Category: Devotion

Devotion

Last Scene

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Once again C.S. Lewis has struck me with his writing in Mere Christianity. This statement was so powerful I only want to say one thing before you read it. Are you ready for the final act and if not, can I help you be ready? A choice needs to be made and we don’t know when the last act will finish so we need to be ready.

When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else – something it never entered your head to conceive – comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to chose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our change to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last for ever. We must take it or leave it.

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, page 66
Devotion

Ladder

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A young man struggling with the difficulties of life decided one day to find a tall tree and build a ladder to God. He wanted to know why he struggled so much when others seemed to have it so easy.

He foraged to the woods and found the tallest tree. With some wood he had with him he began to make a ladder. It was slow work and he was sweating in the heat of the day. Exhausted, he took a break and noticed a man standing a few feet in front of him.

Startled, he asked how long he had been there watching him. The older man said “I have been watching you for longer than you know”. Confused but feeling great peace, the young man told him what he was doing.

The old man looked lovingly at him and said “son, you seek in the tree tops what you can find everywhere. You are drawn to the one that created the tree and all that is around. All he asks of you is to call upon his name and he will bring you great comfort and peace. It is as simple as that, ask and He will make himself known to you in abundance”.

The young man looked up at the tree and to the heavens beyond. His gaze was deep and thoughtful as he pondered what the old man made sound so simple. And then he said aloud “God come to me that I can know you and understand why I struggle so great”.

Immediately he felt peace and comfort like he had never felt before. He saw his life as full of struggles still, but lighter and easier to handle. Why, he wondered, had he never heard this simple truth before?

He spoke to thank the older man and found him to be gone and no evidence of him ever being there. Chills ran through his body as he realized who the older man had been.

Moral of the story: If you are trying to “do” things to reach or please God, stop. All he asks is that you come to his feet and worship him. It really is that simple.

Devotion

What do you run on?

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I have been reading through C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity so my next few posts will probably be me processing some of the things he wrote. Have you read it? It is an amazing book but I can only read bits at a time so I can ponder what he has said.

I love analogies, especially when the topic is one that makes you think. The analogy tends to help me understand it or put it into practical words. Lewis shares this thought:

A car is made to run on gasoline and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run o Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.

Mere Christianity

What a great way to remind myself that I need to fuel myself with Him. When I am too busy to read my Bible, pray, or even just sit quietly and listen to his voice, I notice that I get run down. I’m not motivated as much to do good, to seek his help as I come into a trial, or to share the gospel with those I meet. I can easily “fill my tank” with things of the world through social media, television shows or even just talking to friends.

But when I keep my tank full with Christ through studying and meditating on His Word, my days go better. Trials can be managed knowing I’m full of this strength. I fill ready to share his love and message with those I meet as I feel the power of the Holy Spirit in me. I can be confident that He is with me and hears my gratitude, call for help, or request for forgiveness.

Next time you fill your gas tank remind yourself to fill your personal tank with God’s word. Keep your tank full and be confident that you can take that next step knowing He is right there with you.

Devotion · Photography

Joyful

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Habakkuk’s book is small but he cries out to God why all this is happening to the chosen people. He asks questions and God answers telling him that the Babylonians will be taken care of just like the Assyrians. But in the meantime, the Babylonians will be used to remind the Israelites to trust and obey God. With his questions answered he ends his time with God with a prayerful song for all God will do and to remain patient even as he sees destruction all around him.

Devotion

Inherit This

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I am doing Bible Study Fellowship this year. I have been a part of it for a few years. I love how in depth it is and studying the Bible that way. If you are not familiar with them, it is three parts. You have your homework questions that you discuss in a small group, a lecture over the verses, and then notes to go over some other points on the same verses.

This year the study is part one of People of the Promised Land. We are going through the books of Joshua, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11 and overviews of Psalms and Proverbs. Although I’ve not gleaned as much out of it as, say, the study of Revelation (amazing if you ever get the chance to do this one), it has had some “light bulb” moments.

This last week we were in 1 Samuel at chapter 25 where David requests of Nabal to have his men be part of the feast at shearing season. It is a reasonable request since David and his men protected his sheep and shepherds while they were in the fields.

Oh but Nabal, he was a “harsh and badly behaved” man (verse 3, ESV) and his name meant fool. He refused and had some less than polite words to say about David (see verses 10-11). But here is what struck me. Nabal was a descendant of Caleb. You know, Caleb of the “Joshua and Caleb”, the spies that were faithful to God and Moses. The guy that followed God all of his life and honored him.

