"What, me worry?" - Devotion for 8/30/07

“What, me worry?” – Devotion for 8/30/07

This morning as I was reading Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus talks about worry, I got to thinking about this passage in a different way. When I usually read this passage I think about how we worry about food, money, clothes – basic essentials of life, and Jesus reminds us that somehow someway God will provide for us. But today, something else comes to me. “Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’” Today when I read that verse (Matthew 6:31), I think about my sons attending Camp Rockfish this summer.

You see, Jacob is a very picky eater (I have no idea where he gets that from!). Before he went to camp Jennifer and I kept telling him that he was going to have to eat things that he doesn’t necessarily like, but he would need to eat them anyway so that he would have the energy to survive the week at camp. We hounded that poor child before he left for camp because we were so worried about what he was going to eat. The entire week that they were gone Jenn and I worried about him – “What’s he going to eat at camp?” When we picked him and his brother up from camp on Saturday and asked Jacob about the food, you know what he said? “I don’t know – I mostly just ate bread.” For almost an entire week, except for breakfast, Jacob hardly ate anything other than bread. He said he’d look at the food and knew he couldn’t eat it, so he just got some bread. Now breakfast (Jacob’s favorite meal of the day), he really stocked up. But everything else, he basically just ate bread.

We also worried about Aaron that week because Aaron has a tendency to lose things – even things that are right in front of him (Where’s my glasses? “Check your face.”) We were worried about Aaron running out of clothes over the course of the week, so we even went and bought him new pajamas to sleep in (pajamas that wouldn’t have the other kids picking on him for wearing them). As we packed, we gave Aaron clear instructions about what to wear and where to put stuff, and then all week we worried, “What’s he going to wear? I hope he doesn’t lose his stuff.” So, on Saturday when we picked him up, we were a bit surprised to find Aaron in his bathing suit. The reason that was surprising was Aaron hadn’t been swimming since the day before. He slept in the bathing suit (although it was dry at least by the time he went to bed). When we looked at the DVD the camp gave us of the week, we saw several clips of Aaron running around camp wearing his brand new pajamas – in the middle of the day!

There we were that whole week worrying about them. “What’s he going to eat?” “What’s he going to wear?” And ultimately they got through it. I would have preferred Jacob to have made better food choices, and I would have preferred Aaron to have worn his play clothes, but in the end Jacob ate and Aaron wore clothes. Such it is for us in life. Just as God provided for my boys that week, God will provide for us. And our worries will just give us more worry. Worrying didn’t do us a bit of good, but trusting in God did.

Attention getting - Devotion for 8/29/07

Attention getting – Devotion for 8/29/07

From our earliest days of life we learn how to get the attention of someone else. Don’t believe? Check out a baby. Dirty diaper that isn’t getting changed? “Waaaaaaa!” Hungry? “Waaaaaaaa!” As we get older, our tactics may change (hopefully!). Teenagers will begin to push the limits in how they dress to get the attention of other. Adults will acts in “interesting” ways to get the attention of others. We are surrounded by people trying to be noticed by someone, and we ourselves (if we are honest) seek to be noticed as well.

In Matthew 6:1, Jesus talks about us not getting noticed. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” He then goes on to talk about how we should give to the poor, pray, and fast – all in private so that no one else notices. We should listen to His words, because we should be giving to the poor, we should be praying, and at times we should be fasting, but we shouldn’t be doing those things to get the attention of someone else. We shouldn’t be doing those things to put a focus on ourselves when the focus should be on God. Today I want to encourage you to find a way to randomly, quietly, and secretly give to someone in need, without doing it to draw attention to yourself – your gift may be their prayer answered. Today I want to encourage you to find a way to quietly and secretly pray to God, in particular praying for the ability to forgive others (as Jesus emphasizes in Matthew 6:14-15) – your prayers make be the petition that brings about a miracle. And today I want to encourage to find a time when you need to fast – when you really need to hunger for the Lord – and do it quietly without telling another – your fasting may give you the guidance to bring about the full Kingdom of God.

Surviving the drought - Devotion for 8/28/07

Surviving the drought – Devotion for 8/28/07

My grass is brown. No, I’m not too disappointed about it, because when it is brown that means it is not growing, and when it is not growing that means I don’t have to mow it. The thing is it just really looks brown because my neighbor waters her yard (on the days that she is allowed to by the city). So there is a very defined line between my yard and hers – the line where green grass turns to brown grass. I’ll just keep on waiting for it to rain, because I know that sooner or later it will rain. In fact, it rained a bit yesterday morning, and I feel that I can see some benefits in the yard already. So, I will not even attempt to water my yard – I’ll just keep waiting for God to bring the rain. Surely He’ll bring the rain again soon.

