“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
The lemon tree is GONE! It had been in our yard for about 9 years, and had become almost like one of our kids! It only stood about 4’ tall when we got it. But it had a few blossoms of hope on it when I dug the hole and planted it. We ended up with a handful of lemons on it the following year. For 3 years it had LOTS of lemons. Then a disease hit! I tried every bit of advice but… I cut it down yesterday.
We had enjoyed it SO much when it was doing what it was supposed to do. Truth be told, we gave away more lemons than we used. But that was part of the fun. We had lemons to give, and received the blessing of giving and thanksgiving with those we shared. When lemon production stopped, questions of ‘why no lemons?’ made me feel like a failure. Hope turned into truth and now… it’s gone.
A LOT of emotion came and went with that lemon tree. It had everything inside of it to do exactly what God had intended. But something on the outside got to it and it never recovered. Reading this verse today, so close to the lemon tree’s removal. I started thinking about MY purpose for being here and what kind of expectations, or disappointments I might be putting MY owner through!
If planting me here was just for decoration only, I would have been a waste of God’s time. Because a lot of time, expectation and effort went into me, and pretty I’m not! Rooting and fruiting a strong, productive Faith was meant to produce OVERFLOWING THANKFULNESS IN ME, toward Him! Just for the opportunity to SERVE The Master of the Universe. Mr. Stupid Lemontree reminded me of that!
God doesn’t want me bitter and sour. He prefers I look to Him everyday, in this messed up world, and to go out into it with a more saucy, joyful tang! The world is already a mess. And He wants ME to go out and tell others that THEY weren’t made to be bitter either! Reminding me of my purpose, I can actually feel the JOY and THANKFULNESS toward Him for being a part of His whole ‘Garden Plan!’
So today, I THANK GOD for the opportunity to grow, show and flow His life in… and through me. THANK YOU JESUS! Thank you for fertilizing me with your Word each day and sending me into a sour world to possibly bring joy into it. Let’s do it again today too… cuz I’m feelin’ saucy!!
Are YOU thankful to be His? Do you tell Him often? Do YOU want to be a bright shiny fruit for Jesus? Then think about these verses and grow baby!
“…we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4
“But there’s nothing WRONG with them!” That’s what my bride had said to me, after she saw the metal outdoor chairs sitting across the street at a neighbor’s house. They had set the rusty things out for the garbage men to haul them to the dump! But she had seen them. And now they were safe from disposal, in my backyard. Still rusty! But SAFE… KINDA!
“All they need is a little paint,” she said. I laughed and thought, ‘if only that were true!’ Because the TRUTH was, in order for those chairs to be of ANY value, the rust had to be removed BEFORE paint could be applied! To do so I, their new owner, took sandpaper and a wire brush, then applied a lot of pressure to scrape and remove all the rust away from the good metal. If chairs could talk, they WHINED!
There is no doubt about it. No secret either! In order for God to use me, or ANYONE for the matter, there are steps that MUST be completed before I can go on to be worthy for His use. The 1st step?… I need to be acquired! I was born a sinner and destined for the dump of Hell. He saw me and called my name. Step 2? The sanding, grinding and brushing pain of removing what isn’t Godly!
It is only natural that I resist! And WHINE! I complain about my life circumstances and wonder “WHY I am going through what I am going through. Can’t you make it EASIER God? WHY ME?” merges into a minor chord concerto with others, piercing His ears. It’s a wonder He keeps at it! But He does. Because He has a PURPOSE for ME. His plan calls for me to be perfected through suffering, then put to WORK!
The 3rd and last step might be considered the hardest one of all. Because after he Calls and Cleanses me, by the Blood of His own son, the 3rd step is The CHOICE! I have to accept His Commission. To go and reach, teach or preach to other nasty sinners ‘The Gospel’ He has entrusted to ME. I am out to PLEASE HIM! Not others or myself. And THAT will bring even MORE suffering.
Receiving the ‘free gift’ of eternal life is easy. Going on to be a useful tool in the hands of The Master is… not so much! Having been proved and tested, while facing more, I now know that NOTHING brings me more joy and sense of purpose than looking at the Savior and hearing Him say… ‘Well done, faithful one!” One day, He’ll say to me, “Here’s a throne… take a seat!”
