This morning my devotional reading took me to Psalms 131, and it spoke to me. This psalm is only three verses long, but what wonderful verses they are. The message delivered here is one of contentment; a humbling that allows us to be with The Lord without feeling the need to perform in our faith, but rather, to find contentment in just being with Him.
I really enjoyed the devotional message that I read this morning. Pastor E .M. Bounds wrote about praying for one another. He spoke of how the power of our prayers will draw us close to God in a holy, reverent, and magnificent way. So often we view Jesus as a stoic man, and not as someone who pleaded loudly with God, and cried crocodile tears as He prayed, but this is indeed the man Jesus was.
My devotional reading today was titled "God's Will be Done" by Pastor E. M. Bounds. As I pray each day I lift up my desires, needs, and those of others, before God, but I also wrap those requests in a plea that His will be done in regards to them. Our unending prayers are the very substance of our spiritual lives, earthly lives, and indeed our humanity. They encapsulate all those things we seek and long for in holiness and lift them before our Heavenly Father, but sometimes we fall short in the godliness of our desires, or remain blind to the consequences of our petition. It is for this reason that Jesus has taught us to pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". God's will is perfect.
When we read Psalm 37 as a young person we might see images of life through our parent’s eyes, but it is quite different once we get older and experience age, and aging, ourselves. This is a Psalm written by David when he was an old man, and maybe because of that I listen to it all the more attentively these days... having become older myself, and wiser through the years. For the elderly I say have faith, and for the young I say honor your elders.
This morning I read Psalm 127 and contemplated God's provision for us and His hand in all we are, have, and do. This is a short Psalm that is comprised of five verses, but it speaks volumes about God's involvement in all aspects of our lives, and the goodness He brings to them. It also reveals the deception of Satan as he works through our pride in self to steal God’s glory. Pride led to Satan’s downfall, and our pride remains his ultimate deception as he attempts to separate us from God.
Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and we do so as families, a country, and a people of God. As we thank Him for His many blessings we are reminded of the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 when the pilgrims of Plymouth gave thanks to the Lord for their year of survival, and His merciful provision.
I was reading Charles H. Spurgeon this morning and he was writing about our being called away from our homes and comfort, but that God still gives us rest... and how He continued to do this, even in our uncertainty. He used God's Word to Moses to make this point:
“And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."”
Exodus 33:14 ESV
I was thrilled by the devotional message I read this morning. In this time of roll your own religion, and with some, an outright disdain for church and assembling with other believers... we are reminded of the importance of togetherness in Hebrews 10, and the impact that our faiths have on each other. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young wrote a song in the 70s called ‘Teach Your Children Well’, and it speaks of a truth about having a code that we pass on to our children… our code as Christians is our Faith, and our belief in God and Jesus Christ. How do we teach it, and are our religious holidays, like Thanksgiving, a perfect times to do so?
Please join me today as I contemplate God's ability to do those things we ask of Him, and the faith it requires for us to trust that He not only can but will do them.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV
As I read my morning devotional reading by Pastor E. M. Bounds today, his scripture reference was the short three word verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, which directs us regarding the importance and the frequency with which we should pray. Some believe this scripture is telling them to literally pray without ceasing, while others believe it tells them to have a regular prayer regiment and to stay true to it. In either case the importance of praying is at the heart of this verse, and this is quite evident, and stressed.
Do we desire something from God, but alter our prayers because we think we are asking too much of Him? We might initially say that we don’t do this, but if we are honest with ourselves we just might find that we are guilty of doing so subconsciously as we prepare to enter into our prayers. Do we trust in the true ability, and desire of God when it comes to our provision, healing, love, or defense? Let’s look at these things today…and the omnipotence, and the omnipresence of God… it might just change our lives, and our prayers.
Are we waiting to fully understand God before we will allow ourselves to believe? Do we hope he is who scripture says He is, but need more proof? Some of us don’t want to admit that God exists because our own limited intelligence, ability to conceive, or because our lack of understanding who He is, keeps getting in our way. Well, hope is fine, but it isn’t the same thing as faith. Hope is seeing a box, and wanting to believe that God might be in it. Faith is our ability to take the vapor of that hope, and treat it as if it were real. Faith is the first step towards believing… it opens the box in which we have placed our hope that God exists, and allows us to peer inside expectantly. Belief, on the other hand, is seeing the evidence of Him in the box, and realizing that He is not only there in its confines, but is in everything that surrounds it… and abides in us too. So today let’s think about where we are on this path from hope to faith, to belief, and into the eternal presence of God beyond.
I read two different devotionals each day and I write my thoughts surrounding them in these early morning devotional messages and prayers. But, today is different; I am taking the time to pass on my thoughts regarding a book I have been reading as well. Have you ever heard the expression "time is money"? It is a common saying that I have heard and repeated most of my life. Today I thought of it again as I read Galatians 6:10 and wondered if time isn’t also good… is time the thing that measures how much good we can do in life?
Hungering after righteousness and longing for God. Today I am contemplating the intense desire for the Lord's presence in our lives, and what better place to go for an understanding of such a longing than to the Psalms, and the words of a more recent pastor… Charles Spurgeon.
As a long time Christian, I have heard many sermons and lessons based on others seeing Christ in us. Each of these encouraged us to live more faithfully so that people who were around us would see Jesus in our behavior, and the things we did. One day it dawned on me that in order for that to happen, we needed to see Him in ourselves. Do we look in the mirror and see the transformation that our faith is having?