This morning as I left my yard, it kind of struck me that sometimes we live our spiritual lives like this. We keep waiting and waiting for God to come into our lives to do something special or amazing that will really lift us up – and sometimes we find ourselves just waiting and waiting while we keep on drying up. I’ve had those dry spells where I just pray to God to come and show me the way, to shine His light before me to direct my paths, but other than just a prayer I don’t do anything else to seek God – I just keep waiting through the drought. Psalm 1 is talking about what it is like for the one who walks in the light and law of God: “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does he prospers. The wicker are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1:3-4) When I read that I think about my neighbor’s yard, and my yard. My neighbor’s yard has survived this brutally hot and dry summer, and is just as beautifully green now as it was in the spring. My yard is like chaff – as my boys run through the yard you can see the dead grass just flying up as they go. So it is also when we daily seek out the source of life, and when we just simply wait for that source to come to us. God will come, but we can’t just keep waiting for those “mountain top” experiences – we’ve got to actively pursue God daily – pursuing His word, pursuing His will, pursuing His love, pursuing His people, pursuing His “water.” Today, if you find yourself in one of those droughts, and you find your life has started to simply turn as brown as my yard, seek out the source of life. Make it a part of your daily habits. Don’t just wait for God to come in some unique and special way to you (even though He eventually will). Seek out His water today, and tomorrow, and the day after that . . .

Map to greatness - Devotion for 8/27/07

Map to greatness – Devotion for 8/27/07

Gotta admit it – before I go to any destination that I do not know where I am going, I hit up Mapquest. I love to go in there and put in the info for where I am heading and then get out there and hit the open (or not so open) road. I will stay on Highway XYZ for 13.7 miles, and then I will bear left onto Route ABC if that is what my little Mapquest printout tells me to do. Yes, I have found that at times Mapquest is not exactly correct, but from my experience, it usually quite accurate (and pretty freaky that it can tell anyone how to exactly get to my house!). The reason I love using Mapquest so much is that I remember what it was like before I began using Mapquest. I might look at a map before I headed off, or I might have just gone in the direction that I thought I should go. Or you might ask someone else for directions, and they may tell you to go turn onto the road just past the maple tree (not the oak, just in case you know the difference), and then you will take the left just past the field with the pigs. Yep, I have found that for me, taking the time to consult Mapquest for the directions is a much better alternative, and it exponentially increases my chances of actually getting to my destination.

Unfortunately in life many times we just head out without a plan or direction. We just follow our hearts desires or whatever whim comes across our minds without any sense of direction or even destination. That’s why in college there are academic advisors, who will help keep you on track to graduation by taking the course you need to take, instead of just the courses you may want to take (like basket weaving – sorry, NC State fans ;-p ). Those academic advisors will help you map out a plan, and by you following their plan, you can usually achieve what it is that you set out to achieve. But to achieve that, you have to submit to their plan, and not your plan. You have to be willing to follow what has been set out for you, and not take the detours you may want to take. You have to play “follow the leader,” and follow the wisdom before you.

One of the weird things that Jesus said is found in Matthew 23:10. The first half of that verse seems to stand in direct contrast with the world today, and even in direct contrast to the expectations of some within the church universal – “Do not be called leaders.” You can go to any bookstore and find an entire section on leadership. You can go to any Christian bookstore and find an entire section of leadership. Yet Jesus instructed us to not be called leaders. The second half of the verse explains a little more: “for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.” OK – I’m going to go off the farm a little here, but the way I see it, Jesus is our Mapquest. Jesus is our “academic advisor.” We shouldn’t be out there living life based on our wills, our wants, our plans – we should be consulting the plan that our Leader has laid out before us. Matthew 23:12 states, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” If we set off ignoring God’s plans for us, we are in essence exalting ourselves, and trust me on this one, we will be humbled (some of us learn the hard way). So if you want to achieve greatness in this lifetime and beyond – true greatness – there is a map and a plan to that greatness. And it begins with you consulting the Leader – the “Mapquest” – the “academic advisor” – the Christ.

Sleep through anything - Devotion for 8/23/07

Sleep through anything – Devotion for 8/23/07

My son Aaron was born in the middle of a hurricane. OK – maybe not in the middle of one, but he was born on September 13, 1999, which was 2 days before Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina. Aaron came home from the hospital on the day that the hurricane came ashore, and needless to say, Aaron’s first night at home was full tilt . . . or at least that’s what my wife tells me. You see, child birth is a difficult thing to go through, and I was incredibly tired from the experience of watching my child being born, so when we finally got him home, I was ready to get some much deserved sleep. Knowing that the hurricane was likely to come inland to where we lived, I took care of everything that I could outside, putting away the grill and some outside chairs. I moved our cars because where we parked was near some trees that could potentially fall on them. Everything was set, so I helped get Jacob ready for bed (who wasn’t quite 2 at the time), I helped get Jennifer and Aaron settled, and off to bed I went. Apparently Jennifer was up and down a bit that night – I wouldn’t know because I was sleeping. At some fateful hour Jennifer got up with Aaron because he was apparently hungry (who knew?), and she took him out to the living room to feed him. As she sat in the rocking chair near the front window, she was amazed at the power of the storm as it was really bearing down. The lightning and thunder – the howling winds – she was amazed that anyone at all could sleep . . . anyone except me. As she was listening to the sounds outside she began to hear a strange noise – sort of a “popping” sound. She thought to herself, “What in the world is that noise?” Suddenly, something just told her to get up and away from the window, which was a wonderful thing, because one of our neighbors large oak trees fell and broke the front window. The front window where she had just been sitting. Sitting holding our newborn baby. Glass strewn all over the chair and the living room. Jacob comes out screaming and crying after hearing the tremendous sound. Me? Still sound asleep, that is until Jennifer came in and woke me up.

