Safe Passage

On March 1, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 138: 7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will reach out with Your hand . . . and Your right hand will save me.

This reminds me of the Twenty-third Psalm. Even as we find ourselves surrounded by trouble, we can rest in confidence knowing the Father’s hand is nearby. As I ponder this verse, I also find myself thinking of Isaiah 30: 21, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” One of the ways the Lord saves us is by speaking to us and warning us from paths of danger. During the bombing of the train in England and the 9/11 bombings in the US, multiple reports emerged from people saying they just had a feeling to get off a stop earlier than normal or not to go to work that day. Our Father guides in the way to go, steering us from trouble.

Sometimes, though, it is hard to get out of the path of danger, as has been the case for the last twelve months. Still, your Father is there with you to guide and protect you. He may give you instructions or ideas that keep you safe. It is imperative that we continue to grow in our ability to hear His voice because one thing is sure, there will always be trouble. Jesus said so. In these days it seems the trouble is increasing exponentially so we need Him close, more now than ever before.

He has not abandoned His people. Even as we look back over the last twelve months and the horrible suffering and loss, we can know that our Father was with us. He is with us now and that confidence in His attendance helps guide us deeper into His presence. As we continue to passionately seek Him, we will get better and better at hearing His voice and recognizing His touch.

We certainly need Him walking alongside us day by day and, fortunately, He has promised to do just that. You have His word that He will save you in the midst trouble. It is a promise upon which you can rely. Never tempt the Lord your God by putting yourself in harm’s way. Do not fail to listen to His wisdom for you. It might mean walking home by a different route or any number of seemingly small details, but His hand is there to guide and save you. Bless His name for His good promises and mighty hand.

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Thirty-Seven

On February 26, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 15: 46

Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

In the attitude of seeking the Lord and reaffirming my devotion to Him, I have been thinking of Easter differently. As we near the Easter celebration I am pondering my life on this side of the grave but with a view from the other side. Here is what I mean by that.

Imagine yourself standing before the tomb in which Jesus would later be laid. Perhaps you are one of his disciples and you know what is about to occur. See yourself standing there, looking at Jesus’ burial chamber knowing his dead body will soon lie there. What emotions rise up in you? What does devotion and seeking him mean from that side of the grave when you have the knowledge of what will occur? In other words, what would the idea of devotion and dedication mean to you if I could, right this moment, transport you to the tomb which received Jesus while at the same time translate you to mere days before his crucifixion? If I could send you back with all your present knowledge, to stand before Jesus’ grave, what would that feel like?

I am asking myself if my devotion to him would be changed in an instant. Would I burst into tears knowing about the cross or would I shout praises thinking of his resurrection? Perhaps I would run through the town desperately seeking him. I sorta think my reaction would be the latter. I think I would be frantic to find him. Now here is the question I am asking myself as I face the cross, “Why am I not seeking him as desperately right now?” Easter is 37 days away, by my reckoning. The cross and the tomb loom before me. The truth of his resurrection burns in my bones. I am faced with his coming torture, death, burial and eventual victorious resurrection. It is fresh and new, not 2000 years old. I am facing that reality now. Why don’t I shout, sing, cry, pray or praise? Why am I not moved to great acts of seeking him?

This is one devotional where I will ask you not to imitate me. Be more devout in your search for his heart. Chase him down in the streets and demand his attention. Go with him, following every step he takes. Listen to every word he speaks and cherish each one as a precious pearl.

Thirty-seven days. On this side of history, we know what the next thirty-seven days would mean in the life of Christ. I guess the question is, what do those thirty-seven days mean to our lives?

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Encouraged

On February 25, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 18: 1

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged.

This is a good passage of scripture and an important one. Jesus was teaching his disciples about prayer. There is the appearance of two ideas in this verse: prayer and discouragement. I would like to unify those two ideas today and I believe Jesus will agree with this take on his teachings. Clearly one idea is that we ought to pray. The second admonition is, do not become discouraged. I would like to suggest the two are related.

