Unusual Kindness

On August 8, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 6: 35

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great; and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Jesus says a lot in this short passage. It is a summation of the previous several paragraphs. He is giving us a model for living. This is the way He and His Father interact with others. Jesus tells us that God is kind to ungrateful and evil men as a way of showing us that we, being made in the image of God, should behave in like manner.

Anyone can be kind to those who are kind to them, but the life of Jesus calls us to a higher plane of existence. Jesus wants us to be like Him. To do so, we must expect more of ourselves than the simple life that anyone can accomplish. We should aspire to the high life, and that is the life and likeness of Jesus.

We need to love even when it is uncomfortable. We must learn to not only forgive those who transgress against us but also to pray for them; and moreover to pray from a generous and kind heart. We should learn to give generously, especially when there is no hope of a return. It is not a gift if you are expecting something in return. It is an investment. God, on the other hand, gives even to those who hate Him. He would have given His son even if there was only one person on earth and that person hated Him with the full strength of his being. Our God is a loving God, and we are seeking to be just like Him. Therefore, we must give from our heart love, goodness and every good thing, expecting nothing in return but just to please the Father.

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Weakness to Grace

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

Proverb 25: 21 – 22

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

What do you think of this passage? Is this counsel about heaping guilt and shame on your enemy or is it about showing kindness because that is God’s way? I have always thought it was the latter and that the heaped coals are simply a by-product. Seeing what we now learn in the New Testament, seems to confirm this idea.

God saved vengeance for himself (Romans 12:19) and Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5: 44). Today’s verse, then, is right in line with New Testament theology. Most of you know God calls us to be charitable towards those who persecute us, so that is not the revelation of the day. It is a good reminder, though, because none of us wants to pray for the person who is a thorn in our flesh. This is where the rubber meets the road, as they say. This is grown up Christianity.

Paul had the same problem. You see, he had a thorn in his flesh as well (2 Corinthians 12: 7). He asked God to remove the painful impediment, but God taught him that the solution to life’s challenges is God’s grace. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12: 9 TLV). So, I am not trying to tell you, today, to do what you already know God has told you. I am trying to help you find the means to do the impossible because if you are like me, and many others, praying for your nemesis is a hard thing to do, especially when they continue to be a thorn in your flesh. God knows what He is asking of us and knows it is impossible in our strength, so He has blanketed us with His grace so that we may do all things. The theme, then, of this Word of the Day is more about God’s grace as He supports you than about feeding your enemy. I think it is timely too because I know many of you are more challenged during the holidays than any other time.

Here is my prayer for you: Father, cloth these, your beloved, in tapestries of grace and mercy. Comfort them and embrace their hearts with your love. Help us all, Father, to do as you direct us. Pour out your grace upon us and manifest your power through our surrender. Cause your strength and will to shine through our weakness so that your glory fills the visible spectrum. Help those who hinder us. Show them your grace and give us favor in your sight and in the eyes of all people.

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No Gloating

On November 15, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 24: 17 – 18            TPT

Never gloat when your enemy meets disaster, and don’t be quick to rejoice if he falls. For the Lord, who sees your heart, will be displeased with you and will pity your foe.

It is only natural to feel a little bit of happiness when your nemesis stumbles. That is human nature. Yahweh, however, demands more of us than acting like everyone else. He expects us to rise above the natural to live in the supernatural. We even get the sense that He will be more upset with us for gloating than He will be at the sin of our enemy. We should know better and are called to a higher standard.

God understands that baby Christians are going to make a lot of basic mistakes. They will continue in their unsanctified ways until they begin to mature. He has tolerance for them as long as they are trying and moving forward. Mature Christians, though, are expected to rise above the simple things and move to higher ground. That higher ground is where we are required to forgive, to pray for our enemies and put the needs and concerns of others before our own needs. This is far from easy and at times it doesn’t seem fair. Our baby Christian brothers keep doing stupid stuff, yet God’s patience for them endures. Meanwhile, he requires that we pray for them. There are times I really don’t like it and neither do you, but in the end, being with Father and having Him be pleased with us is the joy of life. After what Jesus did for the idiots in his life, I guess Yahweh isn’t requiring so much of us.

So, when your enemy meets with disaster, wipe the smile from your face and imagine the heart of the Father. Pray for your foe. They will never thank you but God will. Seeing the Father smile at you will be worth the price.

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Deliver Me

On June 17, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 56: 1-2, 5       NLT

O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me. They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me. They come together to spy on me – watching my every step, eager to kill me.

I feel David’s anguish in this passage, do you? As he fled from town to town, he never knew whether he would find friend or foe. Worst yet, some of those he thought to be friends, betrayed him to Saul. Maybe you can relate to David’s angst. Perhaps you feel attacked by a co-worker or betrayed by a friend. Chances are they twist your words too. They may re-characterize what you meant for good into an evil plan. You are frustrated, angry, forlorn and you wonder where you can turn for relief. David had the same problem; pressure and stress on every side, where to turn?

