exactly adhered, every engagement of covenant or threatening He will make good, for 'God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?'” (cf. Numbers 23:19). Because God is perfect, He never changes. So what He says will be just as true a million years from now as it is today. Count on His promises to you. Rest in those promises.

The Majesty of God

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1-9 ESV).

Those of you who know me very well also know that I thoroughly enjoy my visits to the mountains. Typically that has been restricted more to the Smoky Mountains, although I have been to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado several times. I have also seen the Great Alaskan Range. In each case, whether at 5,000 feet above sea level, or 12,000 feet above sea level, I am awestruck. To think God set these grand vistas in place is boggling. The picture I’ve chosen today is of the Grand Tetons. This range is on our list for the visit to Wyoming and Yellowstone. As I have experienced in the past, with mouth agape, I am sure I will only be able to marvel before the majesty of God who carved these mountains with no more than his penknife. That is one of the reactions possible standing before the display of the power and majesty of our God. And, it should cause such motionless awe. We ought to be struck silent by such an experience. But there is another kind of silence before majesty. It is the silence of blindness. In this picture it would be easy to get lost in the beauty of the reflection of the mountains in the clear blue stream. However, this would be a great tragedy. To settle for a mere reflection when the real thing is right before us is almost incomprehensible. Yet we do this altogether too often in our lives. We become so microscopic that we miss the majesty of our God. I have heard the story of three mountain climbers trudging to the top of a 24,000 foot ridge with clouds below them and the gigantic peaks of Mt. Everest around them. They report they were so weary from the climb they could not speak. A photograph of that moment had a caption that read: “Oblivious of majesty around them, weary climbers trudge the steep slopes above the Buttress.” This is the great and tragic silence of so many believers today as they endure what they have come to believe is “drudgery of worship”. They have fallen prey to the silence of blindness before the majesty of a Grand Tetons’ God. Oh, of course, it’s easier to blame this behavior on the style of worship. Some have taken to changing the style of corporate worship in an effort to better lead people to feel God. My experience is that until you go looking for God, nothing will help you see Him. The journey is often so difficult that our focus becomes the next step. Look up and behold His majesty!

Autumn Resolutions

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV).

As you are reading these devotionals for the next few days, Mary and I have joined with her sister, Susan, and her husband, Mark, for an extended vacation to Yellowstone National Park. The picture you see here is not one I have taken, but use by permission. I am writing this devotional several days before we actually depart for Wyoming. It is a view from the west area of Yellowstone in September. I am enthusiastically anticipating the things we shall see. However, today, I wanted to begin to write some things surrounding this experience. Today I am thinking about resolutions. God approves of New Year’s resolutions. In fact, God also approves of mid-year, and three-quarters-year, and monthly, and weekly, and daily resolutions. Any and all resolutions for good have God’s approval if we resolve by faith in Jesus. So, as I get ready for autumn in Yellowstone, I would like to encourage you to make some “autumn resolutions.” Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Truthfully, the examined life is not worth living either if the examination produces no resole to change. What examination and experience teach us is that the unplanned life settles into fruitless routine. The drifting, unreflective life tends to be a wasted life. The opposite of this is self-examination. We ought to regularly exam our lives. We should reflect on our regular routine and our priorities each day following each of these exams with resolves for good. Paul encourages this in our reading today. I find this extremely encouraging. Paul prays for us, “I pray for you even as I write this—that God will fulfill every resolve for good.” This does mean that it is profitable and good to have resolves. God approves of it. It also means that our resolving is important, but that God’s enabling us to “fulfill” the resolves is crucial. Paul wouldn’t pray if God’s help weren’t needed. Solomon knew this well. He wrote, “The heart of man plans [resolves!] his way, but the Lord establishes [fulfills] his steps” (cf. Proverbs 16:9). So, what might be our first “autumn resolution”? For me it is that I would not miss God in every experience of my daily life. Our trip to Yellowstone certainly promises to be much more than routine; however, God is present in every experience of everyday. Missing him in those experiences is a great tragedy. Here, in Texas, during September the Mesquite trees are dropping their “beans.” These trees reproduce easily in Texas. They flower in spring and in late summer they begin to show mature beans on their branches. The birds eat them only to later “deposit” them wrapped in natural fertilizer taking root and growing to repeat the cycle of life. The trees nor the birds need to think about that cycle. God has ordained it. What a wonderful god we have to take such care of His creation. Resolve to notice that care in your part of His creation more each day.