Are you a sound sleeper? We know that Jesus was. One of my favorite passages is Matthew 8:23-27, where Jesus is on the boat with his disciples and a storm comes up, and waves are covering the boat. The disciples are terrified, but Jesus is down below sleeping. As the wind howls and the waves batter the sides of the boat – as the disciples are up top screaming and hollering at each other over the sounds of the wind and water – Jesus is down catching some Z’s. How was it that Jesus could sleep? Well one could argue that since he was God that he already knew that everything would be OK, and that argument truly does make sense, as obviously Jesus knew that his death was intended to be something much more meaningful than drowning in the sea. But I like to think that Jesus was able to sleep in the face of the storm because ultimately Jesus was resolved to the will of God. I believe that when we find ourselves at peace with God in the midst of whatever storms we face, we will find peace in the midst of the storm, and be able to sleep through anything.

Irritate one another - Devotion for 8/22/07

Irritate one another – Devotion for 8/22/07

Being a younger brother, I learned at an early age how to annoy and irritate my older sister. There were all sorts of tactics that I could use, from making really annoying sounds (like “blleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh”) to simply staring at her in the car (“Mom, he’s looking at me”). Amazingly enough, I can see now that my youngest son has inherited some of those same spectacular abilities, as in no time at all he can annoy his older brother (“Dad, he won’t stop singing!”). I think we all know how to annoy, irritate, and even provoke those who are close to use – we know just what buttons to push to get them going. Husbands and wives learn quickly which buttons to push to provoke the other in the midst of an argument (“What do you mean you do everything in the house? When was the last time you took out the trash?”). And yes, fellow employees do certain things just to annoy you (“I think he is late everyday just to annoy me!”). It is funny to me, but it seems that it is almost human nature to have the ability to provoke, irritate, or incite one another. But it even goes beyond human nature, because in watching our 2 cats (who are brother and sister), one will be perfectly comfortable and napping, when the other one will come and pounce on the tail of the other – and you can see the look of irritation upon the face of the used-to-be-napping cat.

This morning I was reading from Hebrews 10:19-25, and verse 24 really jumped out at me: “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.” The Greek word that is defined here as “stimulate” is PAROXYMOS, which is used in various places in the New Testament as stimulate, sharp contention, sharp disagreement, stir up, and provoke. Another form of the same word is defined as “be irritable.” I think that the choice of word used here is very interesting, because the author of Hebrews could have used a word like ENERGEŌ, which means “inspire,” and then the verse would read “let us consider how to inspire one another to love and good deeds.” Or the author could have used the word PARAKALEŌ, which means “exhort” or “encourage,” so the passage would then be “let us consider how to encourage one another to love and good deeds.” But I believe that the author of Hebrews was very intentional in his choice of words, and I believe that he truly meant to choose such a strong word as PAROXYMOS, because I believe that he literally wants us to stimulate, and even irritate, one another to love and good deeds. It goes way beyond just simply inspiring and encouraging one another. He takes it to another level, to the point that we may even enter into sharp contention or disagreement with a brother or sister so as to get them to love and do good deeds.

So who can you irritate today?

Under the Influence - Devotion for 8/21/07

Under the Influence – Devotion for 8/21/07

Who influences you? Friends? Your boss? Your family? We all have people who have influenced us and helped us become who we are – for good or bad. If you are around people who talk differently than you, before long you will realize that you have begun to talk a little bit more like them. If your friends or co-workers say certain things, before long you will realize that you are saying some of the same things. It is easy for us to fall under the influence of the people who surround us without us evening trying. So consider what Mother Teresa had to say:

“Put yourself completely under the influence of Jesus, so that he may think his thoughts in your mind, do his work through your hands, for you will be all-powerful with him to strengthen you.” – From A Gift for God by Mother Tersea

And consider what David had to say:

“For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me upon high places. He trains my hands for battle, sot that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” – 2 Samuel 22:32-35 & Psalm 18:31-34 (same passage found in both places)

When we place ourselves under the influence of God our Savior, then we begin to talk, walk, and even act like Him. Put yourself under His influence today.

