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January 29, 2024

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NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM HIS LOVE

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NLT

queen butterflyI read a devotion that suggested substituting our own personal anxieties and concerns for the troubles listed by Paul in Romans 8. Perhaps your version would read: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate me from God’s love. Neither old age nor loss of loved ones, neither cancer nor dementia, neither my anxiety about my wayward child nor my reservations about finances—not even the powers of terrorism and hate can separate me from God’s love. No hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemics, or wars—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate me from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Then again, maybe widowhood, heart disease, migraines, foreclosure, floods, stroke, bullies, loneliness, crime, hunger, depression, fires, addiction, divorce, hard times, debt, anger, betrayal, homelessness, violence, or tornadoes would be on your list. Regardless of how you fill in the blanks, Paul’s words remain true and bear repeating. Nothing—absolutely nothing—can separate us from God’s love as shown in Jesus Christ.

Paul wasn’t saying that Christians have no enemies or won’t suffer. In fact, his words were written to the Roman church, a church that underwent tremendous persecution and hostility for centuries. Within a few years of his letter, Nero would blame Christ’s followers for the burning of Rome and, for the next 300 years, Christians would be mercilessly persecuted. Depending on the whims of whoever was emperor, they’d be expelled from their homes, see their property confiscated, be required to perform pagan rituals, watch their churches destroyed, have worship prohibited, endure brutal persecution, or suffer monstrous methods of execution. Not even the Apostle Paul escaped—he was executed in Rome on Nero’s orders.

While we’re not about to be crucified, torn apart by dogs, beheaded, hung on poles, coated in tar, or burned alive by Nero, we all encounter threats from both physical and spiritual enemies daily. Belief in Christ doesn’t shield us from enemies; it means that those enemies, even ones as evil and powerful as Nero, can’t turn God against us. Even Satan is powerless against God! Whether visible or invisible, nothing can take us from God’s love for us; even death can’t separate us from His love! Because God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son for our salvation, we can be sure of His unchanging and everlasting love and confident that He will provide us with everything we need in the face of the day’s challenges.

What troubles would you substitute for Paul’s in Romans 8? No matter what they are, rest assured in the promise that the battle already is over and overwhelming victory is ours through Christ our Lord!

Nothing can separate you from God’s love, absolutely nothing. God is enough for time, God is enough for eternity. God is enough! [Hannah Whitall Smith]

 One of the greatest evidences of God’s love to those that love him is, to send them afflictions, with grace to bear them. [John Wesley]

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? … overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. [Romans 8: 31b-32,37b (NLT)]

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January 22, 2024

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ENLARGING

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. [Psalm 4:1 (KJV)]

Mornings, I read a short devotional from Streams in the Desert, a devotional by L.B. Cowman. Compiled between 1918 and 1924 and first published in 1925, it consists of portions of inspirational sermons, tracts, church bulletins, hymns, devotions, and poetry Mrs. Cowman collected through the years. Each day’s reading begins with a portion of Scripture and a recent devotion began with Psalm 4:1: “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.”  Because the devotional uses the King James Translation and I usually read the NLT, I didn’t recognize this verse; nevertheless, I had a good idea what it meant.

My morning’s prayer had begun much like David’s—with a plea for God to hear my prayer. It then went something like, “O Lord, please not again! I can’t go through this another time. How much more can I take?” Apparently, based on the day’s verse, God heard me, but I wasn’t so sure I liked His answer. It sounded a lot like, “This is a growth opportunity and you can take all that is given to you!” I certainly wasn’t pleased with the devotion’s explanation that the psalmist was “declaring that the sorrows of life have themselves been the source of life’s enlargement.”

Curious about the verse, I turned to my NLT Bible and found a vastly different translation: “Free me from my troubles.” While I’d rather be freed from my troubles than be enlarged by them, Scripture’s purpose isn’t to accommodate our preferences; it is for our edification, enlightenment, and growth. Confused by the different tenses and dissimilar translations, I turned to a lexicon to determine the meaning of this verse in its original Hebrew.

The psalmist used the word rachab  which clearly meant to enlarge, grow wide or large, broaden, or make room for. Throughout Scripture it was used in the sense of extending or enlarging one’s understanding, heart, steps, territory, borders, and mouth. Rather than escaping from troubles, this verse is about growing large enough to handle them! Moreover, while my NLT uses the present tense, most word-for-word translations use the past. Preserving the tense and word usage found in the original Hebrew writings, Young’s Literal Translation reads, “In adversity Thou gavest enlargement to me; Favour me, and hear my prayer.”