Now how about YOU? Are YOU submitting and letting the Master lead you through difficult valley’s of life… and death? Are you passing His test?
Start the Day Happy in God – The Lost Art of Bible Meditation
Article by David Mathis Executive Editor, desiringGod.org (Severely edited by me!)
“I’m just not feeling it today.” How often have you reached for that excuse? Many of us can be quick to cast ourselves as the victim of a sluggish heart.
Making peace with a pokey heart is a very strange phenomenon, even as it now is a widespread assumption and typically goes unquestioned. It may be no big deal if we’re talking about whether you want peanut butter on your breakfast toast. But far more is at stake when this becomes an excuse for neglecting God, whether in his word, prayer, or Christian fellowship.
Specifically, this excuse has served to undermine habits of spiritual health related to beginning each day with the voice of God in Scripture. Some of us are gaunt, frail Christians because we’ve learned, like our world, to cater to the whims of our own fickle hearts rather than direct them and determine to reshape them.
Your Pliable Affections
In what may be his most insightful and deeply spiritual book, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God(2014), the late Tim Keller introduces us to a side of the great English theologian John Owen (1616–1683) that is especially out of step with modern assumptions. Owen, according to Keller, would not be so quick to grant the excuse, “I’m just not feeling it today.” In fact, he likely would respond forcefully— and many of us might be better for it.
Keller summarizes, “Meditate to the point of delight.” Don’t give in to your heart’s first inclinations. Rather, take hold of them, and direct them. Open the Bible, and turn your attention to the one who is supremely worthy, and keep your nose in the Book, and your mind on Jesus, until your sluggish heart begins to respond like it should. That’s striking counsel for a generation conditioned to “follow your heart.”
Recondition Your Heart
In chapter 10 of Prayer, Keller adds we are to wed God’s word with our prayers through meditation. It’s a perspective on forming and reforming our pliant hearts that is the challenge today.
In general, we are far too easy on our minds and hearts. We grant we can train the body.In fact, you’re always training the body, whether for the better or the worse. Most will agree that you can train the mind— “the mind is a muscle,” so to speak. You can set it on a particular object and learn to keep it there. It will take practice. You can learn, as Keller summarizes Owen, to “meditate to the point of delight.”
Three Stages of Meditation
Some well-meaning Christians set out to read their Bibles, don’t feel much (if anything), then move on swiftly to pray a few quick, shallow petitions, and then embark on their day. Owen would say, with C.S. Lewis, you are far too easily pleased.Owen would have us wrestle like Jacob, with your own sluggish soul, until light dawns. Wrestle. Direct it. Turn it. Grapple with it until it does what it’s supposed to do, feelingmore like it’s supposed to feel, about the wonders and horrors of the Word of God. Say, in effect, to the God of the word, “I will not let you go unless you bless me,” and discipline your heart to receive the joy for which God made it.
Now, a few clarifications are in order to recover this lost art of meditation. Owen distinguished between study, meditation, and prayer. Meditation is the bridge between receiving God’s word (in reading and study) and responding back to him (in prayer). Meditation then, says Owen, is something you can learn. It is distinct from study and prayer, though overlapping with them . It may be parsed into three sequential stages.
1) Fix Your Mind
Begin with Bible intake, through reading, and rereading — the slower the better. Beginners will have more questions and need to navigate how frequently to stop and study or just keep reading and pick up clues as they go. But the main point is that meditation begins with immersion in the words of God.
Unlike Eastern “meditation,” which seeks to empty the mind, biblical meditation requires the filling of the mind with the truth of God’s self-revelation in his Son and Scripture. We don’t just up and meditate. We begin with Bible, fixing our thoughts on God and his Son through the content of His Word.
2) Incline Your Heart
Fixing our thoughts can be difficult enough, but inclining the heartis imponderable for many. Not because it can’t be done, but because we have been socialized to assume it can’t. But Owen counsels us, having fixed our minds on God’s word, to meditate until you begin to feel the word. Preach to yourself untilyou begin to feel more like you ought. Does the word declare God’s majesty? Feel awe. Does it warn sinners? Feel fear. Does it announce good news? Feel joy.