Faith without fear - Devotion for 8/20/07

Faith without fear – Devotion for 8/20/07

I have always found fear to be a useful thing. Fear heightens my sensitivities, and it gets the adrenaline flowing. Fear makes me more aware of my surroundings. Fear keeps me from doing some stupid things (the word “some” is very important here). Fear helps me give things their proper respect. Fear can be a useful thing, I have always believed. Yet there are so many passages in the Bible that tell us that we should not fear. Joshua is told many times to be strong and courageous. Throughout Isaiah and Jeremiah the people are told “do not fear.” And just today I was reminded of how we should not fear through reading John 14, and in particular verse 1: “ Do not let you heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.”

Today I read a passage from Meditations of a Hermit, by Charles de Foucauld, who proclaimed, “One thing we owe to Our Lord is to never be afraid.” He went on to state that to have fear causes 2 issues with God. One, fear means “that we forget him; we forget he is with us and is all powerful.” The second is that our fear means that we have not fully accepted “thy will be done,” since all that happens is according to the will of God. Now for me, faith without fear is something that I need to work towards, because there are truly moments that I have plenty of fear. But when I am reminded of what my fear represents (my lack of faith that God is truly there and my lack of faith in what God has ordered for me), then I believe that I can work on living a faith without fear.

Slow to anger - Devotion for 8/16/07

Slow to anger – Devotion for 8/16/07

Are you quick tempered? For me it depends on the day. Some days, for whatever reason, it seems like the smallest little thing will just set me off immediately. Other days, I will be much more judicious in what angers me. I feel that as I have gotten older that I am not as quick to get angry as I used to be. I was going to insert an example here of some of the type of things that I used to get angry about real quick, but the examples were too numerous for me to limit to just one. No matter how quick we may be to get angry, chances are that we know someone who serves as something of a role model for us – someone who seems to rarely get angry. I know that I have encountered some of these people (in fact a couple of faces come to mind as I write this), and many times when I am about to get angry I try to think what one of those individuals might would do in that situation.

One of the characteristics of God that is mentioned over and over again is mentioned in Psalm 145:8 – “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” That verse (or similar variations of) is found over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Too many times we think of God as a punishing God or an angry God. But in reality, God is a loving God, who is compassionate and understanding. God is gracious and merciful in the way that He deals with us – so gracious and merciful that instead of punishing us, He allowed His own son to suffer the punishment that we deserved. God is slow to anger – He does not delight in anger. Anger isn’t always a bad thing, but if we jump straight to anger quickly, then we definitely are not following in the ways of God. So today, instead of letting your first instincts take over, hold off on the anger. Demonstrate the same grace and mercy that God has shown you.

From generation to generation - Devotion for 8/15/07

From generation to generation – Devotion for 8/15/07

Last September my grandfather passed. My granddad was some kind of fun to be around. I loved when he and I would get a chance to just sit around and talk, and usually it would lead to us joking around and remembering some of the silly times. I knew that I wanted to get to share some of the memories of my granddaddy at the funeral, but it was so difficult to try to think of exactly what to share. I finally was able to share a few memories that gave a snapshot of who my grandfather was, but the most important thing I think I said was about how my grandfather had changed the world. You may have never heard the name Badger Fenton Seate, but you have certainly felt his impact as this man had the opportunity to touch the lives of thousands upon thousands.

Was my grandfather someone famous? Nope – you won’t even find his name if you searched it on Google. Was he rich? Not by worldly terms. Was he powerful? Well, he did have a strong grip, but powerful in the sense of political power – not so much. So how did he touch the lives of “thousands upon thousands”? Because he was a man of influence within his own home. Within his home he helped shape and mold three children. He taught them the ways of God. He taught them to pray. He taught them to respect God. He taught them to respect each other. He taught them to love as God loved. Through his home he changed the world. Because those 3 children have made a difference in the lives of thousands – one teaching Sunday School, one singing in the choir, and one serving as a minister. Those 3 children who my granddaddy shaped and formed have subsequently passed on what he taught them to their own children, who have subsequently been passing on to their own children. The spectrum of influence of this one man from Oxford, NC has been felt around the world – because if you are reading this today, you too have felt the impact of that simple auto mechanic who loved God with all his heart, mind, soul, strength, and body. And I will never forget his words that he spoke to me as his wife of 60+ years lay in a bed next to him dying – “I don’t care if I live to be 150 years old – there still will not be enough days to give God all the praise He’s due.” This one man has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands as his children (and their children) have continued to hand down what he handed down to them – the love of God.

That is how I understand each one of us can change the world. Each one of us can change the world by shaping and molding those within our own homes. To make a difference in the world we don’t have to have mass revivals (although those are great). To make a difference in the world, we just have to look within our own homes. Psalm 145:4 states, “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” Make a difference today. Let your influence be felt as you share the praise of God from one generation to another. One day you too may be remembered as having influenced thousands because of what you begin in your own home.

