"...if there is a God in heaven, there is no such thing as mere coincidence, not even in the smallest affairs of life." Desiring God John Piper
Ecclesiastes 7:14 "In the day pf prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him."
Webster's dictionary defines sovereignty as supreme power - unlimited - absolute - autonomous - independent.
The Hebrew for sovereignty is Kol meaning: anyone, anything, anywhere, everyone, everything, everyway, everyman, whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, forever
1Chronicles 29:11-12 "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all."
The sovereignty of God is a sweet message to the parents, to the childless, to the young, to the old, to the poor, to the rich. It teaches us trust. He's here. He's in charge. He has a plan. It will come to pass inspite of me. I can not thwart His hand. He uses all things to ultimately glorify Him and for our good. Even my mistakes, even my children's mistakes, even others' mistakes. Because of His sovereignty we can get over it and move on. We can forgive. He forgives us. We can start fresh today. His mercies are new every morning. No failure is complete because Our God reigns..not me, not my tantruming 2 year old, not my stubborn teen, not our president, not Al Kaida.
Our God reigns. I can be content because He's in control and all that He does is good. Even the murdering chaos in the streets, even the threat of war, even the bully at school, does not take away from the sure word that Our God is in heaven and He does all that He pleases. The sovereignty of God teaches me that I don't have to fix everything...He does. That I don't have to have all the answers...He does. I don't have to figure out the future...He does.
"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16
When you have a great day, praise God He ordained it and gave it to you. When you have a horrible day, ask for His forgiveness and help and move on.. For this day He gave You also.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Devotional Snapshot 75 - Blame
"If I feel bitterly towards those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael...missionary to India
"If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael
"Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. For many times, also your own heart has known that even you have cursed others." Ecclesiastes 7: 21,22
My defenses went up when someone pointed out that I was not perfect! Yesterday I overlooked something I should have attended to, today I was micromanaging to the point that I hurt the feelings of another.
The blame depressed me and I inwardly was defending myself and feeling anger towards my accuser. But just a few days ago I was complimented and I basked in the warm feelings of being "good enough". I inwardly agreed that their good estimation of me was accurate, for I sometimes I have that good thought about myself when no one is looking. Its nice to know others see it, too.
The scripture says in Romans 12:3 "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of your self with sober judgment..."
Don't take to heart everything people say. What good advice from the Lord! Neither praise nor blame should move me from my sober estimation of who I am before the living God. I am a horrible sinner who daily refuses to trust and follow my Savior. I deserve condemnation and if people knew me as God does they would rightfully have far more complaints than I ever get. If I feel bitter to those who even unjustly condemn me then as Amy says, "I know nothing of Calvary love."
And if I am elated by praise forgetting it is only God who enables me to do one right thing. And that left totally to myself I will always choose to be selfish then "I know nothing of Calvary love."
How do you do with praise or blame? Lets pray for each other today that none of it moves us except to love and serve our Savior more.
"If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael
"Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. For many times, also your own heart has known that even you have cursed others." Ecclesiastes 7: 21,22
My defenses went up when someone pointed out that I was not perfect! Yesterday I overlooked something I should have attended to, today I was micromanaging to the point that I hurt the feelings of another.
The blame depressed me and I inwardly was defending myself and feeling anger towards my accuser. But just a few days ago I was complimented and I basked in the warm feelings of being "good enough". I inwardly agreed that their good estimation of me was accurate, for I sometimes I have that good thought about myself when no one is looking. Its nice to know others see it, too.
The scripture says in Romans 12:3 "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of your self with sober judgment..."
Don't take to heart everything people say. What good advice from the Lord! Neither praise nor blame should move me from my sober estimation of who I am before the living God. I am a horrible sinner who daily refuses to trust and follow my Savior. I deserve condemnation and if people knew me as God does they would rightfully have far more complaints than I ever get. If I feel bitter to those who even unjustly condemn me then as Amy says, "I know nothing of Calvary love."
And if I am elated by praise forgetting it is only God who enables me to do one right thing. And that left totally to myself I will always choose to be selfish then "I know nothing of Calvary love."
