Daily Reflections on Jn. 10:14-42 (A Tribute to Pauline)

This past week my wife's great aunt passed away. She was 99. A lovely lady with great grace. She was an encourager, a helper, a servant. By the time you reach 99 you learn a lot about life. And her guide throughout her years was the Good Shepherd. One of ten kids up and then starting life in the depression, marriage and the premature death of her spouse, Pauline learned how to follow her shepherd.

All good relationships are fueled by trust. Our spiritual relationship with God is fueled by learning to trust Him more. The more that I learn to trust Him in all areas of my life, the deeper my relationship with God will be. The more I learn to trust Jesus on a daily basis, the deeper, the more satisfying, the more enjoyable my spiritual life will be, not to mention my daily life.

If I'm going to learn to trust the Good Shepherd, like Aunt Pauline, and build my relationship with Jesus, I have to learn to trust Jesus' character. If I learn what Jesus is really like then I know that I can trust Him. As we examine His character we will realize that we can cast our cares on Him, as Peter says, because He cares for us.

Sometimes we struggle with issues or events thinking that God has thrown a monkey wrench into the mix just to mess us up or to punish us. We find ourselves questioning not only the event, but we find ourselves questioning God. We say things like, "God, why are you letting this happen to me?" But that's not the character of Jesus that we see in John 10. As the Good Shepherd we have to remember that Jesus knows us, personally. That means he knows what we're facing, feeling, going through and He's there.

According to this passage Jesus says that He is willing to lay down His life for His sheep, that's us. No one takes His life from Him. He willing lays it down for us. Those aren't just words. He proved at the cross, laying down His life for mine and yours. And it's through that sacrifice that He can invite us into the security of His fold. He invites us because He loves us.

It's one thing to trust Jesus' character, but it's another thing to trust His power. Even if I trust His character and understand that He cares for me, so what if He can't make a difference in my life? But as you peruse the pages of the Bible, you realize that as God, Jesus is all powerful. And if Jesus is all powerful then instead of holding onto all the issues in my life, I should release them into His hands. I've learned through my limited years that God won't rip anything out of my hands. He always waits for me to give it to Him. I end up struggling half the time because I've not let it go and put it in His hands.

Perhaps that's because, sometimes I forget to trust in Jesus' promises. Sure I know He cares and that He's all powerful, but I forget that His promises are for me, not just stuff written in a book for me to read. If you read through this passage in John 10 it becomes obvious that Jesus promises for all who will come to Him and place their trust in Him to give them eternal life, that they'll never perish and that no one can snatch them out of His hand. Those basic promises are foundational in our relationship with Him learning to trust Him in the daily things of life.

God, thanks for the example of Aunt Pauline who lived her life following, trusting the Good Shepherd. Help me grow in learning how to trust you daily for even the most basic things of life. I want that abundant life that Jesus talks about and I know that's only possible as I relinquish my daily schedule, agenda, struggles, challenges to you.

Daily Reflections on 2 Chr. 26-28 (Getting Your Butt Kicked)

Reading through 2 Chronicles, I noticed an ongoing phrase pattern that was curious to me. If you know anything about Old Testament history, you know the Kingdom of Israel split in two after the reign of King Solomon. The northern tribes were known as Israel and the southern kingdom was known as Judah. And you also know that there were some good kings and some bad kings.What made the kings good or bad was determined by how they followed God. The bad kings worshiped the false gods of the neighboring nations. The good kings worshiped God.

That's all simple to understand. Reject God and God rejects you. Embrace God and God embraces. After all that was part of the covenant God made with Israelites coming out of Egypt. Some kings rejected God and some kings embraced God and some tried to do both with mixed reviews, mostly not good.

The phrase that caught my eye was, "He sought the Lord or did what was right in the eyes of the Lord...so he became very powerful." In other words, those that pursued God, led their peoples to pursue God, got rid of the foreign gods and idols became successful and powerful leaders among the nations. They conquered nations and held off foreign invaders. They became wealthy and prosperous as a nation, and thus the king became wealthy.

On the other hand, the text says that kings who shut God out and worshiped the idols and fad gods of their day, got their butts kicked. They became subject to neighboring kingdoms, lost their wealth, their lives, their families, their self respect. Their kingdoms were in constant turmoil. They even became a laughing stock to the surrounding peoples. Anyone could come in and walk over them.