The goal is not to meditate for a particular duration of time, but to meditate until the point of delight, to persist “unto your refreshment.” The apostle Peter speaks of the present, not merely the future when he says, “Though you do not now see [Jesus with your physical eyes], you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8). Inexpressible, glorified joy is offered when we fix our minds on the Word of God himself and meditate untilHe smiles on us, and warms our souls.
3) Enjoy Your God
In the final stage, we give vent or space, to the enjoyment (or crying out) begun in the second. We fan the flame of affection for the truth in view. This is the high point of meditation — enjoying God in Christ — which fills our souls with “an answering response.” As Keller comments, we “listen, study, think, reflect, and ponder the Scriptures until there is an answering responsein our hearts and minds” – which leads us to prayer.
So, we want our prayers to be prompted by and tethered to the intake of God’s word. ‘Enjoying God’ can only be produced if we are responding in prayer according to who God is, as revealed in the Scripture”
Not Just Truth but Jesus
Keller ends with Jesus Himself as the chief focus of our meditation. Not only did the God-man delight in the Word of God like the happy man of Psalm 1, but He Himself is “the One to whom all the Scripture points.” As Christians, we learn to meditate both with Him and on Him.
In our reading, rereading and study over Scripture, we persist to know and enjoy, not just truth, but The Truth Himself. For Christians, the final focus of our meditation is personal, discovered in the living person of Jesus Christ.
“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14
Guess who got a little taste of Heaven last night? Yup! I had seen that the famous band from my young years was going to be in town. I thought fondly of them, remembering that, as a kid, I had learned to play drums while playing along with their music… in my bedroom. Time slipped by, but then I thought, why not! So I called for tickets and I was told that the concert had been sold out.
Suddenly, the ‘I had missed something’ spurned me on. When Katie got home from work I said, “Wanna go have some fun?” My spur of the moment gal said ‘sure!’ I asked her to make a sign and, with a quick change of clothes, we were off. We got there before anyone else. The first person I met happened to be a famous teacher of one of the band members. Got tickets?” I asked. He didn’t
Katie went to have a seat in a corner while I held up my sign… “Looking for 2 tickets!” I tried to play it cool. After all, I was an outcast looking for a break. All the folks around me had pre-planned and HAD their tickets. I was a nobody. But I was a determined Nobody. Suddenly, an envelope was thrust into my chest. “Can’t use ‘em,” he said. “Wife sick.” Grateful, I paid him more than he had.
Now, I didn’t HAVE to pay more. He just wanted what he’d paid. But I was grateful and offered the price for that gratefulness. The tickets? Row 15. Dead center of the stage! Then the band started! I’ve seen a lot of concerts. But this one was the best, BY FAR! EVERYBODY was OLD and knew the words… kinda! We sang, applauded, got drawn in, and were united with our youth AGAIN! WOW!
I STILL can’t believe it! The spot that got touched in me, I hadn’t even realized existed. But there it was. It felt a little like what I think Heaven will be. The past, present and future reunited with every good memory and joy coming together, along with the people that made them joyful! All because the Master of the Universe handed me a ticket. Overjoyed, I pay more with my life. He’s worth it!
How grateful are YOU? Do YOU have a ticket to Heaven?
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
Five of us had been standing at the corner, holding signs for Jesus. As we started to pack up, 3 heads simultaneously turned, our eyes cautiously drawn to the backpack of the passerby. All 3 held their vigilant gaze until the strange man moved out of the danger zone. I immediately asked the 2 other men staring… “Did you see that?” “Yup!” Was all they could say. Satisfied, we all moved on.
It took a few seconds, for me anyway, to realize that the black cylindrical object was an umbrella! NOT a suppressor at the end of a submachine gun! The 3 of us, who’s heads turned, were familiar with what looked to be a possible danger… but wasn’t. The object was a thing, out of place, that warned of a possible threat. Most folks wouldn’t have noticed. But we were aware… and did.