"Stuck up" Disciples - Devotion for 8/14/07

“Stuck up” Disciples – Devotion for 8/14/07

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I was born and raised in the South, and I have lived my entire life in the state of North Carolina. There are many stereotypes about the south, some of which are appropriate, some of which are just plain wrong. One of the stereotypes is about “Southern hospitality” – which is the image that southerners are friendly and welcoming to all, which is something we all know is only partially true. The part of that that is true is the part about being friendly, at least on the surface. By that I mean that most genuine southerners will commonly greet a stranger. You can drive down almost any country back road and if someone is out at their mailbox, they will wave. If you pass a pickup truck on that same country back road, the driver may raise one finger off the steering wheel as a way of greeting (no – not the middle finger – that’s what they do around DC). If you go to the local country store, almost any stranger you pass will speak to you. That is what is meant by southern hospitality – extending some form of friendly greeting to almost anyone and everyone (except Yankees – just kidding). And I never realized how strange southern hospitality must seem to people until I went to New York and spoke to just about everyone I passed – man, did I get some strange looks!

That’s why I have such an issue with something Jesus once said. In Luke 10, Jesus is commissioning and sending out the 70 (or 72, depending on your translation) to “the harvest.” As he is giving them the instructions that we have all heard before (carry no money, no bag, no shoes, etc.), he adds is one thing that is often overlooked – “and greet no one on the way.” (Luke 10:4) Greet no one? Now for a good ole’ Southern boy that just seems wrong. Is he actually telling these “harvesters” to be “stuck up”? Where is the hospitality in that? I know that there were other occasions (such as 2 Kings 4:29) where a prophet was instructed to not speak to anyone else on their journey as a way of demonstrating the importance of their mission, and I understand that that is exactly what is going on here – but I still have difficulty with it. If I am on a mission from God, am I really not supposed to greet someone else with a “hey – how are you?” And then I was able to relate it to my cell phone.

If you ever call my cell phone, there is more than a decent chance that you will get my voice mail. It is not because I do not want to speak to you. It is not because I am screening my calls. And it is not because I have lost my cell phone (which I haven’t!). It is most likely because I am in conversation with someone else, and when I am conversing with someone else, I will almost always simply hit the silent button on my phone instead of answering it. That is because when I am with someone I am giving them my full attention. In that same way, sometimes Jesus wants us to be fully committed and devoted to whatever mission he sends us on – even if it means we seem like we’re “stuck up.”

Sharing snacks - Devotion for 8/13/07

Sharing snacks – Devotion for 8/13/07

Each night before they go to bed, my sons like to have a small snack as they watch a little bit of TV. Although they are getting old enough that they could go in there and get the snacks for themselves, usually Jennifer and I go get it taken care of so that we don’t have to clean up their mess later. Once we have gotten the snacks for them, we bring them out and we spend a few minutes watching whatever TV program is on. The funny thing is that inevitably I will not have gotten a snack for myself, and inevitably I am going to want at least a little bit of whatever snack they are eating. It is funny how possessive they can become over something that I gave to them in the first place. After all, I (or my wife) was the one who purchased the snack at the grocery store with the money that I earned. I am the one who got the snack out of the package and put it into a bowl for them. I am even the one who brought the bowl containing the snack and put it in front of them to enjoy. So it seems a little silly to me when I ask for just a small portion that they would gripe about it. All I want is a little bit – I mean, I can go in the kitchen and get all that I want if I desire – I just want them to give me a little bit. Conversely, it warms my heart so much when I don’t even have to ask, and one of them turns to me and says, “Dad, here – do you want some?”

At the end of 1 Chronicles, in chapter 29 King David is making a final offering to God, and David seems to recognize where his “snacks” came from. “But who am I am who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things comes from You, and from Your hand we have given You.” (1 Chronicles 29:14) I think when we remember that “all things come from You,” then sharing what we have with God should become a bit easier. Don’t wait for God to ask for it – warm His heart by giving over and above what little He asks for.

Break Out - Devotion for 8/10/07

Break Out – Devotion for 8/10/07

In Acts 12, we find Peter sitting in prison, bound with chains and sleeping between two soldiers, which I would have to guess was a bit awkward and uncomfortable. There as he slept, a bright light shone in the cell, and an angel of the Lord appeared, waking Peter and telling him to get up. The chains fall off, and the angel directs him to get dressed, and still half asleep Peter follows the directions. I just picture Peter as something like a zombie here – still groggy and dazed, and not really understanding at all what is going on. I remember several nights like that when Jacob and Aaron were babies, and they’d wake up in the night and Jenn would direct me to go get a bottle, and soon I’d find myself in the kitchen, and I couldn’t remember why I was there. That’s the way I picture Peter in this passage – with a complete “Huh?What?” expression on his face. The chains have fallen off, he is already following the angel out of the jail, and he still thought it was just a vision (v.9). It wasn’t until he is completely out and the angel disappears that he realizes what has happened.