The moral of the story is also simple. Even though we, as followers of Christ, don't live under the conditions and promises of the Old Testament Covenant, the principle still remains. As Jesus said, you can't serve two masters. He also said you're either for me or against me. Although Jesus, never promised that everything would be rosy in your life once you gave your life to Him, He did say that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He said that He'd be with always and that He would send a (paraclete) comforter in the Holy Spirit. He promises ultimate victory and an abundant life.

Are you getting your butt kicked by Satan or the world or life itself? There might be a reason. How's your pursuit of Jesus going? How committed are you to delving into His Word for guidance and direction and insight? How tuned into the Holy Spirit are you? How often are you hanging out with other believers who really seeking to grow in Christ and serve Christ? What's your lifestyle looking like? God is more than willingly to allow us to suffer the consequences of our own choices. He doesn't have to punish us. All He has to do is simply remove His hand and/or influence from our life.

God, it seems like every time I'm getting my butt kicked it has to do with me going off in my own direction. I find myself in those moments being drawn back to you. You are my strength. When I humble myself before you, I begin to sense your power come alive in my life. Thanks for your steadfastness in my life. Thanks for your forgiveness. Thanks for the victory you give me through your Son, Jesus.

Daily Reflections on Rom. 8:1-2, 9-17 (Is It True?)

One of the most liberating verses in all of the New Testament has to be Romans 8:1 which says that that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Woohoo!!! That's a relief. No condemnation, talk about Good News. And to think I owe it all simply to my faith in what God has done for me through Jesus. Thank You God.

It's true that God is not about condemnation, but about reconciliation and restoration. To many, it's a surprise to their image of God. Yes, God is still just and that's the miracle of the cross and resurrection of Christ. But God is about giving life, abundant life, empowered life, not condemnation. Verse two of Romans 8 is verification of that truth. Through Jesus, the text says, the law of the Spirit of life has us free from the law of sin and death. More good news. God has not only freed me from my fate of eternal death, eternal separation from God, but He has also freed me from myself, my sinning nature.

It's true!!! I don't ever have to sin again. Will I? Probably, but you don't have to if you allow the Spirit of God, which He place inside you, to have complete control. Paul tells us in these verses that since I have the Holy Spirit living in me, I don't have to be controlled by my old nature anymore. Sure my physical body will eventually die, but my spirit is alive to God in Christ. And here's the kicker, if Christ is in me, if I've submitted myself to Him, God gives life to my human body through the Holy Spirit. In other words, I don't have to sin anymore.

I don't have to listen to the cravings of my sinful nature. I don't have to give in to their wants and desires. I can let the Spirit of God put to death those "misdeeds of the body" as Paul puts it. The news just keeps on getting better. And because of that same Spirit within me, I don't have to be a slave to my old nature anymore. I am a child of God.

It really comes down to a matter of choice. I hear people tell me all the time, "I can't help myself" or "I can't stop myself." To which I normally respond, "You're right. You're doomed." They always look at me like, "What?" I just confirm again, "Yep, You're right, you can't stop or help yourself, so you're doomed." At that point I normally get the "thanks a lot" look. After letting them squirm a little, I share with them this promise in Romans. You can't, but the Spirit God places within you can. I can choose to fight my sin or misdeeds on my own, or I can sic the Spirit of God on them by submitting to Him.

And to top off the promises God makes to us in these verses, God goes on to say that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus if we surrender our lives to Him. Yes, it's all true. Not only does God save me from spiritual death for eternity, He gives me life and freedom NOW. And I have the promise of inheriting His riches forever. Somebody ought to spread this word.

God, thanks for the double relief; relief from my fate and punishment and relief from my ongoing sin problem. Help me to choose life through your Spirit. I'm tired of screwing up and trying to get out of things on my own. I need you. I want to grow in allowing your Spirit to control my life, my thoughts, my actions.

Daily Reflections on Judges 11:20-40 (Making Rash Promises)

Making rash promises can come back to haunt you big time. In today's passage, Jephthah made one of the most rashest of promises to God. A lot of us have made those promises to God like, "God get me out of this mess and I'll never cuss again." Most of the time those desperate prayers are really meaningless and to be honest we really never intended to keep the rash promise we made to God. It's often been called "foxhole religion."

But Jephthah's promise to God was a little different. His prayer to God was that if God gave them victory over the Ammonites, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first thing that came out of the door of his house to greet him when he returned. First of all that is really a stupid vow. What in the world was Jephthah thinking? I know he was pumped about going out to fight against the Ammonites, but give me a break. Was he hoping his wife's cat would open the door upon his return and charge out to greet him. "But Honey, I have to sacrifice the cat, I made a vow to the Lord." Maybe he was hoping it would be one of his brothers who ran him off when he was younger because his mother was a prostitute.