David is an iconic example of a person who learned to run away and hide in the refuge of the Lord. He made it a real thing, not just a lofty idea. He sang frequently of God his refuge in his songs. One of those uses is in Psalm 7: 1 where David wrote, “O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge; save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me.” The same idea, if not language, recurs in today’s psalm. It is an anthem to every person who has ever felt attacked, wrongly accused, or slandered.

How did David hide himself away in God when he, like us, has to live in the physical world? Still, to David, this wasn’t poetry, it was survival. When you are spiritually so in the Father, you are less bothered by the problems of the physical but there is more to it than that. Do you remember the time when David was hiding in a cave and Saul went into that very cave to relieve himself (1 Samuel 24: 3)? How is it that Saul didn’t find David? That is where hiding yourself in the refuge of God comes in to play. God may have hidden David behind a shroud. He may have blinded Saul to David’s presence. Maybe God sent angels to form a barricade between them. We don’t know how God does it but He has power which is applicable in this physical world. His spiritual power trumps the physical realm. Therefore, taking your refuge in Him can, and does, have physical world implications. He will confound your enemies. He will bless you in their presence.

Don’t discount the spiritual realm. It is actually more powerful than the physical realm and God can make physical things happen with His spiritual power. It is how He made the earth after all. Get your mind focused on God and His ability to care for you. See yourself ensconced in the fortress that is God. Picture thousands of angels all about your castle and the Holy Spirit presiding over the entire estate. You are safe in the hands of God. Your enemies will pay for their attack. Those who have disparaged you will eat the fruit of their mouths and you will be vindicated. Just pray to the Father, hide yourself in Him and keep your mouth from sinning. You will carry the day.

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Brotherly Love

On June 10, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 55: 16 – 18

As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me.

This is a psalm of David and at once tragic, sad and victorious. David’s lament was not solely that his life was pursued relentlessly but rather that his life was sought by one he loved. The enemy was not a Philistine, as it were, but rather Saul whom he loved as a Father and revered wholly as his king. His devotion to Saul was absolute but, as is so often the case, the demon in Saul’s soul, the jealousy and emotional scars, set upon the innocent David.

Being pursued across the land, your very life in mortal peril night and day, was tortuous for David, as it would be for any of us. The greater tragedy though, is when your enemy is your brother. How, do you fight an enemy whom you love? How do you even defend yourself against your attacker when that attacker is a “friend”? Jesus actually had an answer for this dilemma. He said to pray for them. Since Jesus came, we have a clear mandate that we are supposed to love everyone. That means every enemy is one we are to love. Then how do we fight? We are not supposed to cause harm. So, Dad has us pray for them and in that simple act is our release and our victory.

David’s landing spot is very reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm. In Psalm 23, verse 4, David wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” Do you see the similarity with “He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me?” In the midst of battle, even when surrounded by foes, your soul can rest in peace because of God is the keeper of your soul.

I would point out one other thing about this passage. There is, perhaps, a better way to think of communicating our need to our Father than complaining and mourning though we will give those words their space. The Passion Translation translates that language as, “Every evening I will explain my need to him. Every morning I will move my soul toward him.” I quite like that, and I believe it almost visually depicts the reality that David lived. We emotionally, spiritually and mentally move ourselves towards God and in that, we receive the peace our souls long for.

The truth of life is that those who attack you are most often friends or loved ones. This reality makes the challenge harder and the pain more intense. None the less, our Father says to us that even in the midst of battle, or more to the point, when attacked, stand and be delivered. Your Father is knowledgeable and attentive. He knows your pain, you situation and the limitations you are under. Let Him be your refuge. Let Him rescue you. It really is the only viable plan. Move your heart closer to Him and let Him comfort and keep you.  Call upon God.

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Convinced

On May 14, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 52: 8 – 9              TPT

But I am like a flourishing olive tree, anointed in the house of God. I trust in the unending love of God; his passion toward me is forever and ever. Because it is finished I will be praising you forever and giving you thanks. Before all your godly lovers I will proclaim your beautiful name!

Yesterday I sent you the first seven verses of Psalm 52. I thought you needed to see how David finished this song. Not only is it beautiful but in the face of adversarial persecution, he stands in the love and the grace of his heavenly father.