How do you do with praise or blame? Lets pray for each other today that none of it moves us except to love and serve our Savior more.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Devotional Snapshot 74 - Bonkers
Mad hatter: "I'm frightened, Alice. I don't like it in here. It is terribly crowded. Have I gone mad?"
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You are entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."
From the movie: Alice in Wonderland
"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." John 12:46
And so, as Alice would say, I sometimes feel I've gone 'round the bend, I'm mad, bonkers, off my head. Isn't it wonderful to know that Jesus came for you and me even in our craziness? As the verse reminds us He came into the world as the Light.
When He enters in nothing stops Him from turning up the lamp of His righteousness and little by little dispelling the darkness of my soul. See what the verse says-- anyone believing in Jesus can not stay in darkness. Christ's life thrusts darkness out. Darkness can not stay where Jesus lives.
Lilias Trotter, missionary to Algerian Muslims from the 1880's till 1928, wrote of a little girl named, Melha. She came with her blind father to see Lilias's pictures of Jesus. One was of the Lord calling a little child to Him.
"Look at Jesus, Father!"
"I have no eyes, my daughter, I cannot see," was the answer.
Melha lifted her father's head and turned her eyes to Jesus and said: "O Jesus, Look at Father." Was that not a bit of heavenly wisdom?
I may be blind to Jesus, but He is not blind to me. I may feel feather-headed and scatter-brained, but Christ clears the cob-webs. I may be as mad and as worried as the Hatter, but Christ assures us that we belong to Him and are a peculiar and special people.
Thank you, Father, that You have promised that whoever believes in Jesus can not abide or stay in darkness. That once we belong to You, You keep us in Your sight and work Your life into ours.
I Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.;"
Do you feel a little bonkers today? Take heart! All the best people are!
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You are entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."
From the movie: Alice in Wonderland
"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." John 12:46
And so, as Alice would say, I sometimes feel I've gone 'round the bend, I'm mad, bonkers, off my head. Isn't it wonderful to know that Jesus came for you and me even in our craziness? As the verse reminds us He came into the world as the Light.
When He enters in nothing stops Him from turning up the lamp of His righteousness and little by little dispelling the darkness of my soul. See what the verse says-- anyone believing in Jesus can not stay in darkness. Christ's life thrusts darkness out. Darkness can not stay where Jesus lives.
Lilias Trotter, missionary to Algerian Muslims from the 1880's till 1928, wrote of a little girl named, Melha. She came with her blind father to see Lilias's pictures of Jesus. One was of the Lord calling a little child to Him.
"Look at Jesus, Father!"
"I have no eyes, my daughter, I cannot see," was the answer.
Melha lifted her father's head and turned her eyes to Jesus and said: "O Jesus, Look at Father." Was that not a bit of heavenly wisdom?
I may be blind to Jesus, but He is not blind to me. I may feel feather-headed and scatter-brained, but Christ clears the cob-webs. I may be as mad and as worried as the Hatter, but Christ assures us that we belong to Him and are a peculiar and special people.
Thank you, Father, that You have promised that whoever believes in Jesus can not abide or stay in darkness. That once we belong to You, You keep us in Your sight and work Your life into ours.
I Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.;"
Do you feel a little bonkers today? Take heart! All the best people are!
Devotional Snapshot 73 - Recluse Quotes
Theophan the Recluse...Quotes...1815-1894...Russian
* "Attention to that which transpires in the heart and proceeds from it - this is the chief activity of the proper Christian life."
* "Mercilessness to oneself, readiness to perform any favor to others and the surrender of oneself entirely to the Lord with a prayerful abiding in Him - these are the creators of the spiritual life."
* "You must kill egoism. If you don't kill it yourself, then the Lord, hammer-blow after hammer-blow, shall send various misfortunes, so as to crush this stone."
* "Self-pleasing and self-pity testify that in the heart abides the ego, and not the Lord."