The Lord gave Jephthah the victory alright. But the first thing that came out to greet him upon his return was his only child, his daughter. "What a moron!" Jephthah had to be thinking to himself, "Why did I make such a stupid vow?" Unlike a lot of us who make rash promises, Jephthah made good on his promise. His daughter willingly gave herself up for her father.

To be honest I don't understand why God didn't stop Jephthah from sacrificing his daughter. It was those very kind of practices by the people living in the land that God abhorred and why He had the Israelites totally destroy them. But He didn't and Jephthah made good on his vow.

Let's be honest, we make rash promises when we're desperate or in trouble or when we're not really thinking clearly. We make them not only to God but to others as well. At those moments we don't consider what the full aspects or consequences of our promises are. More often than not, we're forced to renege because we can't keep our promise. And when that happens either we're trying to rationalize why we couldn't keep our promise or we lose trust and respect from those around us or both. Jesus said to let our yeses be yes and our nos be no.

God, I've made some really stupid promises to you in the past that both of us knew I couldn't keep. I've never made any as rash as Jephthah, but I've made some nonetheless. Help me through your spirit maintain my integrity with you and with others. Help me trust you more, be more honest with myself and realistic about my dreams and life itself. Allow me to think clearly about my promises, especially those tied to my goals and aspirations.

Daily Reflections on Josh.23:9-16 (Keeping Promises)

I promise. You've said that a thousand times. You've heard it said even more. People make promises all the time. In this political year, we've already heard so many promises it's enough to make your head spin. Well maybe not spin, but at least shake. Promises are easy to make but not always easy to keep. Each election year we hear candidates proclaim promises that we know they never intend to keep or will be able to pull off.

But politicians aren't the only ones who make promises that don't intend to keep. It seems like it's common practice in the business world. We promise or are promised a certain price or certain ship date that we know isn't going to happen. Jobs are promised to be finished by a specific time, but as the deadline approaches excuses for extensions are sure to come.

But the broken promises that are the most wounding have to do with relationships. People promise each other things all the time, but often don't come through. Since trust is a key factor in any relationship, when promises are not kept, the that relationship takes a hit. We're hurt, disappointed and sometimes left with feelings of abandonment. We struggle with that person who didn't come through for us.

Most of us don't think of ourselves as promise breakers. And usually we want to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. We can line up a myriad of excuses for why we were unable to fulfill our promise in an instant. We're quick to tab the label, "irresponsible," or even "liar" onto someone who breaks a promise to us. However, we rarely believe that about ourselves when we break our promises.

If we're all prone to making promises and then breaking our promises, whether intentional or not, who do you trust? At some point we are either going to let someone down or be let down. We're all imperfect. So trusting people can be hazardous.

In today's passage, Joshua is giving some final instructions to the Israelites before he goes on to be with the Lord. In these instructions, he exhorts Israel to remain faithful to God and His commandments. He also warns what will happen if they get careless with their covenant with Him and begin fraternizing with the pagan nations and their false gods. He urges them to keep their promise to God to remain faithful to Him.

Joshua points out that not one of God's promises to them had failed to come to fruition. Everyone had been fulfilled and would continue to be fulfilled as long as they kept their promise to serve God and Him only. That's what a covenant relationship is all about. When that covenant is broken, all bets are off. You break your marriage covenant to remain faithful to your spouse and your marriage is in big time trouble. The trust is gone and probably the relationship.

When we break our covenant with God to remain faithful only to Him and follow all His teachings and truths, we create a major rift in our relationship with Him. Many people want to live and do whatever they want to do and think that everything with God will be alright. They believe that they should receive all the blessings and benefits a committed follower of Christ are due. We broke the covenant with God, why should He keep His end of the bargain? He doesn't owe us anything. Why should God continue to bless our life if we're going ignore His truths and commands and teachings.

One thing for sure is that God will always keep His end of the deal. If He makes a promise, He'll fulfill it. But His promises are always conditional. The condition is based on us. We have a choice. If we break our promise to God, He's not obligated to keep His promise to us.

God, I'm so thankful for your grace. Thanks for all the second chances. Thanks for always keeping your promises. You're the only one any of us can truly trust. Help me keep my promise to you through your Holy Spirit.