The Root of Joy

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 8:9-12 ESV).

It is not unusual that we should get to this point in our exploration of joy and think about the many trials and challenges we have faced and wonder if there is any real joy except “then and there.” We see the same principle at work in the life of Nehemiah. When the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem had been completed, all the people assembled to hear Ezra read the Book of the Law, but as Ezra read, Nehemiah noticed that the people were weeping, and he immediately sensed danger. On a day that was sacred to God, it was utterly inappropriate to be mourning and weeping. He then gave a remarkable instruction: “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared” — and to that instruction he appended a memorable statement of principle, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (v. 10). The truth is that without joy we are powerless in the face of our trials. We become vulnerable and likely will fall into the patterns of the secular world and its obsession with the “good stuff” of our culture. I have been working with people for over four decades as they process the troubling challenges of loss and grief. On more occasions than I can count I’ve heard people mourn their “loss of everything.” The real truth is that we have lost nothing of importance even when it seems so. God’s promise to us is that we will not be lost, nor will we lose anything good from our lives. Nehemiah gives us an essential truth. The primary way to achieve fullness in our relationship with God is through the filling of our hearts with joy; which in turn means filling their minds with constant reminders of the breadth and depth and length and height of the love of Christ. The Apostle Paul says as much to the Ephesians. He prays for them, that they “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19 ESV). Sorrow, especially for our own sin, has its place. But it is not our strength. That lies in the joy of forgiveness. That is yours in Christ forever!

Focus on Joy

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. (1 Corinthians 2:14-15 ESV).

While thinking about a picture to illustrate joy and the thought for today, I came across this one with Mary and our youngest grandson, Harris. He’s not quite sure what’s happening, but grandma is full of joy with him in her arms! This is not a result of the circumstances alone; it is rooted in the relationship she has with Harris. That’s the principle for us today. While we saw yesterday that the Holy Spirit is the one who personally produces joy in believers; today we shall see that He produces it by focusing our minds on spiritual things. Our reading today explains those are the very things which the natural man cannot receive. Specifically, he fills our hearts with joy by focusing our minds, not on joy itself, but on the majesty of God, the beauty of Christ, and the unsearchable riches which are ours in him. Let me give you a few examples to help understand.  First, let’s look at the case of the Philippian jailer (cf. Acts 16:34). Having received the gospel, he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God. He now had a relationship that allowed for joy. Whatever else is implied in the jailer’s coming to faith, it certainly meant that God had suddenly become utterly real to him, and there is no greater joy than the assurance that God is and is for you.  Secondly, there is the point which Peter makes in his first letter (cf. 1 Peter 1:8). He had had the privilege of seeing Christ; his readers, however, had not, yet they believed in him and they loved him, and the result was that they rejoiced with an inexpressible and glorious joy. The same is still true, surely, of believers today. The sheer beauty of his immaculate humanity and majestic deity captivates our hearts, and we draw our very identity from the fact that we are loved by God’s own Son.  Thirdly, we rejoice when we think of the future. Christ will return, and when he returns we will receive in full the inheritance already prepared for us in heaven. This is not something to be pushed to the “hope-so’s” or “maybe so’s” of our lives. It has to be absolutely central, as it was in the life of Christ, who in his closing hours focused his mind on the glory which would follow the completion of his work (cf. John 17:1-5). So, today make it your priority to see this great relationship that is yours in Christ!