"He felt the call to devote all his energies to spiritual writing. As for himself personally, he wished to give up all his thoughts to God alone, Whom he loved so absolutely. He desired that nothing might disturb the complete communion with God that was so dear to him. And he left the world to be alone with God." Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vysha
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." I John 3:16
Here is a man who left corporate worship...a good man, a sincere man,...to follow God more closely. Not only corporate worship, but he gave up his job as Bishop to live the last 20 years of his life in a one room cell. He built in the corner of his room a little chapel where he held daily services alone. Yes, people did come to him for counsel and he answered from 30 to 40 letters a day. But something strikes me as wrong at removing ourselves from the dirty, crazy world of real people.
Isn't this what people do when they say "I can worship God better in the mountains or while trout fishing, or at home in front of the TV evangelist? People get in the way of God and me. People muddy the picture. Why should I deal with prickly pear people while there is an ocean of God's love to soak in? If I can just get away." Hmmmm, I think I have said the "if I can just get away" speech.
Yes, Jesus, got away. He left the crowd to be alone with the Father. So should we. But Jesus, our supreme example, always came back. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:44
Jesus said to believers in Matthew 5: 13-16 "You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world...let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
So what do I do about Theophan the Recluse? I read the quotes in light of what is Biblically true. I let what he thinks and writes move me towards the Savior and His word. But I can not leave my home and my city and move to a cabin in Colorado because Christ's love constrains me to remain in the world but not of the world. I need the prickly people because I am prickly! They help to expose me and are used by God to refine and reform me.
I go to church...every Sunday, rain or shine, joy or whine. I face my own sin and the sins of others and I cry out to God "Here I am God in all my ugliness, clothed in Your beautiful righteousness, facing others in all their ugliness and yet clothed in Your beautiful righteousness. Now, I pray, let me face my church family with Your courage and love and let me forget about myself and lift up a worshipful heart to you today, no matter how my heart is hurting."
And I can hear the Lord say: "The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17,18
So there are occasions when being a recluse is called for. But we must always carry about the body of Christ to those God has placed around us.
We go up so we can come down.
* "Attention to that which transpires in the heart and proceeds from it - this is the chief activity of the proper Christian life."
* "Mercilessness to oneself, readiness to perform any favor to others and the surrender of oneself entirely to the Lord with a prayerful abiding in Him - these are the creators of the spiritual life."
* "You must kill egoism. If you don't kill it yourself, then the Lord, hammer-blow after hammer-blow, shall send various misfortunes, so as to crush this stone."
* "Self-pleasing and self-pity testify that in the heart abides the ego, and not the Lord."
"He felt the call to devote all his energies to spiritual writing. As for himself personally, he wished to give up all his thoughts to God alone, Whom he loved so absolutely. He desired that nothing might disturb the complete communion with God that was so dear to him. And he left the world to be alone with God." Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vysha
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." I John 3:16
Here is a man who left corporate worship...a good man, a sincere man,...to follow God more closely. Not only corporate worship, but he gave up his job as Bishop to live the last 20 years of his life in a one room cell. He built in the corner of his room a little chapel where he held daily services alone. Yes, people did come to him for counsel and he answered from 30 to 40 letters a day. But something strikes me as wrong at removing ourselves from the dirty, crazy world of real people.
Isn't this what people do when they say "I can worship God better in the mountains or while trout fishing, or at home in front of the TV evangelist? People get in the way of God and me. People muddy the picture. Why should I deal with prickly pear people while there is an ocean of God's love to soak in? If I can just get away." Hmmmm, I think I have said the "if I can just get away" speech.
Yes, Jesus, got away. He left the crowd to be alone with the Father. So should we. But Jesus, our supreme example, always came back. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:44
Jesus said to believers in Matthew 5: 13-16 "You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world...let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
So what do I do about Theophan the Recluse? I read the quotes in light of what is Biblically true. I let what he thinks and writes move me towards the Savior and His word. But I can not leave my home and my city and move to a cabin in Colorado because Christ's love constrains me to remain in the world but not of the world. I need the prickly people because I am prickly! They help to expose me and are used by God to refine and reform me.
I go to church...every Sunday, rain or shine, joy or whine. I face my own sin and the sins of others and I cry out to God "Here I am God in all my ugliness, clothed in Your beautiful righteousness, facing others in all their ugliness and yet clothed in Your beautiful righteousness. Now, I pray, let me face my church family with Your courage and love and let me forget about myself and lift up a worshipful heart to you today, no matter how my heart is hurting."