The Bible clearly commands me to read the Bible. By reading it, I see, hear and know exactly what my Heavenly Father wants me to see and know. Studying, memorizing, meditating and remembering are the tools that give me, and ALL of His followers, the ability to recognize danger with a simple glimpse. In His Word, I find His command. It is full of potential danger signs to warn me of a fact!
I have an enemy. He is quiet, sneaky, calculating and hungry. Most of all, he wants and seeks to destroy me. He has that ability, if I let him get the best of me. He is very good at what he does. But today’s verse doesn’t leave me with a Psalm 23 kind of ease. Where God automatically takes care of all my enemies. Here, God lets me know that I bear some responsibility as well.
God expects me to turn and flee from situations He calls ‘dangerous.’ God wants me to see the potential and fatal results of NOT paying attention to things that can draw me away from Him… and into satan’s paws and teeth! Minds and eyes that don’t see the enemy’s schemes, can and will be turned. What does that bible warn YOU about? What are YOUR weaknesses? Are you vigilant?
“You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.” Psalm 88:18
“I WANT MY BINKIE!” was screamed loudly across the restaurant… with TEARS! Someone in my party said, “that kid is out of control!” And they were right. But somewhere is a rule book for ‘out of control’ situations that says, “Thou shalt not interfere in other people’s problems!” So I tried to control myself while, 1. the kid screamed and 2. everybody LET him!
I was VERY uncomfortable. And it was VERY HARD to keep it to myself. I didn’t know WHY I suddenly wanted a Binkie! Haaaa just kidding. It wasn’t me. But I probably felt the same as the kid, sans Binkie! I was instantly angry that someone allowed someone to disturb my family’s night out. The kid shoulda been taught self control BEFORE going out to eat!
I saw a friend yesterday… again. He didn’t look any better than he did the last time I saw him weeks ago. Having lost his father before Christmas, he is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. I know several in that valley now. Having been there many times, I know that, like a binkie… it sucks. I tried to break the rule and interfere. But it didn’t help.
Some consider Psalm 88 to be the saddest Psalm of all. Reading it, I can see why. It’s just plain HORRIBLE. David is in the pits! So much so that he throws a tantrum right at God, blaming God for killing off those close to him. But another rule book says that, ‘just because someone says something in the Bible, doesn’t make it so!’ BUT!!!
God got David’s blame ANYWAY! And here’s the crazy thing! God didn’t correct David or retaliate! He just let him sizzle! I’d a snuffed Dave out! But not God. He knows the despair of losing His closest someone… to a violent death. That, plus His love, gave David a pass… and time… to get THROUGH the valley. So God switched writers. Look at the next Psalm.
Psalm 89:1 says, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” But it was written by a guy named Ethan. Not David. I find it interesting that the order of praising immediately follows the whining of sorrow. Which makes me wonder if keeping my mouth shut when someone is having a bad day is the right call!
God has proven His love and faithfulness to me. Even in times of suffering and struggle, this psalmist calls God’s people to bless the Lord and call upon His strength… even in the time of need. From tantrum to praise! Do you?
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:35
The word was out! A new restaurant was opening in town! In a tourist town that basically survives on restaurants, that was a big deal. So plans were made. So were anticipations and expectations. A group of us decided to give it a try and were looking forward to going. I actually had the giddy going because I LOVE the theme of the place. Soon… we were there!
No.. I’m NOT going to tell the theme or the menu… because I DON’T want to be the root of bad gossip. Maybe it was just a bad day and they’ll get better. I don’t want to be responsible for closing them down before they get it right! But, as high as my expectations were, so was my depth of disappointment! As it turns out, THEY hadn’t expected that many customers!
Florida in winter is LOADED with people looking for something new… and possibly without a line. When we got there, they were out of practically EVERYTHING! And it was only 11:45! One of our party was looking forward to a homemade strawberry milkshake. The machine was DOWN! So was the soda machine! Someone expressed the death words, ‘Never again!’
I know what it means to expect and not receive. So does Jesus. Remember that Crucifixion thing? That sweating of blood is proof He wanted something different than what He got! So knowing human nature, He gave us His recipe for life on this planet. Rule 1. Expect enemies. 2. Love, lend and do good by them anyway! 3. Expect NOTHING from them in return!
