Clean Hands

On February 16, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 18: 24

Therefore, the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

There are a few Old Testament prophets who have New Testament eyes and spirits. David and Isaiah are chief among these. David wrote most of the psalms and he wrote this one specifically. As an interesting side note, many people barely consider the psalms as part of the Old Testament. Many New Testament Bibles include the books of Psalms and Proverbs. I have known people who would scarcely acknowledge that the Bible contained anything more than Matthew through Revelation but who would read the psalms. The reason for this, at least in part, might be because David had such a big revelation of who God is.

Today’s passage screams New Testament dispensation to me. It has Jesus’ blood all over it. Hallelujah! You see, the passage is a little frightening until you get to the last three words. Then, all of a sudden, we are on shouting ground! I get fired up over this because I do not want to be judged or compensated according to my righteousness. That would end up worse than a lump of coal in my Christmas stocking. I am all too happy, though, to receive of God through the filters of His eyes. Yahoo! He recompenses us according to the how He sees us, according to the glory which covers us through Jesus. Come on, that is worth a shout, an Amen or something.

Give God praise. Give Him glory. He has laid aside a reward for you based on Jesus’ righteousness. Glory to God!

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Direct Dial

On February 15, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 107: 6

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.

I love this passage of scripture. Talk about good news. It is pretty simply, theologically. When we call on the Lord, He rescues us. It is just that simple. Okay, there are two caveats. First, you have to believe it. There is nothing in this realm or the spiritual realm that is going to work for you without belief. You know this to be true. If you think you are dumb, your internal self is going to do everything to prove you right. If you believe you can do a thing, then you can. We have heard this in worldly circles since we were children. This principle is immortalized in the story of the little train that thought he could. So, that is principle one. If you think God will hearken to your voice when you call, then you are right.

Here is my second caveat though. You need to know how you best connect with God. I pick up my Bible and it is like a big pop-up book. God just pops up with whatever I need. You need to know what works for you. Here is a little self-test. I think once you take this test you will see how your internal self operates. So here it is – if you were stranded on an island and desperately needed to connect with the Lord, what method would you employ in seeking him? Would you pray, take the bread and the cup, or commune over the Word? This self-test will show you what you really think will connect you with God most easily. Maybe meditating over a specific scripture that speaks to your heart (maybe even today’s scripture) is what will move you into communion. Perhaps a song elevates your spirit. Here is the key, though, the secret is in finding what moves you into communion with the Father. He is already there waiting for you to connect. You just need to find what works in your heart. If you picture yourself in desperate need, stranded on an island with few to no resources, perhaps you will find what is nearest and dearest to your heart and what triggers that connection for you.

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Half Life

On February 12, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 55: 23

Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in Thee.

Now I don’t think most of us know “men of bloodshed” but I am willing to bet that everyone of us knows someone who is deceitful. Deceit is defined as: misrepresentation, deception, falseness. To deceive someone means to intentionally mislead. Of course it includes lying but one doesn’t have to lie to be deceitful. Deceit can be achieved by failing to disclose a pertinent fact such that someone is misled. It can be couching a situation in terms meant to cast one in a favorable light though the hearer is, in fact, shadowed from the whole truth. We may reveal only those facts which cut in our favor so that we intentionally mislead another. Deceit may even be achieved through our word selection. Perhaps the whole truth is that we are going to meet someone after work for a beer but we say we are going to a meeting out of the office in order to mislead someone.

No doubt you can think of other ways we can intentionally mislead others and yet allow our conscience the freedom of having not lied. Well, I don’t think Jesus is going to buy into that one. There are two points here. First, we are cutting our lives in half. Not good! Second, many times, perhaps most times, people see through our misrepresentations eventually. Then the trust and respect they have for us is damaged. Surely this isn’t what we want for our lives.

Part of the problem is that there actually is a social acceptance of lying. I have heard many people talk about lying to the IRS as though it is okay. There seems to be a general consensus that it is okay to lie if it furthers a reasonable purpose. Case in fact – there is a television commercial running right now for an intriguing new product. The product is called the Ring video doorbell. It is really a great idea. The idea is that one can view, from their smart phone, whoever is at the front door. In the ad, a woman answers the doorbell while sitting at what appears to be a sidewalk café. She tells the person at the door that she is bathing the kids. Wow! That is a blatant lie. She is not even home. You see, the people who put together that ad seem to think that it is okay to lie. What is even more disarming to me is that a lie was not necessary. The woman could have simply said, “I am sorry, I am busy right now,” or “I am not able to come to the door right now.” She didn’t have to lie in order to guard her security. This ad isn’t unique. It simply represents social acceptance of misrepresenting the truth.

We almost act, these days, as if people don’t deserve the truth. Well, maybe they do and maybe they don’t. I was raised that truth has its own value and I am glad I was. It makes life easier now. The real key here is that you deserve the truth. Your life and health deserve truth coming out of your mouth. Remember the principle of sowing and reaping. What do you think the harvest is of lying seed? God hears every word we utter and He knows all truth so He knows when we lie. That is deterrent enough for many. Cutting our life span in half might also be a pretty good constraint. Honor the truth.