And I can hear the Lord say: "The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17,18
So there are occasions when being a recluse is called for. But we must always carry about the body of Christ to those God has placed around us.
We go up so we can come down.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Devotional Snapshot 72 - Suffering
"In a world that is consumed with peace, prosperity, fulfillment, and comfort, it is a challenging thought to envision yielding our lives to a Leader who may lead us through a measure of suffering." Following Christ Joseph Stowall
Philippians 1:29 "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake."
Look at what has been granted -belief in Jesus- and I know that this is a blessing. But suffering? Suffering is a gift? Huh? No thank you, Lord. I don't want it. Or do I?
I do want to be close to you, Lord. I do want to be the kind of follower who will go anywhere for Your name's sake. You said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven...". You said there is a joy and rejoicing in my life when I suffer because of You. There is hope of future reward...like a child excitedly waiting for the day to open the present under the tree.
Peter and the apostles saw it as a privilege in Acts 5:40, 41 "...they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." They left their beating rejoicing. That could only be because You gave them a supernatural perspective. You filled them up with Your presence; like You said in Matthew 28, "I am with you always, till the end of the age."
Paul understood the preciousness of knowing You in the midst of suffering. "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death," Philippians 3:10 To know You is a great gift. To be given access to the Living God, Creator of the Universe, Maker of beauty I have yet to experience, is a wonder-filled promise! To know You is a privilege and if it must come with suffering, let it be so, and give me Your mind-set on it.
But let me give a caution to myself and to my readers. As Joseph Stowell wrote in Following Christ: "But there is no place in followership for self-inflicted crosses. Looking for crosses so that we can appear to be more committed is not a virtue. There is no merit in bearing a cross that we have constructed through our own waywardness."
So what do you and I get from these verses? Well, let's not be surprised when troubles come. We were warned. Let us remember, knowing Christ is worth it all. Pray for boldness to follow and speak as even Paul asked the church to pray for him. Relax (don't worry, as our Lord admonished so many times) and enjoy the day the Lord has given us today. His presence is with us now and it will be with us tomorrow.
"Some crosses are fleeting things and quickly gone; some crosses last a lifetime. But no cross lasts forever." Joseph M. Stowell
Philippians 1:29 "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake."
Look at what has been granted -belief in Jesus- and I know that this is a blessing. But suffering? Suffering is a gift? Huh? No thank you, Lord. I don't want it. Or do I?
I do want to be close to you, Lord. I do want to be the kind of follower who will go anywhere for Your name's sake. You said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven...". You said there is a joy and rejoicing in my life when I suffer because of You. There is hope of future reward...like a child excitedly waiting for the day to open the present under the tree.
Peter and the apostles saw it as a privilege in Acts 5:40, 41 "...they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." They left their beating rejoicing. That could only be because You gave them a supernatural perspective. You filled them up with Your presence; like You said in Matthew 28, "I am with you always, till the end of the age."
Paul understood the preciousness of knowing You in the midst of suffering. "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death," Philippians 3:10 To know You is a great gift. To be given access to the Living God, Creator of the Universe, Maker of beauty I have yet to experience, is a wonder-filled promise! To know You is a privilege and if it must come with suffering, let it be so, and give me Your mind-set on it.
But let me give a caution to myself and to my readers. As Joseph Stowell wrote in Following Christ: "But there is no place in followership for self-inflicted crosses. Looking for crosses so that we can appear to be more committed is not a virtue. There is no merit in bearing a cross that we have constructed through our own waywardness."
So what do you and I get from these verses? Well, let's not be surprised when troubles come. We were warned. Let us remember, knowing Christ is worth it all. Pray for boldness to follow and speak as even Paul asked the church to pray for him. Relax (don't worry, as our Lord admonished so many times) and enjoy the day the Lord has given us today. His presence is with us now and it will be with us tomorrow.
"Some crosses are fleeting things and quickly gone; some crosses last a lifetime. But no cross lasts forever." Joseph M. Stowell
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Devotional Snapshot 71 - Obadiah
"It is the righteous purpose of God, not the evil will of men, that determines history." NKJV Commentary on Obadiah
Obadiah vs.12, 15 "You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction...The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."