Joy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-26 ESV).

The dictionary defines “joy” as a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. My question then becomes: “How’s your joy?” It’s often important to assure despondent Christians that Jesus himself sometimes plumbed the emotional depths. But it’s equally important to guard against the opposite extreme, as if joy were a luxury we could well do without. There are ample examples of this principle in the Scripture. Our reading today makes it very clear that one of the Holy Spirit’s gifts to every believer is joy. So, either the dictionary is wrong, or the Bible is mistaken. I think I will trust the latter to be a better source! However, let’s explore a bit. Jesus was known as a “man of sorrows,” though that was only one side of his life. The Clearly he found joy in his special relationship with his Father; and as he approached the end of his ministry, it was the prospect of the joy set before him that strengthened him to endure the cross (cf. Hebrews 12:2). This was not merely the anticipation of joy; it was the joy of anticipation; and, it was a key element in the psychology of his obedience. Peter speaks of a similar joy when he describes believers as “greatly rejoicing” in anticipation of their final salvation (cf. 1 Peter 1:6). Indeed, joy is part of the spiritual profile of every Christian. It has little to do, however, either with our natural temperament or with our personal circumstances. It is the fruit of the Spirit, and it is worth noting that when Paul uses that phrase, he speaks not of “fruits” in the plural, but of “fruit” in the singular. The fruit is one indivisible organic whole, which means that whenever the Spirit comes to live in a human soul the result is love and joy and peace, and all the other graces which the apostle mentions in our reading. It is one fruit, with many segments. There cannot, therefore, not be joy in a Christian heart. Even its temporary absence is a symptom of some underlying spiritual malady. On the other hand, the fruit is not produced mechanically, but grows from the seed that is sown in our souls and tended through each phase of growth until the harvest is gathered. It is the result of a living relationship with the Holy Spirit. No wonder Paul tells us to “keep in step” with him. Our joy simply does not develop when we do not walk in the journey he has ordained for us. That grieves him resulting in the loss of joy. We’ll explore this a bit more in the coming days. Today, commit yourself to the path he has given you. That is the beginning of great pleasure and happiness.

Staying Faithful - Pt 3

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36 ESV).

If you were to visit the Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Texas A&M University, you would be greeted at the entrance with Veryl Goodnight's "The Day the Wall Came Down" sculpture. It is a seven-ton bronze creation that depicts horses jumping the collapsed Berlin Wall. The sculpture symbolizes freedom from the tyranny that separated the people of Berlin since the end of World War II. It certainly is an incredible reminder of the triumph of democracy. However, the freedom gained with the tearing down of this wall is nothing compared to the freedom that comes to the child of God through the work of Christ. Jesus calls us to that freedom in our reading today. When he set you free, you are “free indeed.” Joseph came to understand that kind of freedom. As we study the life of Joseph it is tempting to only see Joseph's heroic character and achievements. But God does not want us to miss the largely silent, desperate years Joseph endured. Imagine the pain of his brothers' betrayal, the separation from his father, the horror of slavery, the seduction and false accusation by Potiphar's wife, and the desperation he felt as his youth passed away in prison. You see, sometimes faithfulness to God sets us on a course where circumstances get worse, not better. It is then that knowing God's promises and his ways are crucial. Faith in God's future grace for us is what sustains us in those desperate moments. We all love the fairytale ending of Joseph's story. And we should, because Joseph's life is a foreshadowing of a heavenly reality. God sent his Son to die and be raised in order to set his children "free indeed." We must remember that there is coming a day when those who are faithful, even to death will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master" (cf. Matthew 25:21). Your current circumstances, however dismal or successful, are not your story's end. They are chapters in a much larger story that really does have a happily ever after. I would encourage you with the same words of the psalmist that we began with a few days ago: "Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord" (Psalm 31:24)! The wall that stood for so long between God and man has already come tumbling down!

Staying Faithful - Pt 2

And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Genesis 39:20-21 ESV).