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Casting

On February 11, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 55: 22

Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you.

Tuesday we looked at 1 Peter 5: 7 which reads, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Seeing this same idea in the Old Testament brings three thoughts. The first thing which occurs to me is that God has not changed (Malachi 3: 6). The Old Testament God wants to care for us just like the New Testament God does. Secondly, it seems to me that Peter was increasing the understanding of Psalm 55 in his statement. Peter’s ministry was predominantly to Jews. Therefore, his audience would already know Psalm 55 and to cast their burdens onto the Lord.  They would also have known that this is the methodology for receiving God’s sustenance. Peter’s teaching explains why God gave them Psalm 55 in the first place. Peter explains that all of this is because God cares for us. 

Lastly, we can enter this verse through the back door and really wrap Psalm 55 and 1 Peter 5: 7 up in a pretty bow. The backdoor is that God wishes to sustain us. Therefore, He teaches us to cast our care upon Him. In other words, if you want God to sustain you then He has shown us that the way to receive that sustenance is to give Him all of our cares and burdens. Begin with the result and work your way backward to find out what you must do in order to receive that result. Do not stop there, though. The conclusion is that God provides our sustenance and the methodology for receiving it because He cares for us. We get to see His motivation for ever speaking Psalm 55.

For thousands of years now God has been calling us to go to Him to receive our daily bread and every other need met as well. He calls to us because He loves us and wants to take care of us. That is why it is almost sinful for us to “take care”. That is the role God has appointed for Himself. He is the ultimate caregiver, so roll all of your cares over on Him and receive the sustaining grace of His love.

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Loving You

On February 10, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

While this is a very familiar passage of scripture, it is good for us to have a look at it sometimes and remind ourselves about our faith. We must grasp and retain that this is a love thing. The whole basis of Christianity is right here. Out of a driving force of love, God sent his only son into this earth to be the sacrificial lamb so that all might be cleansed and renewed. God sent and Jesus came out of their super-abundant, overflowing love for us. We need to understand that it all begins, ends and revolves around this precept. God gave everything out of his deep and abiding love for us. He loves you with all that he is and all that he has. Everything you have ever seen him do or read about him doing is all because he loves you. He wants you to be reconciled to him and be able to live in victory and freedom because he wants all of the best for you every day. He didn’t send Jesus into this earth for us to serve him or for us to learn to obey a rigid list of laws. He sent his dear child so that we might be free and happy. He, Father God, is love and He so loves that He will do anything for you that is good for you. He longs to be a Father to you and to shower you with His love. Will you please let Him?

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Give a Care

On February 9, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Peter 5: 6 – 7

Humble yourselves therefore under the might hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Do you find it curious that God put a humility directive in the same sentence that He commands us to cast all of our care upon him? I do. As I ponder this, though, it strikes me that perhaps it is not so odd as one might first think. What do you think is the main reason we do not cast our care upon the Lord? Could it be that our own arrogance, our independence prevents us from giving our worries to the Lord? 

Many of us have frequently used the expression, “Take care”. Though I have said it many times myself, I find I have a growing aversion to the expression. First of all, it is unscriptural. It is in direct disobedience to the Word of God. God said to cast all your care onto Him. Give it to Him in other words. So, for us to go around saying, “Take care” is to encourage people to defy the Word of God. Okay, I know we all mean it in a kind way but sooner or later we have to grow enough in the things of the Spirit that we don’t defy God even in well intentioned ways.

Let me give you the big revelation that dropped on me recently. Have you heard the term “caregiver”? Caregivers are people who care for others. They are so selfless and noble. I so admire the people who are gifted in this area. I think so much of the great, and I do mean great, people of Hospice care. Someone asked me where people like them come from and without pausing I said, “They must fall right out of heaven.” I am honored to say I am a care receiver, that I was blessed to be a beneficiary of the kindness of these wonderful people. It gave me a whole new revelation on “take care” though. In fact, it now makes those words choke in my throat. How can I tell someone to take care now after what I have seen of those who devote their lives to caring for others? Now I want to say, “give care.” Let us not be takers. Let us be givers. And I just wonder if this isn’t part of the reason God told us to give our care to him. When we are free of our burdens, then we can give to others.

We have been selfish y’all, I worst of all. We have been arrogant and self-centered. I pray that you will take today’s devotional to heart and meditate on what God would teach us on this point if we could open our hearts to instruction. We were put here to be caregivers. Have no thought for your worries. Give them to God and free your hands to bless others.

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Make a Wish

On February 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Kings 3: 5

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.”

Wouldn’t we all like for God to appear to us with the promise to grant whatever we wish? That is what happened to Solomon. As you probably know, Solomon asked God for an understanding heart so that he would know how to rule God’s people. God was pleased with Solomon’s wish and granted him not only great wisdom but also riches and honor. God also promised long life if Solomon would continue to walk in the statutes and commandments.

I wonder sometimes if God isn’t posing the same question to us today? Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7: 7). “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14: 14). Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full (John 16: 24). If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15: 7). Perhaps, then, it is true that the Father is making us the same offer He made Solomon.

What is your Solomon wish?

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