Psalms 3 and 4 are believed to have been written by David during his son Absalom’s rebellion. If so, David was about 61 years old and God had given him a great deal of trials and enlarging in the more than 45 years since being anointed by Samuel. This psalm is David’s vote of confidence in God’s future grace because of God’s past grace. The troubled king knew that the God who enlarged, expanded, and strengthened him in the past could do so again. He asked God that, hearing his prayer, He would repeat His mercy.

God has the power to divinely deliver us from our trials. More often than not, however, He doesn’t because there is purpose in those trials. The good news is that, while God may not free us from the challenges, He never will abandon us in them! Because of God’s past grace in the trials of yesterday, like the psalmist, we can count on God’s future grace in the trials of today and tomorrow. Indeed, my past troubles have enlarged me. They matured my faith, strengthened me, grew my understanding of God’s will, multiplied my prayers, intensified my trust, expanded my capacity to endure, and developed the ability to find joy in all circumstances. No matter what I face, when I remember God’s past mercies, like David, I can lie down in peace, confident that God will keep me secure in His loving arms!

Let God enlarge you when you are going through distress. He can do it. You can’t do it, and others can’t do it for you…. Life’s trials are not easy. But in God’s will, each has a purpose. Often He uses them to enlarge you. [Warren Wiersbe]

Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. [Psalm 4:6-8 (NLT)]

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January 1, 2024

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NEW TERRITORY – New Year’s Day 2024

The land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. [Deuteronomy 11:11-12 (ESV)]

The Israelites were camped on the east side of the Jordan River, in view of Canaan, when Moses addressed them. After spending the last forty years as nomads in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula, can you imagine their excitement at the thought of finally having a place to call their own and their eagerness for a new beginning in a new land? There must have been some apprehension, as well. They weren’t naïve; they knew there would be conflict, battles, and even loss before Canaan was conquered.

Moses was not addressing the original generation of adults he brought out of Egypt—they died in the wilderness because of their disobedience the first time Israel approached Canaan. This was the second generation of adults—the ones who had been under twenty when their parents refused to enter the Promised Land. This generation were eye-witnesses to God’s power and provision. As children, they witnessed the plagues God visited on Egypt. They were there when the waters of the Red Sea parted and watched Pharaoh’s soldiers drown. They experienced Israel’s defeat of the Amalekites at Rephidim, enjoyed God’s provision of quail, and observed water pouring out of a rock more than once. They beheld the glory of the Lord fill the Tabernacle and knew that God faithfully provided them with manna for forty years.

At the same time, this generation also knew the consequences of disobedience. They survived the plague God sent because Israel worshiped the golden calf, saw the earth split open and swallow the men (and their families) who rebelled against Moses, and spent most of their lives as nomads because of their parent’s defiance. They had first-hand knowledge of God’s discipline as well as His faithfulness, provision, compassion, and mercy.

As Canaan was for the Israelites, so a new year is for us. Like a new land, the new year means a fresh start but, like the Israelites, we wonder what trouble the year may bring. Will there be more dark valleys than sunny hilltops? Will our journey be challenging or easy, rocky or smooth, crooked or straight? Will obstacles or detours cause us to lose our way? Will we encounter times of plenty or famine, profit or loss? Will there be storms or sunshine, floods or drought, abundance or scarcity? Rather than being attacked by Amorites, Hittites, or Jebusites, will cancer, divorce, or job loss strike? Just as those Israelites knew that both challenges and blessings lay ahead in Canaan, we know that the new year will bring its share of both grief and joy, chaos and calm, hardship and ease, loss and gain.

Moses told the people not to fear the inhabitants of Canaan because God was with Israel. They didn’t go into new territory alone and neither do we. God was with them and He is with us. While we haven’t gathered manna in the morning, seen bitter water become sweet, experienced God’s victory over Midian, or followed a pillar of cloud or fire through the Sinai wilderness, we know God did all that and more for Israel. Moreover, we have firsthand experience of the many ways He has been faithful to us. In previous years, He transformed discord into harmony, heartbreak into joy, chaos into order, defeat into victory, unhappiness into contentment, and scarcity into enough! God’s faithfulness and power in the past tells us there is nothing to fear in the days ahead!

