When Bad Things Happen To Good People
Posted on December 4, 2020 1 Comment
In this fallen world, bad things can happen to innocent people. It’s hard for our brains and hearts to process it. In Genesis 30-50 we learn the story of Joeseph and how evil served up injustice to him. God did intervene to spare his life because killing Joeseph went against Gods plan for Joeseph. He did not however, completely stop all the injustice from happening, because this is a fallen world. God was with Joseph every step of the way. Joeseph made the choice to lean in to God and trust him instead of leaning in to the darkness and being bitter. His faithfulness and trust in God brought blessings in the midst of the injustice. God worked in the situation and because Joseph trusted God, God brought blessings to Joseph and his family, along with provision, forgiveness, redemption and restoration. Sometimes bad things happen to innocent people. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us. When something bad happens because of the evil in this world, God can heal, redeem and restore us if we lean in to him, instead of leaning in to the darkness that brought it about. God can make beauty from ashes. He raised up Joseph to a place of authority in the country. It reminds me of Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Joseph’s life DEFINITELY did not turn out the way evil planned for it to! What altered the course for Joseph, can alter anyone’s course. Don’t let evil win. Choose to trust Gods love, his faithfulness and ability to work a transformation from whatever situation you find yourself in.
Isaiah 49:23b-25 “Those Who wait for me shall not be put to shame. Can the prey be taken from the mighty or the captives of a tyrant rescued? For thus saith the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken back and the prey of the tyrants rescued. For I will contend with those who contend with you (if that is not enough, I will also…) and I will save your children.”
Impatient On The Way
Posted on November 30, 2020 Leave a Comment
In this world of instant gratification, it is easy to become impatient. We may even give up on a good thing because we are not patient enough to endure and work through things to get to the victory at the end. We see this impatient mentality all around us today. We see it in relationships, careers, faith and so much more. There was a saying I heard growing up that says,”Anything worth having is worth working for.”
Numbers 21:4-5 “From Mount Hor they (the Israelites) set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became inpatient on the way, and the people spoke against God and against Moses.”
The Israelites complained about the food and water God had provided on their journey to the promise land and even said it would have been better if they had stayed in Egypt as slaves. So, God sent serpents that bit them and many died. (vs.6) This shows you how the Lord feels when we complain! Their journey was hard and long, BUT God had provided for them, sustained them and given them victory in the battles they had faced along the way. Does that sound like your life? Have you gone through or are you going through a difficult time? Has God sustained you and helped you survive? Maybe he hasn’t waved a magic wand and made the journey EASY, but you are still standing.
Numbers 21:7 “The people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, we have spoken against the Lord and against you, “Pray to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us.“. So Moses prayed for the people.”
In verses 7-9 we learn that God did not remove the serpents, but did offer the opportunity for forgiveness and salvation from them. He told Moses to make a sculpture of a snake and put it on a pole. If they were bitten they could look at the sculpture and be healed.
God didn’t remove the serpents. He just made a way to survive them. By choosing to remember Him and his promise and in obedience and faith, they needed only to look at the sculpture to be saved. How many times have we prayed and asked God to take away our problems instead of asking for the strength and wisdom to survive them?
Sometimes we need the presence of the serpents, to be reminded of the power and faithfulness of the Savior.
Prayer: Lord please help us to keep our eyes on you and our minds on who you are in the midst of our journey. Please strengthen our faith and encourage our hearts and help us to not complain or give up, but push through to the end and see the salvation of the Lord in our lives. Thank you for you love and your faithfulness.
Isaiah 40:23 “He will bring the enemy to nothing and make them as emptiness.”
Isaiah 41:11-13 “All Who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you but you will not find them. Those who war against you shall be nothing at all. For I the Lord your God hold your right hand, it is I who say to you, fear not, I am the one who helps you.“
Isaiah 49:23b-25 “Those Who wait for me shall not be put to shame. Can the prey be taken from the mighty or the captives of a tyrant rescued? For thus says the Lord: even the captives of the mighty will be taken back and the prey of the tyrants rescued. For I will contend with those who contend with you and I will save your children.”
Worship. Pray. Read. Repeat.
Posted on October 13, 2020 Leave a Comment
“Whether it was two days or a month, or even a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.” Numbers 9:22
How nice to have such clear direction. They of course, still could have ignored it, but it was obvious direction! Sometimes the direction of the Lord doesn’t seem so obvious, Or is it that in the lack of direction, we are looking for a sign to affirm our own desires, when actually no direction means stay where you are and walk through it with him?