We pick up the story of Joseph as darkness had swallowed the light again. I am certain he must have dreaded the night in his Egyptian hellhole. It was hard to fight off the hopelessness as he waited the escape of sleep. Day after monotonous day passed with no sign of change. He must have been pacing in his soul. Joseph surely wanted to abandon his faith. He pleaded again and again with God in the dark for deliverance. And he remembered. It was the remembering that kept his hope alive and bitterness at bay. He rehearsed the stories of God that had filled him with awe as a child. God had promised Great-grandfather, Abraham, a child by his barren wife. But he made them wait an agonizing 25 years before giving them Grandfather Isaac. And God had promised Grandmother Rebekah that her older twin, Uncle Esau, would serve the younger twin, Father Jacob. But God had mysteriously woven human deception and immorality into his plan to make that happen. Jacob's smile filled Joseph's mind. It had been nine years since he last saw that face. He must have remembered how his father, Jacob, had been caught in his Uncle Laban's manipulative web for 20 long years. Yet God was faithful to his word and eventually delivered Jacob and brought him back to the Promised Land a wealthy man. Then the strange dreams began. They were unlike any others before. He felt ambivalent about them. After all, his brothers' envy of his father's favor turned homicidal when he inferred that he had God's favor because of a dream. Yet, as foolish as it seemed then, Joseph could not shake the deep conviction that God meant to bring those dreams to pass. And he could not deny the strange pattern he saw in God's dealings with his forebears. God made stunning promises and then ordained time and circumstances to work in such ways as to make the promises seem impossible to fulfill. And then God moved. The common thread Joseph traced through all the stories, the one thing God seemed to honor and bless more than anything else, was faith. Abraham trusted God's word. Isaac trusted God's word. Rebekah trusted God's word. Jacob trusted God. All of them ultimately saw God's faithfulness to his promises, despite circumstances and their own failings. And, there is the real secret. Trust God to keep his promises. When the world seems to be crashing down around you, trust God. He will answer with good!

Staying Faithful - Pt 1

Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! (Psalm 31:21-24 ESV).

If I were to fully title this devotional it would need to speak to staying faithful even when things seem to get worse. It has been very interesting to see so many people pointing fingers at what should have been done prior to Hurricane. Others have singled out what they believe to be gross negligence during the crisis. Still others have been quick to offer their opinions why it happened in the first place. These people have been of the most interest to me. Some have even suggested that if people would have prayed more God would have protected them from the storm; others suggested that the storm was a punishment from God because of political leanings. Of course, those opinions are extreme, but they are being voiced. I began to think of today’s reading and God’s simple call to remain faithful even when circumstances seem to worsen. This is the life of Joseph. His story is our best teacher. Genesis chapters 37-41 only tell the low and high points of Joseph's Egyptian slavery and imprisonment. But he spent at least 12 years there before he suddenly became Prime Minister. And as he sought to trust and obey God during that terribly lonely, desolate time, things went from bad to worse. In the next few days we’re going to spend some time looking at Joseph’s example of faithfulness. We’ll get more specific, however, here are some thoughts:  Never forget the end of the journey. Everything in this life, good or bad, is prelude for the incredible home that God is preparing for us.  Persevere. Believe me when I say I do get it. Just thinking about one more step is often more than one can bear. However, taking it is a key to overcoming.  Don’t give up your trust in the promises of God. If history has proven anything, it is that God is trustworthy. He will deliver us safely to our eternal home.  Don’t give up praying. Even when you think God is somehow absent, remember that he has promised to hear all our prayers and delights when we come to him (cf. Matthew 6).  Stay connected to the community of faith. Satan wants you discouraged, disconnected, and isolated. Stay close to those who can pray, lift you up and help you in the hard times. I hope these next days will be as much an encouragement to you as they has been to me.

Courage - Pt 3

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:36-39 ESV).