While we don’t know what 2024 holds, we do know the One who holds the new year in His hands. Let us stride confidently into the challenges of the future knowing that, “The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”

New Year’s Day is a good time to fix one’s eyes on the only One who knows what the year is to hold. [Elisabeth Elliot]

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. [Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)]

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December 18, 2023

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OH COME, IMMANUEL (5) – THE SECOND ADVENT

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. [Malachi 4:1-3 (NLT)]

In the first Advent, Jesus came as a suffering servant in a manger. In His second Advent, Jesus will return in righteousness as the conquering King who makes all things right. His return means the final destruction of sin, injustice, hate, disease, death, decay and evil. Our God, however, is one of both mercy and judgement and Malachi’s promise of the Messiah included a warning about the coming day of judgment.

Jesus spoke of this coming judgment when He likened the division between believers and unbelievers to a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. True believers, however, don’t need to cower in fear at the prospect of judgment. Clothed in His righteousness, they will stand before Jesus forgiven of every single sin. As the faithful, they are the righteous sheep and destined for eternal life in the kingdom. The goats, however, are those who refuse to believe and they are destined for eternal punishment.

The early church thought Jesus would return within their lifetimes but 2,000 years have passed and He still hasn’t returned. Peter explained the delay: “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” [2 Peter: 8-9]

Nevertheless, the day will come when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. He told us that we must be ready for that day. Just as a thief strikes an unsuspecting house by surprise, Jesus will catch an unbelieving world the same way. On that day, Almighty God will assess everyone according to their soul’s status and, when that happens, there will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining.

It is in Christ’s return that we see the promises of God fully come to pass – promises to be with His people – promises that all things will be made new – promises of peace and security – promises of the full enjoyment of all that life was meant to be.

“God’s home is now among his people!” prophesied John in Revelation 21. “He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” [21:3-4]

This season of Advent is more than a time of preparation to celebrate Christmas; it is a time of preparation to focus our hearts, wills, and minds on Christ’s return—not as the end of the world—but as the beginning of the life as God intended it to be lived—a time when peace and justice will prevail and there will be no death, sorrow, or tears.

2,000 years ago, the people of Judah longed for the promised Messiah and, recognizing mankind’s need for a savior, God answered their prayer with Jesus. As Christians in the 21st century, we long for Messiah’s return and, someday, God will make good on that promise, as well.

The question to ask ourselves during this season isn’t whether we’re ready for Christmas. The question we should be asking is whether we’re ready for that glorious day when Jesus returns.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” [Acts 1:11 (NLT)]

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [John 14:1-3 (NLT)]

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December 7, 2023

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OH COME, IMMANUEL (2) – THE SILENT YEARS

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. [Isaiah 61:1-2 (NLT)]

Greek god Zeus

While the Bible is silent about the centuries separating the Hebrew Scriptures from the New Testament, history is not. During those hundreds of years, Judah suffered. Although they were allowed to worship Jehovah under Persian rule, the pagan nation ruled them, required their political obedience, and demanded exorbitant taxes to support its king, court, armies, and self-serving foreign governors. When Persia weakened and fell to Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Judah simply traded one set of foreign rulers for another.

When Alexander died, the Greek Empire was divided among his generals. Ptolemy the 1st and his descendants ended up controlling the Jews. Under Ptolemaic rule, as long they maintained order and paid their taxes, Judeans were free to worship and Judaism thrived. Nevertheless, Judah was an occupied country and, for twenty years, the people were caught in a violent cross-fire between the Ptolemies and their rivals, the Syrian Seleucids. When the Seleucids defeated the Ptolemies, the Jews ended up with rulers who mercilessly persecuted them. The Temple was robbed, Jerusalem’s walls destroyed, Scripture burned, sacrifices to Jehovah banned, circumcision outlawed, Jews were forced to eat pork, and observing the Sabbath and feast days was prohibited. Statues of Greek gods and idols were placed in every town and those who refused to worship them were put to death.

The Jews must have wondered what became of God’s covenant with David as well as the one He made with Abraham promising that Israel would be a great nation, that He’d bless Abraham’s descendants and curse his enemies, and that Canaan would belong to his descendants. God even confirmed that same promise to Isaac and Jacob. But now, Israel’s promised homeland belonged to Greece and they were ruled and persecuted by their enemies. If anything, Abraham’s descendants were the ones cursed. Was Jehovah a liar?

When the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, rededicated the Temple to Zeus and sacrificed a pig on the altar, Judah finally rebelled and a guerilla army was formed. Three years after the Temple’s desecration, the Syrians were defeated and the Temple recaptured and rededicated. Tonight is the first night of Hannukah which celebrates the eight-day miracle following that event. Even though the Temple was reclaimed, Judah remained a Syrian province and fighting continued between Syrian and Jewish forces for twenty more years.