Another option is that he is speaking to us but we are not paying attention. Maybe we have our lives so full and so noisy that we don’t hear or recognize his voice from all the other voices.
I want to spend enough time with the Lord that when he speaks, I recognize his voice.
It’s a relationship like any other kind. We must spend time together to establish a covenant of hearts. We must pour out our hearts him, and allow him to pour out his to us! How do we do that? Worship. Pray. Read. Repeat. The repeat is vital. What kind of relationship do you have with someone you only spend time with occasionally?
A close, intimate relationship with God, is the sole purpose of our creation. It is what God wants and why he created us. Sure, our sin ruined the perfect plan, but it didn’t stop THE plan. It didn’t stop the opportunity to have that relationship with him. He made a way through Jesus.
We can’t remove the sin from this world. He will do that at the appointed time. Nevertheless, we can still have the relationship! It is completely up to us. He is there, beside us, waiting to talk, waiting to listen, waiting to help us, waiting to bless us. Let us not ignore him! Let us not have a one-sided relationship, where we do all the talking. That is like sitting in a Ferrari but not starting it, or sitting in it, starting it, but not driving it. There is so much to experience if we will be purposeful in engaging with him. Let’s pursue a relationship with our God and Savior. Worship him. Pray to him. Read his Word. Then repeat as often as we can. The more time we spend with him, the better and fuller our life will be, for having him in it.
Worship. Pray. Read. Repeat.
Posted on August 28, 2020 1 Comment
Passing the Test
Often times in life we find ourselves in a trial of one kind or another. The Bible calls it “testing our faith.”
A silversmith puts silver into a crucible to be melted down so he can remove the dross. We go through times of testing to remove the impure elements that are in our hearts and lives.
How will we respond to the testing? If we are stubborn and refuse to learn, spending our time wallowing and complaining, we exasperate the situation, yielding only misery instead of taking the opportunity to grow and learn as a person. A far better response is to trust God and lean into him. If we get into his Word and study it, it will give us knowledge and wisdom. It will encourage our hearts and strengthen our faith.
If we want to pass the test, we must study!
“ Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Making it a Well
Posted on August 10, 2020 1 Comment
“ Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee…. Who passing through the valley of Baca, (sorrow/weeping) make it a well.” Psalm 84:5-6
WELL: A source from which something may be drawn as needed; a deep hole or pit sunk into the earth to reach a supply of water, oil, gas….
Making a well is a choice. We have to choose to seek Him while walking through the valley. He is ready and willing to meet us there and teach us there. He is willing to be our Savior and our strength, our God and our friend.
“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. He will make known to them his covenant.“ Psalm 25:14
When you walk through a valley, how will you choose to handle it?
A song comes to mind that my mom use to sing. It’s a song written by Dottie Rambo called “Thank You For the Valley”
Verse 1
Thank You For The Valley Writer: Dottie Rambo
THANK YOU FOR THE VALLEY I WALKED THROUGH TODAY
THE DARKER THE VALLEY THE MORE I LEARN TO PRAY
I FOUND YOU WHERE THE LILY’S WERE BLOOMING BY THE WAY
AND I THANK YOU FOR THE VALLEY I WALKED THROUGH TODAY
Chorus
THANK YOU FOR EV’RY HILL I’VE CLIMBED
FOR EV’RY TIME THE SUN DIDN’T SHINE
THANK YOU FOR EV’RY LONELY NIGHT
I PRAYED ‘TIL I KNEW EV’RY THING WAS ALRIGHT
AND I THANK YOU FOR THE VALLEY I WALKED THROUGH TODAY
Verse 2
LIFE CAN’T BE ALL SUNSHINE OR THE FLOWERS WOULD DIE
THE RIVERS WOULD BE DESERT, ALL BARREN AND DRY
LIFE CAN’T BE ALL BLESSINGS OR THERE’D BE NO NEED TO PRAY SO I THANK YOU FOR THE VALLEY I WALKED THROUGH TODAY
Chorus
THANK YOU FOR EV’RY HILL I’VE CLIMBED
FOR EV’RY TIME THE SUN DIDN’T SHINE
THANK YOU FOR EV’RY LONELY NIGHT
I PRAYED ‘TIL I KNEW EV’RY THING WAS ALRIGHT
AND I THANK YOU FOR THE VALLEY I WALKED THROUGH TODAY
© 1966 Bridge Building Music/BMI (Adm. By CapitolCMGPublishing.com) Licensing: http://www.CapitolCMGLicensing.com
Prayer: Father please meet me in the valley and help me to always choose to make it a well.