Sometimes you and I may feel like we are bound to our present circumstances. Sometimes everything seems to be going so against us that we feel as though we are chained up and sleeping between two of our oppressors. We may be so lulled into our problems that we may not even realize that God is already working on our release. Halfway through, Peter still thought he was dreaming. You may already be half-way to freedom from your difficulties right now and not even know it. Wake up! Your break out may be going on right now!

Useless wallet - Devotion for 8/9/07

Useless Wallet – Devotion for 8/9/07

If you read the devotion from Monday of this week, then you will know that this past weekend I lost my wallet while we spent some time up at the Kings Dominion Theme Park near Richmond, VA. This week has been a frustrating exercise in calling and canceling credit cards, getting a new driver’s license issued, getting the paperwork to get a new social security card (mental note to NEVER keep that in a wallet again), getting a new Food Lion MVP card, getting a new Best Buy Rewards Zone card, getting a new . . . you get the point. At home this week we have even answered every single telemarketing calls – even the ones that show up on caller ID as being from a credit card company – just because we are concerned someone is trying to use our stuff. A thousand times I have replayed different scenarios as to where my wallet could have been, and I have checked and rechecked every piece of baggage that we had with us on the trip looking for it.

So yesterday evening as I left the house to go to church for Bible Study (Wednesday nights – 7:00 PM – come join us when you’re in town!), I went to the mail box and I found a small manila envelope with no return address. Just looking at it, I got excited because of what appeared to be the size and shape of the contents of said envelope. With the excitement of a child on Christmas morning I tore into that package (receiving a nice gash on one of my fingers from the metal clasps, by the way), and I found my wallet – fully intact! Every single card, every single picture, every single dollar bill that had been in there to begin with was still there. I looked inside the envelope and there was no note at all – and like I said there was no return address either. Someone apparently had found it somewhere and decided to be an anonymous Good Samaritan, and it was sent back to me exactly as I had left it.

I was overjoyed at receiving this blessing. I was overjoyed because I now have all my family pictures back. I was overjoyed because in my wallet I keep one of my grandfather’s business cards as a way of remembering him whenever I go into my wallet. I was overjoyed because I now back my picture of my “Pride and Joy” (it is a picture of a bottle of “Pride” and a bottle of “Joy” – the cleaning detergents – it’s a joke . . . a bad one, but still a joke). But as happy as I was about having back my wallet, I quickly realized that much of what was in my wallet had been rendered useless. Yes, the cash was still good, as was the Social Security card, but my debit card and any credit card I had in there was no longer valid. So I took all of those cards and I destroyed them. After all, what would have been the point of keeping the old cards in my wallet if I could never use them?

I thought it was interesting this morning when I did my devotion time and I read about how we as Christians can become as useless as my wallet presently is. 2 Peter 1 talks about how we need to continuously apply diligence in our faith by growing in moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:8-9). May we constantly press on to growing in our faith, building up the qualities listed above so that we may never find ourselves considered as useless as a once-lost wallet.

What should I do? - Devotion for 8/8/07

What should I do? – Devotion for 8/8/07

Think about how many times in your life you have been faced with some sort of difficult decision and you just don’t know what to do. Many times in those circumstances we may talk to friends or family about what is going on. Some of the times people will seek out a pastor hoping for some sort of wise council. On many occasions I have encountered people at the altar rail at the close of the worship service as they seek God’s guidance regarding something going on in their life. We turn to family; we turn to friends; we turn to trusted advisors; we turn to God. But ultimately, how do we know what to do?

This morning as I was reading from the book of James, I read the following verses: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6). That passage reminded me about all the times that I have been questioning what I should do, and how there are those times that I am reluctant to approach God in full faith. That reluctance derives from the foreknowledge of what God is going to tell me, and that is not always what I really want to hear. And so instead of seeking God’s wisdom and counsel (which I already know via the Holy Spirit), I toss and turn and bounce around like a piece of driftwood in the ocean.

I saw an example of this kind of thing this past weekend on our family excursion to Kings Dominion. My youngest son Aaron is not as adventurous as his brother when it comes to roller coasters, and some roller coasters Aaron simply will not ride. However, he still likes the excitement and adventure of riding them, so he is torn over which ones he can handle, and which ones he can not. As we were preparing to ride on one of the coasters on Sunday, Aaron was becoming quite concerned over whether or not he should ride it. You could see him visibly worried as we walked towards the line, and he just seemed to be turning around in circles going back and forth between riding it and walking away. He knew not to ask me if he should ride it, because I would truly encourage him and assure him that everything would be fine, so he would look at me and start to ask, but then turn right back around. Ultimately, Aaron did ask, and I did assure him that it would be fine, and in the end he loved the ride and was so happy that he had ridden it – in fact, he rode that same coaster about 5 more times over the weekend.