The elderly woman in this picture is Sterling Broughton; she is being moved from a rescue boat onto a kayak after flood waters forced her evacuation. As we close this little series dealing with courage, I want to focus on the real storm of life. Our reading today reminds us that we all need “endurance.” That’s just another way of saying we need courage in the face of certain trial and challenge. The writer reminds us that all of the danger and challenge of life is nothing in the face of what has been promised to us. Our souls are preserved by the God of resurrection! When Jesus stepped out of the tomb, he defeated the greatest “giant” we could ever face. He defeated death itself! For the Christian, a lack of courage, what the writer of Hebrews calls “shrinking back” is always evidence of a lack faith in a promise of God. Some “Goliath” is looming larger than God in our sight and taunting us into humiliation. All we see is how weak and pathetic we are, and how inadequate we are to face him. Fighting him seems impossible, and the thought immobilizes us. All of us experience this fear. So did David. David is such a helpful example for us, not only because he fueled his confidence and courage to face Goliath from God’s promises, but also because he so frequently felt fearful and needed to encourage his soul again by remembering God’s promises. But faith made David more than courageous. When he heard the Philistine defy the living God and his army, it made David angry. Goliath’s taunts and accusations scorned God’s glory. And when no one stepped up to defend God’s name, it made God look weak. David would not tolerate that. And such should also be our response to every fear and “lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5). Our fears are not primarily about us, even though they feel that way. Our fears are primarily about God. They cast doubt on God’s character and suggest He is weak, or non-existent. They defy God. That is an outrage, and our call is to stop cowering and stand up to our fears, not allowing them to intimidate us into unbelief. We are overcomers through Christ! These giants, who are bigger than we are and very intimidating to our flesh, will be slain just like David’s was by faith. And our courage to face them will not come from our self-confidence. It will only come from confidence in God’s powerful promises. Whatever you face today, is there really anything greater to fear than death? That enemy is already defeated. Nothing can separate us from the love of our God. Don’t get angry at God because of this momentary trial’ get angry at the devil who would turn you from the real power to sustain you in your journey!

Courage - Pt 2

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47 ESV).

Here’s another photo of a water rescue from Hurricane Harvey. I am struck by the pain and anguish on the faces of the victims and the determination and strength of the rescuers. Such must have been the situation when David comes to the battle lines between Israel and the Philistines. We should understand where David’s courage came from; we should ask why Saul and his soldiers lacked that courage. On the surface, the answer seems simple. Goliath is reported to have been nine-feet tall and incredibly strong (cf. vv. 4-7). He was a highly trained and experienced far beyond any of the Israelites. Fighting Goliath looked like suicide, plain and simple. But it is not so plain and simple. First of all, because fighting Goliath didn’t look like suicide to David because he knew these men believed in God and knew Israel’s history. They knew the stories, how God had overcome one giant adversary after another. Many of them had personally seen God do amazing things. No, the men lacked courage to face Goliath because at this moment the men lacked faith. At this moment, for whatever reason, despite all the stories and past experiences, Goliath looked bigger than God. Each man believed that if he went out against this humungous human, he would be on his own (cf. v. 44). So what made David different? It was not because he had a self-generated, raw, cool courage of a hero. What fueled David’s courage was his confidence in God’s promises and God’s power to fulfill them. In the preceding chapter, Samuel the prophet had informed David that God had chosen him to be the next king of Israel and anointed him with his brothers around him (cf. 1 Samuel 16:13). And, he drew additional confidence by remembering how God had helped him in the past (cf. 1 Samuel 17:34-36). This reality was David’s courage wellspring. He was not self-confident; he was God-confident. David believed that God would never break his promise, and if Goliath made himself an obstacle to God’s promise, God could flick him out of the way with a pebble. David saw God as bigger and stronger than the fearful Philistine. So he went out to fight knowing that God would give him victory over Goliath; and, when he did, the victory would demonstrate God’s power and faithfulness, not David’s courage. We are going to see the ultimate proof of this deep wellspring of strength in Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is the real truth of this story; for now, please cling to the truth that God is bigger than anything you may face and he is working it all to your good!