Waiting
Posted on July 22, 2020 Leave a Comment
I was reminded today as I read my devotional, that while we often pray and wait on God to work in our circumstances, he too waits on us!
We must not lose hope! God is working to bring things about and waiting for just the right moment to bring blessing and victory in our lives. He never loses his hope in us and we should never doubt his faithfulness and love for us.
When things don’t work out the way you expect and hope they will, it is easy to get discouraged and lose your faith, but God is still working in our midst and on our behalf. His thoughts are higher than ours. He knows what is needed…. in our lives and our faith and walk with him and he knows what is needed in the lives of those we pray for. Trust him. He has and is waiting patiently for mankind, we should trust him and wait on him.
Reading the Directions
Posted on July 7, 2020 2 Comments
Have you ever tried to put something complicated together without reading the directions?
The Bible is meant to be a manual. ie; instructions, directions The Bible was not meant to be a book of laws. On the contrary! It is the Good News. It is the directions to this life we find ourselves in.
Anything you purchase comes with instructions that show you how to operate the item to achieve its full potential and purpose. The instructions are meant to help you assemble and use it in a way that won’t injure you or damage it.
The Bible holds the secrets (the wisdom/truth) to success, purpose, joy, peace, love, and treasure. Yes treasure. The treasure is eternity with the God of the universe, the Lord of hosts, the God of love.
The Bible is a love letter from God to his children. It holds the wisdom he wants to pass down to us, so that we don’t get lost and hurt by sin and the enemy that seeks to destroy us. As any parent would write a letter to their child, hoping to give them the best advice possible for a great life and tell them how loved they are, that is what the Bible is. It’s a letter from the Creator, the great I Am, God, and if we choose, our Savior and our friend.
Parts of the Bible, like Genesis and Job, are said to be over 3400 years old. Revelation is said to be about 1900 years old. What should it say to people today, that it is still around and still changing lives? It’s real. It is the holy, inspired Word of God.
If you want to know how to live your life to its best and fullest potential, if you want to know the secrets to living a fulfilling life and an even better after life, it’s in this book.
Find out for yourself….by reading the directions.
What Blessing is He Offering?
Posted on July 4, 2020 Leave a Comment
The blessing God offered required their trust in his faithfulness.
In Exodus 16 we find the Israelites in the wilderness just a few short months after God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt. He had parted the sea so that they walked on dry ground and then the waters had rushed in and drowned the Egyptians. Now two months later their supplies are running thin and they are hungry. They began to complain and even had the audacity to say they would have been better off dying in Egypt! God heard their grumbling and gave them meat (quail) at night and bread (manna) in the morning, every day for 40 years. The only requirement was that they only gather what they needed for that day. They were not to take more and try to save it for the next day.
The blessing God offered required their trust in his faithfulness.
God then introduced a completely new concept. A day of rest. He wanted to bless them with a day off from work. The Israelites had been working slaves for 430 years in Egypt. The idea of having a day off was unheard of. God wanted to bless them and give them time to rest and reflect on all the blessings he had given them. God told them to gather their food on the sixth day like always, but told them that it would be enough for two days and would not spoil. They were to rest and not gather food on the seventh day. This blessing required them to trust that he would supply their needs during that day of rest.
There is a lot of meaning that can be taught from this chapter and the principles in it, but I am not going to get into that today. I want to focus on the big picture instead of all the implications in the details.
How many times has God had a blessing for us, but in order to receive the blessing, it required faith and trust on our part?
I challenge each of us to examine our lives and see where God has offered a blessing but we weren’t willing to trust him for it.
We as people haven’t changed much since the days of the Israelites in the book of Exodus. God shows his faithfulness and love and helps us out of our bondage. After a little time passes, we are faced with another problem and many times, instead of trusting that God will help us, we complain and doubt.
In scripture we see this scenario over and over again. Each time God shows his faithfulness and comes to their aid.
Just as people have not changed, neither has God! He is still faithful. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)
How many times does he have to prove his faithfulness before we will have the faith to trust him and expect his faithfulness?
The good news is, that how ever many times it takes, that is how many times he will be there, showing us his faithfulness. What is his agenda? “Then you shall KNOW that I am the Lord YOUR God.” Exodus 16:8
What blessing is he offering you that requires you to trust his faithfulness?
What Does Love Feel Like?
Posted on June 30, 2020 1 Comment
God loves us even though he knows we won’t love him back as perfectly as he loves us.