Obadiah is a very short book. - only 21 verses. But every story in the Bible whether long or short displays the glory, power, and sovereignty of our God.
Obadiah was a man who God used to bring a message of doom to the nation of Edom, and a message of promise to Israel. Obadiah's beloved Jerusalem had been captured and ransacked by the powerful Babylonians. Edom, the neighbors to the east and relatives of the people of Israel, had helped the Babylonians conquer Israel. We see clear demonstrations of this in verses 13 and 14. "You (Edom) should not...seize their wealth...You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble."
But mind you, even the defeat of Jerusalem to the Babylonians was God's plan. Jeremiah 15:6 "You (Jerusalem) have forsaken Me." says the LORD. Jeremiah 21:10 "For I have set My face against this city (Jerusalem) for adversity and not for good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire."
The righteous purpose of God is that His people worship Him in truth and in spirit. This is the way to life and peace. But the Israelites had forgotten God, turned their back on Him and were heading deeper and deeper into Satan's territory.
Whether we like it or not, suffering turns us around, stops us short, and makes us despair of ourselves turning us to God for help. So God sent an army (the Babylonians) to conquer His people (the Jews) and Edom rejoiced in their destruction. But God does not leave His people without hope and promise. The Jews would repent and return. Jeremiah 30:10 "Therefore do not fear...says the LORD, "Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar," "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness..." Jer.31:2
Back to Obadiah - Edom is now going to get his 'come-uppings'. Judgment time! God does not forget. As Edom had done to Israel now God promises the same treatment will happen to them. And it did. In God's great plan He was able to punish His own people in order to restore them and at the same time punish the nations in order to remove them. What God is doing in the world is always right, always just, always on time.
You know why I need Obadiah? Because I just finished reading about the torture of some men, women, and children who are my Christian brothers and sisters in a Muslim country. I put down the article and cried out: "God, why aren't you doing something? Bring judgment on those wicked men!" I was angry and sad. Obadiah reminds me, He will! There is not one moment in the day where God is passive. He is causing His perfect plan to progress second by second throughout the world. Nothing escapes Him.
Give thanks to God that we live under His mercy. When an injustice happens to us His plan is still being accomplished.
"When the church suffers at the hands of God's enemies, she needs to return to the prophecy of Obadiah and renew her faith in the just God revealed there. He cares for His persecuted people, and behind their present circumstances He is always at work for them." NKJV Commentary
Obadiah vs.12, 15 "You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction...The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."
Obadiah is a very short book. - only 21 verses. But every story in the Bible whether long or short displays the glory, power, and sovereignty of our God.
Obadiah was a man who God used to bring a message of doom to the nation of Edom, and a message of promise to Israel. Obadiah's beloved Jerusalem had been captured and ransacked by the powerful Babylonians. Edom, the neighbors to the east and relatives of the people of Israel, had helped the Babylonians conquer Israel. We see clear demonstrations of this in verses 13 and 14. "You (Edom) should not...seize their wealth...You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble."
But mind you, even the defeat of Jerusalem to the Babylonians was God's plan. Jeremiah 15:6 "You (Jerusalem) have forsaken Me." says the LORD. Jeremiah 21:10 "For I have set My face against this city (Jerusalem) for adversity and not for good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire."
The righteous purpose of God is that His people worship Him in truth and in spirit. This is the way to life and peace. But the Israelites had forgotten God, turned their back on Him and were heading deeper and deeper into Satan's territory.
Whether we like it or not, suffering turns us around, stops us short, and makes us despair of ourselves turning us to God for help. So God sent an army (the Babylonians) to conquer His people (the Jews) and Edom rejoiced in their destruction. But God does not leave His people without hope and promise. The Jews would repent and return. Jeremiah 30:10 "Therefore do not fear...says the LORD, "Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar," "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness..." Jer.31:2
Back to Obadiah - Edom is now going to get his 'come-uppings'. Judgment time! God does not forget. As Edom had done to Israel now God promises the same treatment will happen to them. And it did. In God's great plan He was able to punish His own people in order to restore them and at the same time punish the nations in order to remove them. What God is doing in the world is always right, always just, always on time.