The first seven verses have more to do with the wicked people and how God will deal with them. This second part is about us, those of us who put our faith, not in the work of our hands, our wealth or our righteousness, but only in the “unending love of God.” When David turns to thinking of himself his thoughts are filled with God’s love and his love for God. Praise and thanksgiving come immediately to his awareness. His trust is in that love, knowing that God’s love is not only unending, but also passionate. David had a real, palpable awareness of God’s love for him and it altered his life. I so look forward to hearing him sing his praises to our beloved Father and I am going to go stand beside him and join in. I imagine I will never experience any greater joy than I will in that moment. My God is so worthy, and it is an honor to get to praise him.

In this earth, we too can trust in God’s love the way David did and it will protect us. It will keep us calm in the midst of the storm. Even when your Saul or Doeg threatens, God will keep your peace. He will guard your heart and soon you too will be singing your praises to the Beloved One.

I wish we understood how much Yahweh loves us. I wish we understood how real the force of his love is. I wish we all understood how to stand in trust, leaning on our faith in that love. David was hounded and persecuted relentlessly yet a song was never far from his lips, praise in his wake. He says with confidence and conviction that though persecuted, “I am like a flourishing olive tree, anointed in the house of God.” Can you picture what image must have been in David’s mind when he wrote those words? Doeg did evil and of course it pained David. That is why he sought the Spirit and poured out this psalm. However, at the end of the day, David saw himself flourishing under God’s blessed anointing. He saw himself planted in the house of God where his roots went down deep and drew nourishment.

I am very grateful David gave us this psalm. I hope you will find comfort in it. Let all our enemies be on notice. God will rip them up by their roots, but we will be firmly planted in the garden of the Lord, enjoying his anointing.

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Vindicated

On May 13, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 52: 1 – 7         TPT

 

For the Pure and Shining One
A song of instruction by King David composed when Doeg, the Edomite, betrayed
David to Saul, saying, “David has come to the house of Ahimilech!”

 

You call yourself a mighty man, a big shot? Why do you boast in the evil you have done? Yet God’s loyal love will protect me and carry the day!

2 Listen, O deceiver, trickster of others: Your words are wicked, harming and hurting all who hear them.

3 You love evil and hate what is good and right. You would rather lie than tell the truth.

Pause in his presence

4 You love to distort, devour, and deceive, using your sly tongue to spin the truth.

5 But the Almighty will strike you down forever! He will pull you up by your roots
and drag you away to the darkness of death.

Pause in his presence

6 The godly will see all this and will be awestruck. Then they will laugh at the wicked, saying,

7 “See what happens to those great in their own eyes who don’t trust in the Most High to save them! Look how they trusted only in their wealth and made their living from wickedness.”

The word “Selah” means to pause and consider what you’ve read. Here is it rendered “Pause in his presence.” I felt compelled to stop and think about this when I read it. David used strong language and I could feel the conviction of his experience and emotion. Though pursued relentlessly, though treated unfairly, though spoken about untruthfully and harshly, David persisted in the grace of the Lord.

In verse seven I also hear, those “who brag in their wealth.” It is unseemly to begin with, but the greater sin is that they give no credit to God who causes them to prosper. They strut about like a peacock trying to gather praise, but their boasting is repugnant and odoriferous. In other words, it stinks. It is putrid in the nostrils of God and it doesn’t smell like roses to us either.

The Geneva Bible calls these people arrogant. Verse one in the God’s Word translation reads, “Why do you brag about the evil you have done?” None of us has anything to brag about except Christ Jesus and him crucified for us. We are nothing, absolutely nothing, apart from him. However, in him, we can shout, “glory” because Christ has redeemed us from ourselves. David endured all the hateful things said about him. He had to put up with Saul, and others, whose words were, “wicked, harming and hurting all who hear them” but David said, “Yet God’s loyal love will protect me and carry the day!”

Do you have one of these people in your life? Someone who lies and distorts, who uses their words to hurt others? Someone boastful and arrogant? Well, take heart for, quite literally, you will have the last laugh. Verse six and the first part of seven says, “The godly will see all this and will be awestruck. Then they will laugh at the wicked, saying, “See what happens to those great in their own eyes.” In verse one David wrote some very powerful words that I want you to absorb into your heart. He wrote, “Yet God’s loyal love will protect me and carry the day!” It’s so true. Believe me. God’s love will buoy you up and protect your heart in that day. No matter what that arrogant, tyrannical bully says of you or to you, no matter what evil they attempt to plot against you, the love of God will wrap you in a cocoon of protection. God, Himself, will be your forward and rear guard.

If you have a Saul in your life, pray for them. That is what Jesus told us to do and what he demonstrated himself. No one knows exactly what Saul’s damage was. Some say it was a mental disorder, some say he was influenced by evil spirits. Regardless, the damage was very real. His actions against David were ruthless and unjustified. David had more than one opportunity to kill him but passed up all the chances and restrained his men as well. David set a good example for us. If you will pray for them, even though they don’t deserve it, it will honor your Father and I can’t think of a better reason to do it.

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