Exodus 13:17 “When pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
God knew even after he rescued them from slavery that they would easily forget, get scared and turn to go right back into bondage. He knew they would not be faithful and love him the way he loved them, but he loved them anyway and he made accommodations along the way to remind them of his love and faithfulness and guide them to the promised land.
Exodus 13:21-22 “He went before them day by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”
He loves us even though he knows we are not going to love him back in the same way and be faithful.
What is love? The Bible tells us that love is patient and kind and that it always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:7)
What this verse is saying is that love is faithful and forgiving when the other person doesn’t love them back in the same way; when they don’t deserve it. THAT is love.
We see God’s love played out many times in Scripture. He loves Adam and Eve even when they are unfaithful and they don’t deserve it. He loves the Israelites even after they are unfaithful and don’t deserve it. He loves Abraham and Sarah when they are unfaithful and don’t deserve it. He loves David after he is unfaithful and doesn’t deserve it. I could go on and on, but I’ll just mention one more example. The most beautiful example of love ever recorded. Jesus.
Mankind at its worst is evil, depraved, selfish, perverted, ego centric, prideful, hateful, lying, cowardly and completely unfaithful to God over and over again.
In the privacy of your own mind, picture Jesus in the garden before he is arrested. He’s kneeling and praying. You stand before him and every sin you have ever committed is played out in front of him like a movie. Think about the things you have done that you are most ashamed of, that you don’t want anyone to know about. There they are in front of him. He sees them and his flesh is crying out in dread of the humiliation and excruciating death that is before him. He looks at you and your sin and then says, nevertheless, and his emotions mind and body submit to the overwhelming love of God that is in him and he willingly lays down his life in love for you and for me.
41And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42-42
He loves us even though he knows we won’t love him back as perfectly as he loves us. He loves us even though we are not a faithful bride.
There truly is no feeling like being loved so wholly and completely.
“He left the splendor of heaven, knowing his destiny was the lonely hill of Golgotha, there to lay down his life for me. If that isn’t love, then the ocean is dry, there are no stars in the sky and the sparrow can’t fly. If that isn’t love then heaven is a myth. There’s no feeling like this!” “If That Isn’t Love” by Dottie Rambo
I love that sweet simple song. There is an old video of Dottie playing the guitar and helping Michael English sing it. The video is poor quality but it is still my favorite rendition of the song. To me, the emotion in his voice captures a glimpse of the love of Jesus and maybe the emotion of David singing his psalms to the Lord. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Close your eyes and listen with your heart.
Nothing Is Wasted
Posted on June 29, 2020 1 Comment
“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, this month shall be for you the beginning of months. It should be the first month of the year for you.” Exodus 12:1-2
In Exodus chapter 12 we find the Israelites have been in slavery for 430 years. Moses and Aaron have been asking Pharaoh to let them go and God has brought many plagues upon Egypt. In verses one and two of chapter 12 the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron and declares a new beginning in the midst of their slavery.
If you haven’t read Exodus chapter 12, I urge you to do so. It is a beautiful story of God‘s redemption of the Israelites and a foreshadow of what Jesus would do for all of us.
“ Then they shall take some of the blood (from the lamb) and put it on the two door posts and lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They should eat the flesh of the lamb that night roasted on the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.” Ex. 12:7-8
Leaven is another word for yeast. If you take flour and water, knead it well and leave it in a cool place for a long time, the dough will rise. This process will speed up if you save a little dough each time you bake it, to add to your next batch. This reserve is called a ‘starter.’ It is a good way to preserve yeast that makes good bread. Once the yeast gets into the new lump, it spreads throughout the lump.
So, we can see that yeast bread involves a lot of work and reliance on our past bread making. Making unleavened bread is much easier: once the flour and water are mixed, the bread is ready to bake in a short time. There is no ‘starter’ from yesterday, so unleavened bread has no past. It is a new beginning!
“In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste.“ Exodus 12:11
The symbolism of the unleavened bread and the people being dressed and ready and eating in haste is extraordinary! Every single detail has meaning and purpose. God is definitely in the details. Nothing is wasted.
When I read the Old Testament I am always blown away by the things God does and how much he loves and forgives over and over again. He always keeps his promises. Many times it seems to take longer than we expect, but he is always working and the result is redemption!
Scripture assures my hope and teaches me to be patient and wait on the Lord. It encourages me to look at the little details in my own life and try to find the truth and lessons that are tucked in to them. Nothing is wasted.
Prayer: Lord thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for Jesus! Please make me strong and my heart take courage as I wait for you to work out the details of my life. Please help me see the truths and lessons tucked into those details.
Real life. Real faith. 