Daily Reflections on Josh. 3:9-17 (I'm in Hip Deep)

Talk about hip deep, that's what the priests were at least when they entered the Jordan carrying the Ark of the Covenant. Today's text says that the Jordan River was at flood stage when the Children of Israel were to cross. They didn't have boats or bridges to cross, so just like when they crossed the Red Sea, God separated the waters so they could all cross on dry land.

One little catch. The priests carrying the ark had to go stand in the river while they all crossed. Only problem was that the river was still flowing at flood stage when they entered. Now when they entered God said that He would stop the flow of the Jordan. He did. But He stopped the flow at Adam near Zarethan, not at Jericho where they were crossing. I'm not a topologist, but just looking at the map, I'd say Adam was about 14-20 miles upstream.

So if God stopped the water at Adam, that means that priests had to stand in the middle of the rapidly flowing river while 14 miles plus of river passed. That had to be a little unsettling. At the Red Sea, the winds blew all night to separate the sea and nobody was standing in the middle of it. Here, these priests had to stand firm against the current holding the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders.

Talk about faith. I would have been a little concerned waiting for the first mile to pass. I'd have been thinking, "Okay, any minute now God. Do your thing. Dry up the river before we wash away." Those guys must have been unnerved a little. God told them to march in, but the apparently the dry land didn't immediately appear.

Waiting on God is difficult. Why God took so long to dry up the water is unclear. Maybe He wanted to give the greatest opportunity for people upstream to know He was doing something. Maybe He was testing the faith of Joshua or the priests. Maybe He needed a lot of ground to get all the Israelites across.
Whatever His reason, the priests had a little standing to do in the river.

I confess, I've done my fair share of standing in the river waiting for the water to pass. I've obeyed God on faith, but haven't seen instantaneous results of my faith. Sometimes I've had to stand there while waters continued to rage around me. I've thought I was going to washed away. I've got impatient with God, only to watch Him work things out in His time.

God, standing in our Jordans create a lot of trepidation. We stand on your promises, but it seems so hard when the waters seem to be rising instead of receding. I need your strength to continue to stand and not run out of the river. Help me be courageous as I stand on your promise.

Daily Reflections on Zeph. 3:14-20 (Thanksgiving Promises and Black Friday Nightmares)

Okay, Thanksgiving is over. Now we can get back to our ungrateful selves. Black Friday ushered in the competitive, frantic, rushing of the wonderful Christmas season. You know the pushing and shoving of crowded malls and shopping centers. The vying for parking places. (Take the old dented, beat up vehicle to the mall. The guy in the shiny newu Lexus will yield to you for that parking space every time). Sure we love the Christmas season, but somehow it's just not as relaxing as Thanksgiving.

Christmas is great, but maybe Thanksgiving is the more appropriate seasonal attitude. Don't get me wrong. I know a lot of benevolence happens at Christmas. Food banks get filled up. Toys, coats, clothing is bought for needy children and families. Salvation Army gets 80 percent of their revenue for their next year's operating budget through the bell ringers (estimated educated guess not necessarily fact). We all have a giving heart through the Christmas season.

It's just that seems to me that if we truly developed a Thanksgiving heart year round, the giving of Christmas would be unnecessary. A year round Thanksgiving heart would produce year round benevolent giving. More needs could be met throughout the year. It sounds strange, but somehow I think we turn our hearts toward God more at Thanksgiving than we do at Christmas. At Christmas we focus on giving and getting. At Thanksgiving we focus on God and family.

As I was reading this passages in Zephaniah, I've decided I didn't want to let go of Thanksgiving just yet. I started thinking more and more about the promises made here and the joy it brings through Christ. When I look at life with all it's challenges and miseries and difficulties, and I look at the relief, support, care, and provision of God, I want to stay at Thanksgiving.

Did you catch those phrases in these verses: Don't fear; Don't let your arms hang limp; God is with you; He is mighty to save; He takes great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you in singing. Hey, I want some of that action. That's something to rejoice over. God's in my corner! Talk about debt relief. He's promised forgiveness for my sin through Jesus, empowerment through His Spirit, eternity with Him. Thanksgiving teaches me dependence on Him and to turn my heart to Him.

God, when I come to you, you promise to take care of my oppressors, to rescue you me from my own plights, to restore me, to remove my shame, to grant me honor, to bring me into your presence. I don't want to lose sight of that. I want to grab hold of your guarantee. My heart overflows with joy when I simply reflect on you, your greatness and majesty, your heart and passion, your unending love. It makes me want to offer grace to others.