Category Archives: God’s Grace & Love

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June 20, 2015

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Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him

GOD THE FATHER – Father’s Day 2015

fdayhorzAnd I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. [2 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)]

What are the qualities of the ideal father? I think he’d be loving and upright, wise and patient, gentle and kind. He’d be a comforter and good provider, a teacher and a helper. He’d be a firm but fair disciplinarian with a forgiving heart. The perfect father would be easy to approach and always ready with an encouraging word. He’d have a wonderful imagination, a great sense of humor and would always have a few surprises up his sleeve. He would protect his children and never abandon them. Some of us were blessed with fathers who had all or most of these qualities and others, unfortunately, had fathers who fell short in some (or many) of them. It’s comforting to know we all have a Father in Heaven who has every one of these good characteristics plus many more!

Thank you, Lord, for being the perfect father and for loving us, your imperfect children, as only a father can!

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father. [Pope John XXIII]

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. [Romans 8:15-16 (NLT)]

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! [1 John 3:1a (NLT)]

 

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June 12, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

BEEN HERE BUT DIDN’T DO THAT!

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. [Isaiah 53:2-4a (MSG)]

Writing yesterday’s message reminded me of another common teen complaint: “But you just don’t understand!” My teenagers were positive that I’d never experienced any of the challenges, temptations and angst they were having. I’m sure my grandchildren are equally sure their parents have no idea what their life is like. We may not have had all of the gadgets and technology of today’s teens; we didn’t have Facebook, smart phones, texting, and the Internet. We did, however, struggle with many of the same issues: mean people, SATs, crushes, insecurity, rejection, being grounded, alcohol and parties when the parents were gone.

Sometimes we’re not much different than teenagers when we talk to God. “You just don’t understand!” we protest. But, He really does. Jesus actually experienced life and all of its adversities and struggles during his thirty-three years as a man. Granted, He experienced them in a dramatically different setting and time. The First Century didn’t have the bells and whistles of today, but the temptations and challenges were much the same: sexual immorality, pride, pain, abuse, anger, doubt, desire, envy, deceit, sorrow, injustice. Not everyone liked Him, not everyone listened to Him, and not everyone believed or respected Him. He truly knows what it means to be human; He certainly knows what it is to suffer.

When we talk with God, He truly does understand. He’s been here and he was sorely tempted by Satan; the only difference is that He never sinned.

Now that we know what we have – Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God – let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all – all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. [Hebrews 4:14-16 (MSG)]

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June 10, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Knowing Him, Love & Works, Prayer

THOSE THREE LITTLE WORDS


2-15-15 bleeding hearts - ACL774WEBI love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. [Psalm 116:1 (NLT)]

“I love you!” Do you remember how much you longed to hear those three little words from your boyfriend or girlfriend? Do you remember how good you felt when they were finally uttered? No matter how often those three loving words are spoken, we never tire of hearing them.

As I was going through Psalms, looking for verses about God’s love, I was struck by how often God was thanked and praised for His unfailing love and how rarely the psalmists actually said anything about their love for God. Of course, the various psalmists imply their love of God with praise and thanks but seldom is it actually expressed.

While I always try to finish any phone conversation with my family by saying, ”I love you,” I’m sorry to say that, like the writers of Psalms, I’m not very good about expressing my love to God when I speak with Him. When was the last time you said, “I love you!” to God?

I love you, Lord; you are my strength. [Psalm 18:1 (NLT)]

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June 9, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Temptation & Sin

FALLING DOWN

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. [Romans 3:23 (NLT)]

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. [1 Corinthians 10:12a (NLT)]

Thrilled to finally get back on my bike after several weeks of prescribed inactivity, I was cruising along and in the zone. Suddenly, I looked up to see a person walking toward me, head down and ear phones on. Thinking I was reaching for my bell to warn of my approach, I ended up braking—hard. The next thing I knew, my bike and I were sprawled out in the muddy gutter. I had been having so much fun on the bike that my brain had simply gone on vacation.

Muddy, battered and bruised, I sat on a rock and nursed my wounds. I compared my morning’s tumble with the many times we fall into sin. When we stop paying attention to our surroundings, it’s easy to end up in a spiritual gutter. Even though we’ve been warned to stay alert for the enemy, we just barrel along, enjoying ourselves, “doing our thing,” and not noticing life’s hidden hazards. If we’re not watching for temptation, we’re taken by surprise when it comes our way. Before we know what happened, we fall and end up in sin’s sewer. I wanted to blame my fall on the walker but I had only myself to blame—I should have been paying attention. It’s that way when we sin; like Adam, we want to blame someone else, but we’re the only ones responsible for our actions.

Sitting there, bleeding and filthy, several people stopped to ask if I needed help; they were truly good Samaritans. Because I’d already asked my husband to come get me with the car, I thanked them and sent them on their way. The last time I had a bad fall, I wasn’t so smart. Insisting I was fine after a tumble down a ski run, I refused any assistance. Unfortunately, I’d broken ribs and torn ligaments in my knee and deciding to ski to the bottom was both prideful and foolhardy. This time, at least, I knew enough to admit I was hurt. When sin has knocked us down, it’s difficult to acknowledge that we’re in trouble and need help. We don’t want to concede that we’ve screwed up. While there may not be someone offering a helping hand, God is always there for us no matter how far we’ve fallen nor how dirty we’ve gotten. The problem for most of us, however, is admitting that we’ve fallen into a mess that we can’t clean up on our own.