Courage - Pt 1

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47 ESV).

There have been so many images come from the incredible storm that hit the coast of Texas. Since I have family in the area and have been personally involved with the unfolding story, I have followed these stories with keen interest. The images and stories, both reported nationally and on a more personal level from friends and family, have renewed my belief in the courage and tenacity of the human spirit. This image of a mother clinging to her child in the tops of a tree to escape the flood waters is just one that sparked my return to a very familiar passage of Scripture. Our reading today is a part of that story. I encourage you to read the whole chapter in its context as we spend a little time in the next few days understanding where this courage and tenacity really comes from. We will also explore where you get it when you need it. When some fear towers over you and threatens you, and you feel like cowering and fleeing into some cave of protection, where do you go? The answers are in the story of David and Goliath. I must begin with the statement that this story is one of the most misunderstood in the Bible. Let’s review. Three thousand years ago, in the Valley of Elah, a massive man named Goliath of Gath stepped out of the Philistine ranks to defy and taunt the army of Israel and its God. For forty days, he harangued the Israelite warriors, heaping shame on them, since none dared to accept his fight-to-the-death, winner-takes-all challenge. Every morning when he stepped forward, the men of God shrank back. Then a teenage Hebrew shepherd boy named David showed up in the camp with some bread and cheese for his soldier big brothers and heard the giant pour out his scorn on the impotent host of his Lord. David was indignant. So he took his shepherd’s sling, grabbed a few stones, knocked Goliath on the block, and chopped off his head. Many think this story is one of personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds. They see David as the archetypal underdog standing up to an arrogant, powerful blowhard. They see him as a self-confident, independent young man who was brave enough to fight for what was right and rely on his own strength and skills, rather than conform to conventional tactics. The popular moral of the story then becomes: “Get out there and face down your giant because the heroically courageous come out on top.” But that is not at all what this story is about. It’s true that David was courageous. But when he faced Goliath, David’s courage was rooted in something entirely other than his personal strength. It was his faith in the Lord. That’s where we must go as well! Tomorrow we will continue to see how we can draw on that strength too!

Hurricane Harvey - Pt 3

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42: 1-6 ESV). The third principle for facing the storms of life is a bit more difficult for us to both understand and accept. It is based in an affirmation of God’s sovereignty. What we believe about God’s sovereignty plays a significant role in how we face suffering. Do we believe that he is in absolute control over everything that happens? Do we trust that he will use all things, even our suffering, for our good and his glory? How can we trust in and find hope in his sovereignty? Our reading today is from the life of Job. I need not recount for you the suffering of this righteous man. I am quite sure none of us would want to trade places with him! Yet he comes to this wonderful understanding of who God is and what he is doing in his life. It gives him the strength to go forward to the ultimate blessing and deliverance of God.

I really have been proud of the efforts from so many people and groups in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. This picture is also from Dickinson, Texas. It is a reminder that there is often an element of surprise to the plan of God. I’m quite sure these folks were not expecting a rescue from their plight by either the fishing boat in the foreground or the air boat in the background! I am also sure they were very grateful to be rescued! God’s deliverance is often surprising. Some of the time we may be tempted to believe it is late or not even coming. In the midst of life’s storm it is very difficult to patiently wait for the answer of God. That is a part of the fabric of our nature. However, if we are to overcome the great storms of life we must develop an unwavering belief in the power and provenance of God. It is not a matter of God allowing these storms to come so that somehow he might help us; it is God knowing and overseeing every storm and then intentionally working it to our good. His children do not suffer needlessly. There is purpose and good working through it all. Understanding and believing that good purpose gives us a strength that produces a “peace beyond understanding” (cf. Philippians 4:7). However, dark and foreboding your future looks, God is working. He will bring good into your life!