Right now you may find yourself tossing and turning about what you should do in a situation. Put aside any fear of what God’s answer may be, and ask for His wisdom regarding the matters at hand. Only be faithfully prepared that God will give you the guidance and answers that you seek, and be ready to be faithful to following His counsel.

“Therefore, O Lord, give me true heavenly wisdom, that I may learn to seek you and to find you, and above all things to love you, and to understand and know all other things as they are, after the direction of your wisdom, and not otherwise. And give me grace, also, to withdraw myself from those who flatter me, and patiently to tolerate those who grieve me so that the way I have begun will bring me to a good and blessed ending.”

- The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis

Anti-skeptic Living - Devotion for 8/7/07

Anti-skeptic Living – Devotion for 8/7/07

“We’ll see about that.” Isn’t that one of the things we say when we really don’t believe something is going to happen or be done? I say it every now and then when my sons tell me that they are going to pick up their room and do all their chores without complaining, and I’ll say “We’ll see about that.” I say it every now and then when Jennifer tells me she plans on heading home from her Raleigh office at a certain time, and I say “we’ll see about that.” She says it when I tell her I’ll be home from a meeting at a certain time and she says, “We’ll see about that.” In many situations we become skeptical about things, and being the true skeptics that we are, we won’t believe it until we see it. You may try to tell me that you’re not that way, and you know what I’d say? “We’ll see about that.”

This morning I was reading from Romans 4, and in this passage Paul is reminding us of the faith that Abraham had. He reminds us about how old Abraham was when God made the promise that he would become the father of a great nation. “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:19-21). I am reminded about how easy it would have been for Abraham to have said to God “We’ll see about that” when God made that promise to him. As Paul stated, all he had to do was consider his own old age, and the barrenness of his wife who had not yet given him the first child. He could have considered all the failures and quickly become a skeptic. But instead, he made a choice to have faith. Skepticism comes easy after repeated failures; but faith can become stronger in the midst of tribulations. Let us too live a life without that skepticism, believing that the God who has promised to take care of us has the means and the ability to do so. Let us too believe in spite of the difficulties around us that God has a plan and a purpose, even if it is one that we can not yet see.

Searching in vain - Devotion for 8/6/07

Search in vain – Devotion for 8/6/07

I lost my wallet. This weekend my family and I joined my wife’s sister and family for a weekend at the Kings Dominion theme park near Richmond, VA, and yesterday at some point in time I lost my wallet. UGH! We couldn’t find it earlier in the day, but I was pretty sure I had left it in the car and just brought the cash I would need in my pocket – but upon returning to the car at the end of the day we found that wasn’t the case. I called the hotel, and I checked with the park’s lost and found, but no luck. So we spent much of the ride home last night on the phone calling and canceling cards and the such. Now I have to get those things reissued – cards, driver’s license, insurance card. If you’ve ever lost your wallet, you know exactly what a pain all of this is.

So in my sour puss attitude this morning I finally set aside time to actually hash things out with the Lord in my devotion time. The Psalm for me to read today was Psalm 127, which begins, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in His sleep” (Psalm 127:1-2). I really needed those comforting words reminding me of the providence of God – reminding me that even though I am going through what seems like a huge inconvenience right now, God is still watching over me. Sometimes we fight and fight against things that are out of our control, and we really are spinning our wheels in vain. If it is not in the Lord’s plan, it doesn’t matter how many hours your work or how early you get up. This morning, it is comforting to me to be reminded of the ultimate providence of God, and knowing that He is watching over my vain attempts.

Now . . . if only He could tell me where my wallet is . . .

Celebrate good times - come on! - Devotion for 8/2/07

Celebrate good times – come on! – Devotion for 8/2/07

One of my favorite parts of any worship service is when we get to call out some of our celebrations – some of the thanksgivings we have for what God has been doing in our lives. I love to hear husbands awkwardly get up and announce the celebration of an anniversary, or a young couple announcing that they are expecting. I love the impromptu moments when someone is led to stand up and testify to a special way that God was present for them in the past week, maybe at the doctors office or as they were with a friend. To me the time of sharing our celebrations is truly what worship is about, because in lifting up those joys we are ascribing all good things to the eternal Good One. But here is the question: do we limit lifting up those joys and celebrations to just the worship service? What I mean is, do we consciously live our lives going out into the world sharing with friends and even strangers the good things that God has done for us?

Psalm 105 is my psalm for the week, and that passage begins by stating, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders” (Psalm 105:1-2). Psalm 105 goes on to give a brief sketch of the history of Israel, and the ways that God has provided for them. I think of that passage, and then I relate it to 2 Corinthians 5 where we are reminded that God sent His son to the earth to reconcile us to Him, allowing us to become new creations. “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 20). I believe that these passages are calling on us to lift up our joys and celebrations more than just in that special time of worship. I believe that we are called to lift up what God has done to the world – we are to be God’s ambassadors letting the world know what He has done. That doesn’t mean that you have to go up to perfect strangers and tell them “you’re going to hell if you don’t know Jesus.” It just means that you can share with others what a beautiful day God has given, or how God has blessed you with such a loving family. How can you celebrate and worship today outside of the context of a formal service?