Looking back on the morning’s misadventure, I’m incredibly thankful. The consequences of my fall are just some sore muscles and a nasty case of road rash. No car happened along as I went sprawling out into the road and, other than my bike’s bell, nothing is broken. We rarely get off that easy when we sin; sin’s consequences can be extremely painful and even fatal.

Once safely home, I got angry with myself. Our day’s plans were spoiled because of my stupidity. But my tears were not going to get me a do-over on the morning’s ride; the damage was done. When we’ve sinned, we also tend to beat ourselves up with guilt and remorse long after we’ve confessed and been forgiven. As far as God is concerned, however, our sins are over, done with, and gone; it needs to be that way for us as well. We should learn from our mistakes but must be willing to let go of the replays and shame. As for me, I’m sorer but wiser! And, if it’s all the same to you, God, could the inspiration for tomorrow’s devotion not involve blood and bruises?

Satan is the master distracter. He is always working to keep us off track in our walk with God. [Joyce Meyer]

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. [1 Peter 5:8a (NLT)]

The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin. [Proverbs 11:5 (NLT)]

 

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June 4, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Nature, Prayer, Thanks & Praise

DIFFERENT ANSWERS

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But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands. [Psalm 31:14-15a (NLT)]

We’d gone out to the bird sanctuary expecting to see dozens of beautiful birds enjoying the easy pickings in the remaining lake. The winter was dry and the summer rains have not begun so the last of the swamp’s lakes is disappearing, making it like catching fish in a barrel for the wading birds. Imagine our surprise when, instead of a shallow lake covered with water lettuce, we found only mud and, in place of herons, storks and egrets, we encountered dozens of black vultures enjoying the remains of the stinking fish in the muck. It certainly wasn’t what we expected and not really what we wanted, but it was amazing nonetheless and we were thankful.

We don’t always get what we expect, as a story making the rounds of the Internet aptly illustrates. A distraught mother, anxious to get back to her sick child with medicine just purchased at the pharmacy, discovered she’d locked her keys in the car. Seeing a coat hanger on the ground, she picked it up, straightened it and struggled to figure out how to jimmy the door. “Please God,” she prayed, “Send a policeman to help.” A rough looking man strolled by and asked if he could assist. Within moments of her explanation, he’d deftly unlocked the car. She hugged the man, thanked him for being so good to her, and told him he was God’s answer to her prayers. “I’m not good; I just got out of prison for car theft,” the ashamed man replied. “Praise God,” the woman responded, “He even sent me a professional!” God answers prayers, just not always in the way we expect Him to. Sometimes, however, His answer is even better than we imagined!

While writing this devotion, I thought of Emily Perl Kingsley’s essay “Welcome to Holland” which beautifully describes the experience of raising a child with a disability. I remembered a woman from our church who, like Kingsley, had planned on Italy and ended up in Holland; her son is mentally challenged. At an age when most young men are going to college or getting jobs, he still believes in Santa and Mickey Mouse. At a time when his parents expected to have an empty nest, he is incapable of flying away on his own. Does his mother complain? Not at all; she speaks of how blessed she is to have such a beautiful son so full of love and wonder—a son who has brought her great joy. God answered her prayers for a child but in an unexpected and different way. Her journey, while unlike than that of her friends, has still been a good one.

I’ve never arrived in Holland after purchasing a ticket for Italy; nevertheless, like everyone else, I’ve had prayers that were answered in unlooked-for ways. Occasionally, we get vultures instead of egrets, car thieves instead of cops, or a disabled child instead of an honor student. Sometimes we get what we’ve asked for and sometimes we are given something entirely different. It’s not necessarily bad; it’s just totally unexpected. We just need to accept God’s provision, trust in His love and wisdom, and thank Him for our many blessings.

Sometimes God doesn’t give you what you want not because you don’t deserve it but because you deserve better [Anonymous Internet wisdom]

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13 (NLT)]

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May 29, 2015

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Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Salvation: A New You

SPLISH, SPLASH, TAKIN’ A BATH!

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I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. [Isaiah 61:10 (NLT)]

When on a photo safari in Tanzania, I couldn’t believe how grimy I got. Tooling around on unpaved roads all day long in an open Range Rover meant for a lot of dust and, by the end of the day, I was caked with it. I’m sure you’ve had days when you’ve gotten incredibly dirty, as well. There’s nothing like hours spent gardening or cleaning out the garage to leave you and your clothes filthy, sweaty, and less than fragrant. Your hands and fingernails are coated with grime and even your teeth feel gritty. How refreshing it feels to strip off your dirty clothing and step into a hot shower and scrub away the dirt. Once clean, isn’t it pleasant to step into freshly laundered clothes? You feel like a new person.

3-15-15 wildebeest-WEBThe prophet Zechariah had a vision. In it, the high priest Jeshua, representing the nation of Israel, was standing before the angel of the Lord. Representing the sins of his people, Jeshua’s clothes were filthy. His clothing was removed and the angel said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and I am giving you fine new clothes.” [Zechariah 3:4 (NLT)] What an amazing image this is. Sins are literally being stripped off and replaced with garments of God’s goodness. Just as we feel refreshed after a shower and fresh clothes, imagine how much better we feel when we have shed the grime of sin. Our confession and repentance serve as soap and God’s forgiveness is the warm water showering over us, cleansing us of our sins. God’s grace is like the fresh outfit that is waiting for us. He will clothe us with his love and mercy; we just have to put on our new apparel. We won’t just feel like a new person; we can be a new person!

So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. … Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 13:12,14 (NLT)]

Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. [Ephesians 4:22-24 (NLT)]