Clearly, Nabal did not follow God like his ancestor did. And that’s the thing – my bible study notes said faith is not inherited. As a Mom, I’ve seen this as I raised my children in the LORD, but could only pray they would choose to follow him as their father and I do. It isn’t just something we could pass on to them like a car, or money, or that ugly painting that someone inherits in a will.

It takes an active choice by our children, and future generations, to choose to follow Christ. Nabal, for reasons we don’t know, didn’t follow God and in a few short verses would be dealt with for his reaction to David (verse 37-38). Thankfully, David was saved in making a wrong choice through Abigail and because he was a man of God, but Nabal dies because of his choice.

The story is a reminder to me to pray for my children and future grandchildren to choose Christ. That they will see through me or someone in their lives that his path is the one to follow. I pray also that when their feet slip from the path, God will help them quickly get back up and follow him. I pray that for generations they will be known as discerning and faithful and not fools like Nabal.

Devotion

The LORD’s

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Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’: others will call themselves by the name Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel.

Isaiah 44:5

Am I willing to make a bold statement as this to write on my hand that I am the LORD’s? Are you? While I do not have any tattoo’s or plans to get any, this certainly would be one that would be noticed. I don’t imagine it to be small but something that everyone would notice.

But could I even spend a day with it written on my hand in pen, or permanent marker that lasts a few days? For anyone I came across to see and question me about. Could I be bold enough to speak about this God that saved me and gives me eternal life? To share my faith with anyone that asks or rolls their eyes at the ridiculous idea that Jesus is who he said he was?

A thought to ponder. A bold statement to make.

Devotion

Lay it before Him

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Isaiah 37:14 “Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.”

I was struck by this verse when I was reading it. Hezekiah is being ridiculed by the Assyrian’s for believing that “his God” will save him and his people from their forces. And what does Hezekiah do? Panic, take things into his own hands, make a quick decision?

Nope.

He literally lays the letter on the throne of God and prays for guidance. He shows God what was said (not that he didn’t already know) and prays that God will “deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.” (verse 20).

I need reminded to lay it all out before God when adversaries attack me. Even when I feel like they are going to win. Even when I’d rather run the other way or make a decision that is not what God has planned for me.

I need to stop and pray in the midst of the moments and trust that God will deliver me from whatever is before me.

Devotion

Rest

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Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 ESV

Oh Jeremiah… the prophet to Israel that no one seemed to listen as he warned them of their punishment that was to come. It was like he was speaking to the wind with his words being carried away as quickly as they came out of his mouth.

But God was using him even if he did not see it. Maybe not with those people, or maybe they did hear in some way. But future generations would hear his recorded words. And I reflect on them today.

Am I guilty too of not wanting to walk in the path laid out before me? Jeremiah 6:16 says a few things about how to go about walking these paths.

First – Stand. Nothing active there… well, except you you have to support yourself and be still. I think of a parent telling their child to stand in a certain spot while they unbuckle another child in a busy parking lot. They want them to be still and wait not moving – just stand. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We get distracted, bored, anxious… we want to move. But first, we must stand.

Second – Look. A definition of this would be to “direct one’s gaze toward someone or something or in a specified direction”. I like how it says gaze. He’s not saying in this verse to just give a quick “left, right, left” look down the road. He wants us to gaze – really focus on what is on the road. Search for the path he is calling you to follow.

Third – Ask. In this verse, ask for the ancient paths – the paths of our forefathers – of Adam, Abraham, Moses. But mostly of God in his creation of the world. We are to stand, look, and ask for these ancient paths, the good way. Not the way of the world, but the way of God. That narrow “gate” Matthew 7:13 mentions.

Finally – Walk. And now we take action. We might have waited, standing, looking, asking, for some time. BUT God will always call us to walk. At times it feels like he will never ask us to take the next step. We can become distracted by the things of the world, by our daily busy lives, by even doing good things. Maybe God is waiting to be sure you are ready to be obedient to his call. But to find rest in all this we need to walk in the ways of the LORD, those ancient paths.

Will you take that ancient path and find rest? It’s not popular today. It is certainly not easy. The ancient path is what anchors us to God and gives us strength to fight the good fight. This path keeps us close to him, reminds us that he is in control, and brings us peace. For me, I stay on this path by reading his word daily, studying it and listening to what he wants me to learn that day. It opens my eyes to the way he wants me to walk and respond to the situations in my life. And through it all I have rest. I certainly stumble and step off from time to time, but the closer I daily stay to Christ, the easier it is to get back on the path.

Don’t be like the people Jeremiah was a prophet to – choose to walk in the path he has set before you and find rest.