"In tents" experience - Devotion for 8/1/07

“In tents” experience – Devotion for 8/1/07

Last night I was out at Camp Rockfish to preach for the campers, and I thought I’d share the message that I shared with them last night for today’s devotional.

Several years ago some friends of mine talked me in to going camping with them. I have always disliked camping, going way back to my Cub Scout days – it always seemed like I got stuck in the same smelly tent with the same smelly kid, or the same kid who snored like crazy and wouldn’t let me sleep. Those “in tents” experiences led to my strong dislike of camping, and I carried that dislike over into my adult years. However, these buddies were able to convince me that somehow we would have a good time going camping at Raven Rock State Park. So, to prepare for the camping trip we began to pack all the essential things we knew we would need. We packed the tents (two of them, because we knew I was already “two tents” – think about that one), we packed the sleeping bags, and I packed my fluffy little pillow – because frankly I needed my fluffy little pillow. We knew that we also needed to take a cooler and plenty food, because we knew the four of us would be able to consume quite a bit of food around the campfire. We all loved music, so we also knew that we needed to take our guitars and have a good old camp fire sing along. Since we loved music so much we also decided someone needed to bring a CD player so that when we got tired of playing guitar we could listen to CDs. We loaded up the cars, and off we went to Raven Rock State Park.

When we got there, we soon found out that we were going to have to hike in to the campsite, and that the hike was going to be about a mile. No problem, we thought, because we were all young, healthy dudes. So we began unloading the cars and getting the stuff out to carry. It didn’t take too long to realize that we were definitely going to have to make at least 2 trips because of all the stuff we had brought. We knew that we would be able to at least take the tents, sleeping bags, and my fluffy little pillow (because we all know how important that is), but we knew we’d have to come back for the guitars, food, and cooler. Off we went on that 1.5 mile hike carrying all that we could handle over the hills and through the woods. After what seemed like forever in 90 degree heat, we finally got to the camp site, and we decided before heading back for the other important stuff we had better go ahead and set up the tents. These tents we the “easy to put up” kind of tents – you know the ones that only take a few hours to set up. So we set up the tents, rolled out the sleeping bags, and I fluffed up my fluffy little pillow, and then we headed back onto the 2 mile hike back to the cars. Climbing up those hills as the temperature continued to rise we were exhausted by the time we finally got back to the cars. So two of us grabbed the cooler, the other two grabbed the food, and somehow we managed to also grab the guitars and CD player – after all, we really were looking forward to the camp fire sing along time. Climbing up those hills again (somehow it was uphill both ways) in increasing temperatures (somehow it was getting hotter as the sun went down), we hiked those 3 miles back to the campsite (somehow the hike grew longer each trip). Exhausted, we finally reached the campsite, and we knew that we had better hurry up and look for the firewood for our campfire. We quickly assembled all the wood we thought we would need, as well as all the kindling and stuff to get the fire started. One of the dudes had already started getting the meat out that we were going to cook over the fire, and we could all almost already taste the food we would cook. So I was a little surprised that when it came time to light the fire I couldn’t find the matches.

I didn’t bring the matches, and unfortunately neither did anyone else. Not only that, we also didn’t have a lighter. Nor did we have flint. In desperation to light the fire I began to rub two sticks together really quickly, but I was pretty exhausted from the 4 mile uphill hike that I had taken several times already and I wasn’t able to even generate any smoke. When we couldn’t find any other campers nearby we finally realized someone would have to walk all the way back to the cars to get the matches. Since we couldn’t agree on which one would go, we all went, and off we went making that 5 mile uphill hike in 110 degree temperature – at least we weren’t carrying anything this time. When we got to the cars, we soon realized that not only did we not take the matches to the campsite, we didn’t even pack them in the car. I thought about pressing in the cigarette lighter, and seeing if I could run back to the campsite while it was still hot, but I knew that I couldn’t cover 6 miles uphill before that thing would cool off. I finally had to call my wife to bring us the matches, so that we could finally enjoy our beloved camp fire. And I’ll have you know we didn’t play the much-needed guitars once because we were all so tired.

Somehow in the midst of preparing for this great trip, we had left out one of the most important things – the matches to get the fire started. Somehow in life many times we leave out the most important thing – God. We think we need to have all these essential things in life that will give us joy and happiness, but without God those things are nothing. Without God all those things are just like raw meat that you can’t eat. I believe that when we set off in the journey of life, we have got to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Today, make sure you’re not leaving God behind. Without Him, we’ll just find ourselves wasting energy needlessly wandering around for nothing.