Many of you know that I am the administrator of a prayer team. Our pray-ers are the most tremendous group of people and I am so proud to be associated with them. They move mountains and I do not say that lightly. We have, however, lost a few people for whom we prayed. I am not saying God didn’t answer our prayer. That is a whole other topic, but how can we know if the person chose to move to heaven. Regardless, it is certainly a challenge carrying prayer requests to God because, in truth, you carry them for a moment. We have gotten emotionally involved with the people represented by those requests. No one ever knows how concerned this group of dedicated people is about the people on the prayer list. They truly care. Can you imagine carrying so many intense problems? It would break us if not for the care of the Lord.

One of the prayer warriors communicated to me how the prayer we send up for others sustains us. It is not as if our glass becomes half empty and the Lord refills it. Every time we pray, He is overflowing our cup. I do not wish to convey that praying for others is burdensome. Instead, I wish to tell you that prayer is a revitalizing tonic. And, not only intercessory prayer like this. I believe that prayer, itself, is healing for the soul, and rejuvenation for the body. We are told time and again to pray, even to pray unceasingly. I believe the reason we should pray, the reason we are encouraged over and over to pray is because there is life and healing in prayer. But then, of course there is. When we talk with God, we connect with Him. Those lines of communication always carry life and light in them. Jesus is the light and the life so when we connect our spirits to his through prayer, his substance travels across those lines.

Here is what I am trying to say, prayer keeps you from being discouraged. There is encouragement is the substance of time spent in prayer. It is good for your soul when you pray, even if you are praying for someone else, perhaps even more so. I, like Paul, want you to pray frequently because I know you will feel better. Spiritual and emotional energy will be restored to you. I want you to pray because it is good for you and I believe that is part of what Jesus wished for you to glean from this passage. When you read the parable which follows, I think you will see how praying keeps you built up and confident. It helps you to keep believing. It will help your body, your mind, and your spirit. Pray because it is good for you and makes you feel good. Pray and be encouraged.

And by the way, send your prayer requests to Ivey Ministries Prayer Requests by clicking here.

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Focal Point

On February 24, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 32: 29

Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today.”

As you know, I believe God’s message to us for this year is for us to draw nearer to Him, to seek Him with new gusto. I was thinking on Saturday that this is a call to rededication. Sunday I received an email from YouVersion with a prayer to “refocus” our attention on our relationship with the Lord. These are all the same message. It is a call to devote ourselves more whole-heartedly to our relationship with God.

Rededication or seeking the Lord with a fresh passion need not be a trial or a duty. God calls us to Him because He wants to hold us close and care for us. He wishes to get more of Himself to us and to give wisdom and guidance. All that we desire is in the Lord. Those things flow to us through our bond with Yahweh.

We are living in times when we need a closer connection with Him. Our protection is in the security of His presence. We need to hear His voice so we can avoid danger. It is His voice which we follow to the promise land. Without the Father’s leading we easily stumble and lose our way.

In conclusion, I still believe this is the message He would have us hear, still the missive for 2021. Moreover, the reason Father wants us to seek Him with a new zeal and dedicated passion is because He knows we need a closer walk with Him this year in order to protect ourselves and our families and to walk in His blessing. He is not a selfish God. He is a giving Lord. If He has called us to seek Him, then He has a good reason, and that reason is for our benefit. Rededicate yourself to Him, refocus your attention on Him, seek His face. Regardless of the phrasing, the ideas are all the same. Use your energy and determination to draw closer to your Father this year.

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Worthy

On February 23, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   2 Comments

Luke 7: 7

For that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You.

I promised you last week I would write on worthiness. It is often difficult to accept all Jesus and the Father have for us because in the deepest part of our spirits/hearts, we don’t believe we are worthy of their gifts. Let me cut through all the theology for you and make this easy. The way to deal with this feeling of unworthiness is to accept a simple truth. You are unworthy. Whew! Now that is over, and we can move on.

This is the way I was able to get free of my feelings of unworthiness. Once I accepted that I was unworthy, I looked to Jesus to be worthy for me. I never again have to worry about being worthy because he already did it for me. I can never earn even the smallest of the gifts they give me. I can’t earn the right to salvation, the right to talk with God or anything else. I am unworthy of their kind attentions. They love me anyway and that is where we must bask.