Hurricane Harvey - Pt 2

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand rand take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24 ESV). It seems like common sense to prepare ahead of time for a physical storm. I believe that it is equally important to prepare our minds and hearts for the inevitable storms of life. Without a theological foundation in place for how to face such storms, we are at greater risk for being blown over by the fierce winds of suffering when they arrive. We must develop an adequate, Biblically based theology of suffering. We must know what we believe about God, his sovereignty, and the hardships we experience in this world.

This image has become a standard-bearer for the volunteers who poured into the area immediately after Hurricane Harvey flooded the Galveston/Houston area. I remember seeing it live as we watched the reports from live weather coverage on Sunday following the storm making its way on shore. It is a portrait of the mercy and courage of so many who risked themselves for others, many of them strangers. I am so grateful for that outpouring as it directly affecting the well-being of my family in the area; however, the rescue doesn’t negate our need for preparation. This is especially true in the spiritual realm. So, let’s begin with some basic principles that will prepare us for these inevitable trials and challenges. Today we begin with the first principle, a Scriptural understanding of the effect of sin and God’s provision. The Bible opens with God crafting a world of breathtaking beauty and unfathomable goodness (cf. Genesis 1). Paradise literally exudes order, harmony, wholeness, and life. But this garden scene is short-lived. Indeed, in contrast to other worldviews such as Hinduism and dualism, the Bible insists we are now dwelling in a Genesis 3 world. It is a world marked by sin, suffering, death, and decay. Concerning Jesus’ reflection on suffering in Luke 13, D. A. Carson observes: “What Jesus seems to presuppose is that all the sufferings of the world, whether caused by malice (cf. Luke 13:1-3) or by happenstance (cf. Luke 13:4-5), are not peculiar examples of judgment falling on the distinctively evil, but rather examples of the bare, stark fact that we are all under sentence of death.” However, we too have a rescuer. Just at the right time, God sent His only begotten son (cf. Romans 5:8) to save us from all of the destruction of that sin in the world. Our ultimate deliverer has already accomplished our rescue. Trust Him!

Hurricane Harvey - Pt 1

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:26-30 ESV).

I am actually writing today’s devotional several days before you will see it posted. For that reason it may seem like “old news.” I do want you to know that it is very current as I write it. The last forty-eight hours have been particularly stressful; and, for some of my relatives, they have been absolutely terrifying. Let me recount a brief timeline of recent events surrounding the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in the Galveston-Houston area where many of my family still live. As forecasters began to issue predictions and warnings regarding Harvey I called my oldest brother who lives in Dickinson, Texas. Of course I asked if he was prepared for the storm. He assured me he would be fine. He had plenty of water and food. The house he was living in had never flooded before. His plan was to just wait it out. Early in the morning of August 26th he called to tell me that his house was flooded and he couldn’t get out. There was already four feet of water in the house and more coming. Being 200 miles away and with no way of getting there, I began to make some phone calls to other relatives. His children were aware and working on a way to get him rescued and taken to a safe shelter. Ten hours later rescuers were able to get to his house and pull him to safety. They were terrifying and perilous hours. At this writing he is safely at a friend’s house resting and recuperating from the ordeal. After all he is nearly 76 and in ill health. We are all very grateful for his safety. That experience causes me to pose the question, “Why?” Whether it is a physical storm, emotional, or spiritual all these experiences test our strength to the brink of breaking. I suppose the first thought is always what we could have done differently. It would have been so easy to simply evacuate and avoid all chance of danger. After all, isn’t that a part of being prepared for such a calamity? It wasn’t as if we didn’t have some warning of the potential for danger. It is the same with every trial of life. Often we think we are prepared and find later we simply weren’t. So, for the next few days I want us to look at the preparation for the great storms of life. I suppose I am saying to you that a storm IS coming. I am urging you to be prepared. It may even mean a drastic change for you; but, it is essential. Storms do eventually strike. Be ready. I pray you will commit to that preparation. It requires a theological preparation as well as a physical preparation.