You know why I need Obadiah? Because I just finished reading about the torture of some men, women, and children who are my Christian brothers and sisters in a Muslim country. I put down the article and cried out: "God, why aren't you doing something? Bring judgment on those wicked men!" I was angry and sad. Obadiah reminds me, He will! There is not one moment in the day where God is passive. He is causing His perfect plan to progress second by second throughout the world. Nothing escapes Him.
Give thanks to God that we live under His mercy. When an injustice happens to us His plan is still being accomplished.
"When the church suffers at the hands of God's enemies, she needs to return to the prophecy of Obadiah and renew her faith in the just God revealed there. He cares for His persecuted people, and behind their present circumstances He is always at work for them." NKJV Commentary
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Devotional Snapshot 70 - Idolatry
"If you look too long at others or yourself, you commit the sin of idolatry." Carol Totten
"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. but Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him, and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not by taken away from her." Luke 10: 38-42
I have always taken this section of scripture to be referring to our tendency to be too busy. But just this morning as I awoke and my mind continued to meditate on yesterdays concerns the Lord brought these verses to mind.
I had just finished a wonderful weekend with family and friends. It was busy, but beautiful. Nevertheless, after it was all over I began to fret about some things I should have said differently, or not said at all. Why did I do this at an inappropriate time? Why didn't I consider this one's feelings or that one's feelings? Did I make someone uncomfortable? Did something pop out of my mouth that hurt someone I loved and I didn't even mean it that way?
I asked the Lord's forgiveness, but couldn't shake the sadness at failing others. Yesterday I chewed the cud of disappointment in myself and worry for others happiness and this morning I awoke and began to do the same again. Then my Mighty God broke through with His word.
He brought these verses to mind and I noticed it was not about the "serving" the Lord rebuked Martha for. Look! It is about chewing the cud of discontentment and worry about others. She was worried about making her guests happy and discontented that Mary was not joining her in the urgency to do it. "Martha, Martha...you are worried and upset about many things.."
"Carol, Carol, you have been focused on yourself enough, One thing is needed, choose what is better! Sit at my feet and listen."
Now if I refuse to obey this clear word spoken to me and continue to worry I will be committing idolatry. Another love replaces my Lord when I spend too much time thinking of me. If I can not lift my eyes up to heaven and praise His wonderful name today than I have a real sin to confess!
Is there a worry consuming your thoughts today? Have you considered that if you can not let it go and give it to God and worship Him, you are committing idolatry?
"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. but Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him, and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not by taken away from her." Luke 10: 38-42
I have always taken this section of scripture to be referring to our tendency to be too busy. But just this morning as I awoke and my mind continued to meditate on yesterdays concerns the Lord brought these verses to mind.
I had just finished a wonderful weekend with family and friends. It was busy, but beautiful. Nevertheless, after it was all over I began to fret about some things I should have said differently, or not said at all. Why did I do this at an inappropriate time? Why didn't I consider this one's feelings or that one's feelings? Did I make someone uncomfortable? Did something pop out of my mouth that hurt someone I loved and I didn't even mean it that way?
I asked the Lord's forgiveness, but couldn't shake the sadness at failing others. Yesterday I chewed the cud of disappointment in myself and worry for others happiness and this morning I awoke and began to do the same again. Then my Mighty God broke through with His word.
He brought these verses to mind and I noticed it was not about the "serving" the Lord rebuked Martha for. Look! It is about chewing the cud of discontentment and worry about others. She was worried about making her guests happy and discontented that Mary was not joining her in the urgency to do it. "Martha, Martha...you are worried and upset about many things.."
"Carol, Carol, you have been focused on yourself enough, One thing is needed, choose what is better! Sit at my feet and listen."
Now if I refuse to obey this clear word spoken to me and continue to worry I will be committing idolatry. Another love replaces my Lord when I spend too much time thinking of me. If I can not lift my eyes up to heaven and praise His wonderful name today than I have a real sin to confess!
Is there a worry consuming your thoughts today? Have you considered that if you can not let it go and give it to God and worship Him, you are committing idolatry?
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