In a way, it is arrogance that keeps me thinking I need to be worthy. Once I understood that I wasn’t, I was able to take my eyes off myself entirely and put them on Jesus. Looking at who he is and what he has done is an absolute cure for feelings of insecurity, unrighteousness and unworthiness. If I have any worth at all, it is because of who I am in him. Wow! That is a lot of pressure off our shoulders. Love never required us to be worthy. Look at the world. We do not deserve God’s goodness. He loves us anyway and, brother, that is some good news.

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Come Home

On February 22, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 137: 4

How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

I encourage you to read this whole psalm. It is very Jewish, but I think when you ponder it you will appreciate how the Jews feel about Jerusalem and that might even inform our hearts about our own “homeland.” I read a novel in which the lead character is Jewish and visited Jerusalem as part of the storyline. The author conveyed a sense of homecoming in quoting this psalm and it changed my perspective.

This psalm is about the Jewish captivity in Babylon. Their captors wanted them to sing and dance but how could they rejoice when their hearts felt divorced from God. The separation was too keen. As I read this, I realized this sentiment is not so different from what we all routinely experience. How can we rejoice when we sense our separation from the Lord? Conversely, isn’t praise and jubilant worship easy in the presence of the Lord?

When we feel stressed, we often also feel estranged from God. There are other things which separate us from our confidence in His presence. Busyness certainly pulls us away from our intimacy with the Lord. I think sometimes this has more to do with the difficulty in getting our minds to relax enough to sense Jesus’ presence right next to us. It is though we are traipsing through the desert, isolated from Him though He is in the cloud right in front of us. We are the lost tribes, feeling like sojourners in a foreign land.

Here is my advice – come home! Come home beloved! “How do I,” you ask. You get alone in the quiet space. Give yourself enough time to quiet your physiology and then quiet your mind and spirit. If you are challenged in this, don’t worry, so was I. There were few moments in my existence where peace and quiet permeated any aspect of my being. I learned how to quiet myself and as I practiced, I got better and better. It is a process for many of us so don’t lose heart. Coming home means finding that space in your existence where you can connect with the Father. When you do connect, you will know you are home. When you connect you can easily sing the Lord’s song, and I hope you will.

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Love Me, Love You

On February 19, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 22: 37 – 40

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

There is no more important topic than love. This is the topic which is foremost on the Lord’s mind. Actually, He never tires of talking about love. There are, however, three aspects of love. First and foremost is, love of the Father. That is exactly what Jesus points to in this passage. When asked what the greatest commandment is, he answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” That is number one. Second, according to Jesus, is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. So, there is another kind of love presumed here. That is self-love. Jesus expects us to have a healthy self-love. This is not narcissism. Narcissism is “selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.”

Healthy self-love means doing those things which promote a healthy life physically, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Jesus says that we should love others in our community as a healthy person loves and treats himself. Our community includes everyone we come in contact with. It is important that we recognize that “our neighbors” are not only our Christian brethren. Second, we are to love our neighbors equally with how we love ourselves. With this presumption of loving ourselves in a healthy way, we are supposed to love others in a healthy substantive way too.

Love God, love your neighbor, those are the two loves Jesus refers to in this passage and he insinuates a healthy self-love. There is, however, another love, and this one is the key. That which we have discussed is our expression of love towards ourselves and others. The most important love of all is God’s love for us. His love is what drives the universe. There is no savior, no salvation, no life even without the love of God. There is no love at all without the love of God. When I say that this love is the driver, I mean to convey that there is no ability for us to love ourselves, love others, or even love God Himself without first having the love of God expressed to our hearts. Only when we receive God’s love can we even reasonably dream of being lovely ourselves. It is His love with which we love others. The work of loving God and loving our neighbors takes place in letting God love us.

I want you to understand that receiving God’s love is not necessarily a passive process. When we slow down and commune our hearts with His then we are able to open ourselves to actually receiving His love. In other words, if you wish to make it your determined purpose to obey Jesus guidance from this passage, then the means, the only means for accomplishing same is to allow God to love you. It is not only the beginning point but also the ending point and everything in between. Loving yourself begins with allowing God to love you. Loving others is powered by the love God gives you.

The primary work of the gospel is to receive the love of God and subsequently convey it to others. That’s it – that’s the gospel. Easy, right? You know, for some of us this is the hardest thing we will do, letting God love us. Too loud in our psyche is our unworthiness, which I will write about next week and let you know how I overcome that issue.

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