Eventually, the constant fighting between the various Greek city-states weakened the Greek Empire and Judah’s independence was realized in 142 BC. Simon Maccabee became head of state and the Hasmonean dynasty was established. For the first time since the fall of Jerusalem in 586, a Jew sat on the throne but the prophecies hadn’t been fulfilled. He wasn’t from the tribe of Judah and David’s lineage, his realm didn’t extend from sea to sea, and peace did not reign. The Hasmoneans’ time in power was troubled by corruption, political infighting, terrorism, and violent clashes between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The nation became divided and weak.

After the Roman general Pompey defeated the Greeks, he had no trouble extending control over the divided nation of Judah and, in 63 BC, Rome conquered Jerusalem. Once again God’s chosen people were subservient to a foreign power. When the New Testament opens, rather than a descendant of David’s, it was Herod the Great, a descendant of Esau, who sat on the throne!

The people of Judah wondered when Jehovah would fulfill His promises. Would the time of His favor ever come? When would His anointed king avenge His people?

It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation! It is I, the Lord, who has the power to save! … For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. [Isaiah 63:1,4 (NLT)]

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November 13, 2023

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HEALING – Mark 5 (Part 1)

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. … She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.  For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” [Mark 5:25,27-28 (NLT)]

monarch butterflyIn Mark 5, we find three stories of miraculous healings: the demoniac living among the graves in the Gerasenes, the woman who bled for twelve years, and the daughter of Jairus who was brought back to life. These are beautiful stories, but what about all the other people in 2,000 years for whom there has been no healing? Like the woman with the blood disorder, my friend has suffered for more than twelve years, tried every remedy, and gotten no relief. This man of deep faith prays for healing as do all his family and friends. His faith is as strong as that of the nameless woman and yet he’s had no relief.

As the local synagogue’s leader, it’s likely Jairus was one of those in the synagogue who criticized Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath. He even might have been with the Pharisees when they accused Jesus of being possessed by Satan. He and his daughter certainly weren’t more deserving than a neighbor’s grandson. Along with the child’s parents and countless others, they knelt before Jesus and begged for the boy’s healing. Nevertheless, in spite of their prayers and five-and-a-half years of treatment, healing never came. We didn’t ask God to raise him from the dead; we just wanted Eddie to live more than his brief eight years!

The bleeding woman and Jairus sought out the Lord but Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and calmed a storm to reach the Gentile demoniac. My uncle was a good man of deep Christian faith but he descended into the hell of psychosis from which he couldn’t escape and, instead of living among the graves, he lived in a state psychiatric hospital. He desperately sought Jesus but, in spite of countless prayers for release from his demons, release only came when he died. Why was the pagan demoniac healed and not my uncle?

If all we needed for healing was sincere faith and fervent prayers, good Christians would never get sick or die—but, they do. Billy Graham suffered from Parkinson’s disease for 25 years and Martin Luther had 24 years of ill-health. Luther’s pain was so crippling that he frequently prayed for death’s relief. Based on existing records, forensic scientists believe Francis of Assisi suffered from malaria, tuberculosis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, brucellosis, blindness from trachoma, and leprosy until his death at 44. Among other ailments, John Calvin suffered from kidney stones, painful gout, heartburn and indigestion, chronic facial pain, roundworms, migraines, and chronic insomnia until his death at 55 (probably from tuberculosis). If anyone had a direct line to God’s ear, it would be men like these and the Apostle Paul. Without a doubt, they all prayed for relief but God chose not to remove their many thorns.

Although Jesus taught us that God will respond to our faithful prayers, He never taught us that faith automatically brings about healing. While there are many instances in Scripture where Jesus links faith and healing, there are many others where the healing seems almost random. When we look at His many miraculous healings, there’s no formula to them. In fact, Jesus’ healing seems unrelated to people’s faith. The man healed by the pool at Bethesda didn’t even know Jesus’ name. The only constant is Jesus rather than faith or prayer!

God can and does heal. Whether or not He does so is His sovereign choice and our physical healing may not be God’s top priority! Of the many sick and suffering people crowded around the pool in Bethesda, Jesus healed just one man. The reasons why God restores health to some and not to others is beyond our understanding. Healing is neither evidence of our faith nor proof of God’s love for us and we can’t allow bitterness or anger to fill our hearts when it doesn’t occur. Even for the most faithful, miraculous healings are the exception not the rule! Someday, all sickness and death will be gone but, until then, we must have faith and trust in God.

He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace. [Joni Eareckson Tada]

I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. [2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NLT)]

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