The words of advice from Jesus are horrible! I mean really! They amount to allowing the opposing team to cheat and win every game! Or to throw down your arms and let the enemy win the war! But look closely. These rules do not end the battle… they merely point out our Captain… who is NOT in control… until He is! Yup! Jesus will ultimately win the war. Not me!
Trusting Him and doing what Jesus says in the ‘here and now’ comes with promises. A GREAT reward.. and the even bigger title of ‘Child of the Most High God!’ Can I trade my ‘attitude’ and ‘getting even’ for those things? Well, let’s say I’m practicing every day. Are you?
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
It was blue, it was full… and it was lying right there in front of my house! I simply couldn’t believe it when I saw it! Then I got PO’d about it, after confirming it was exactly what I thought it was! A bag of dog poo! Someone had walked their dog, picked up it’s poo in a bag, and then dumped the bag in front of my house! The infraction was deserving of hell’s fire!
Looking up and down the street for a poo infractor revealed no clues. So I picked up the poo bag, then disposed of ‘it’ in MY garbage can. After washing off, I got in my truck and headed out to hold signs for Jesus! Approaching the corner, I saw potential Poo-perps rounding the corner. ‘But it couldn’t have been them,’ I reasoned. ‘They’re old folks, have 2 HUGE dogs, and the bag was small!’
Lowering my window, I asked if they might know of any dog owners with blue bags. “Well WE have blue bags,” the excited English lady exclaimed! “Where was it lying again?” After I told her, she said, “Oh that’s OUR bag! We collect it and then leave it to pick up on the way back home!” I stared… then blinked… then said, “Well ma’am, today I took care of your it for you!”
What else could I do or say? I couldn’t believe the audacity of someone who would do such a thing. But this woman confessed! And while it wouldn’t be something ‘I’ would conceive, her thought process held some logic! Why carry poo when you can choose to NOT carry poo… quite as far? I felt kinda stupid, but smarter as I had learned a lesson after all.
The lesson I got was… ‘the sooner one drops their poo, the easier life gets!’ AND ‘carrying around poo longer than necessary is really silly!’ Then I thought, ‘maybe Jesus had that lesson in mind when He told Old Solomon about getting rid of sin.’ So…. Whatayado with YOUR poo?
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'” Mark 16:15-16
After yesterday’s ‘Words of the Day,’ I prayed and asked God to deliberately put me in front of someone who DIDN’T know Him. If God is waiting ‘until the full number of the Gentiles has come in’ before sending Christ back with His Kingdom, I prayed, “send me to that last stubborn one!” He did! After putting on my dark glasses, I could see that THIS one fit the bill!
I was in for a nuclear MRI. So I figured the technician HAD to be smart. Asking how long they have been using this technology for diagnosing gallbladder conditions she said, “oh… about a year now!” “Where are you from?” I asked. “Pittsburgh,” she said. “Me too,” I responded. The conversational window had been shattered. So I got busy doing the Mark 16:15 thing.
She was young, married and a mother of young twins. Culture has a LOT to do with any conversation, and though we were from the same town, our understanding of what’s important was as comparable as grits to marbles. So I asked lots of questions… praying for careful guidance. It was a long test! Having no formal faith, she proved she was winging it.
Knowing Jesus Christ personally is my greatest evangelism tool. Spending time with Him in His Word everyday, and talking with others about Him, keeps me sharp. I talk from what I KNOW. I knew this young lady was working toward the LAST part of today’s verse. Because Jesus wants her rescued, so did I. After an hour and a half, our time together was coming to a close.
I pulled out a Gospel card and an Invitation card, then walked to her desk. Saying her name, I laid them in front of her. I said, “This is the way to know God personally. This is where you come to hear how. If you want to know, I can guarantee I can introduce you to Him, show you your purpose in life and show you a guarantee of heaven. If I can’t, I’ll give you $100.”
I knew she wasn’t the last person to receive Christ before He returns, because… He didn’t! SO at the next stop I did Mark 16:15 again. I am starting today’s day the way I did yesterday. Asking God to send me to someone who needs and wants His Son. I just pray she has the guts to take me up on my $100 offer! Are YOU going into the dark world and doing Mark 16:15?
