Big Fat Honkin' Truck on a One Lane Road

Right in the middle of busy Suburbia is a one-lane road (each way) that helps people get from East to West more quickly than the typical stoplight-filled streets. It will usually cut my driving time by almost half, so it has become my choice route when I need to go that way. There’s a drawback, though. Many new homes and businesses are being built along this soon-not-to-be-country road, so that means lots of big, SLLOOOOOOW construction trucks. If I get stuck behind one of these, not only have I lost my “saved” time, but I actually go into debt! Not to mention, my patience flies right out the window with the time, which is where the title of this devotional came from, adjectives barely eeking through the gritted teeth of my firm-frowned mouth.

Phew! Deep breath.

It’s also true that we as Christians are on a narrow road in this life, and It is quite the adventure a good majority of the time--bends, bumps and all. Every now and then, though, a spiritual “big, fat honkin’ truck” gets in front of us, slowing us WAY down and obstructing the view along the way (not to mention our patience sometimes ☺).

Let’s take a moment lately to think about the things that slow us down on our faith journey? What sins have us on a detour? Has suffering pulled us off to the side? Do questions or doubts have us veering to the right and then the left, trying to find the right way? Has wordly pleasure taken us “downtown”?

If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then let’s allow the Word of God to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path through the power of the Holy Spirit:

“Whether you turn to the right or the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you saying,

'This is the way; walk in it.’”

Isaiah 30:21

He will show us the way as we are listening to Him...

“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where You are going,

so how can we know the way?’

Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

John 14:5-6

He will be our way as we trust in Him...

“For He will command His angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;”

Psalm 91:11

He will protect us along the way as we follow Him...

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:1-3

He will help us run with perseverance as we fix our eyes on Him...

“This is what the Lord says:

‘Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

Ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.’”

Jeremiah 6:16a

He will give us rest along the way as we ask direction from Him...

“Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth;

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

Psalm 86:11

He will teach us along the way as we are fully devoted to Him...

No matter what gets in front of us, friends, with patience, we can endure and enjoy this life! SO~~

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a Godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

2nd Peter 1:2-4

Amen.

Please come back to visit on Friday, September 11th.

I'll have a very special tribute posted that day...

Freedom In A Cup

My kids loved the movie Open Season. One of their favorite lines from the movie is when Elliot drinks some coffee that he found in the dumpster and says, “(sip) ew. (sip) Ew. (sip) EW! (flying off the handle with the jolt of caffeine) It’s terrible and wonderful at the same time! It’s freedom in a cup!!!”

Now, being the coffee connoisseur I am, that line has stuck with me. It also could be that all three of my kids have taken turns quoting this line in character, oh, let’s say a hundred times or so, but whatever the case, it’s an interesting line….

Although with no comedic tone, I say something similar in my mind almost every time I read the following verse in each of the gospel accounts:

“He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not

possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it,

may Your will be done.’”

Matthew 26:42

Ew. Talk about being terrible and wonderful at the same time.

Terrible for Jesus, wonderful for us.

Terrible that He knew how painful it would be to die on the cross.

Wonderful that He did the will of the Father anyway.

The cup of obedience to death meant freedom to live for us.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened

again by a yoke of slavery.”

Galatians 5:1

What should we do with this freedom then? LIVE like we’ve been freed, that’s what! Before we were slaves to sin, now we’re not if we are saved ones. It says so in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

See? Even when we’re tempted by sin, we’ve been given the power and the freedom to escape it. Can I hear an Amen? Raise the roof!

What cup has He given you to drink right now?

Are you willing to submit your will to His will?

Can you find the wonderful in the midst of the "ews" of your circumstances?

Remember His cup and ponder your own each time you sip your terrible but wonderful at the same time java (or tea) each morning. It’s so easy to keep the knowledge of our Savior’s sacrifice tucked away in the corner of our minds, but if we reflect on it day after day, it will surely soak in and change us from the inside out as a result. As we receive pleasure according to His will, let's thank Him. As we endure pain according to His will, let's follow Christ’s example.

Let’s live, breathe and obey in freedom as FREED ones, friends. It’s the only thing better than a coffee buzz.

“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,

He cannot die again;

death no longer has mastery over Him.

The death He died, He died to sin once for all;

but the life He lives, He lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin

but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:9-11

Me, Myself & Doubt

“When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17 (NIV)

Is it possible to believe and doubt at the same time? NO. I mean, YES!!! Absolutely not! It is, too!

If two people were having this conversation, it would be tense enough, but if this were a conversation between me, myself and I--well, that’s just scary. Yet, how often do I find myself in this exact predicament? I put my eyes on Him, He shows Himself to me, and at the same time I'm wondering if that was actually Him or not.

The above verse from Matthew occurs after Jesus’ ministry on earth, after He has died, after He has been risen from the dead, and after others said He'd appeared to them and was still alive.

The “they” in the verse refers to the eleven that had been with Him the whole time. Now, if it’s possible for almost a dozen men to see everything in person that Jesus had done and still have some doubts afterwards, then how much more true is that for you and me as His disciples today?

This is no surprise to God. He knows us intimately enough to understand that we are going to doubt Him from time to time. How faithful He was, though, to give us His Word as a reminder that He is God, He is faithful and He listens to our prayers. This is where our faith in Him kicks in---it is even modeled for us in Scripture.

In Mark 9:14 (NIV) and following, a father comes to Jesus and wants Him to heal his son who has an evil spirit. The dad says, “…IF you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Jesus corrects him, “If I can? Everything is possible for him who believes.”

The father’s response back is what I can relate to… “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” The passage says that the dad exclaimed this! Exclamation point!!!!

Notice in this last emphatic statement that, even though it is an oxymoron technically, it is also NOT an oxymoron. “I do believe,” the dad exclaims.

This shows his limited belief, the kind we can do on our own. Then he says, “help me overcome my unbelief.” This puts the emphasis back on God to do the work in us.

We can muster up all the belief in our hearts, souls and minds, but without God’s help to do so, it will never be enough. This desperate dad gets it! God wants us to get it too. I suspect that’s why He put it in Scripture.

At the end of Luke 24, it goes into the same story that Matthew was telling about the disciples, only it adds more of the details. As they were walking along discussing their doubts about whether Jesus had been resurrected or not, Jesus appears to them and asks them why they are doubting.

See, even though He knew their doubts, He didn’t want them to stay there.

So He patiently pursued this process with them, even showing His scarred hands and feet in order to “prove” that He was alive. The next verse is the key: After all of this conversation, in verse 45 it says, “Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” Jesus gave them instructions and His blessing after that, then was taken up to Heaven.

This was their life changing moment. After He opened their minds, they understood. Once again, it was His power, not their ability to believe on their own. It says at the end of the verse that “then they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”

How cool is that! Before Jesus opened their minds, they half-worshiped, half-doubted. After He opened their minds, they had great joy and continually praised Him. We can enjoy the latter, if...

...If we'll stop trying to believe on our own with what little we have and begin to depend on what plenty He has.

...if we'll open our minds so that we can experience Him to the full.

...if we'll study His character and remember His faithfulness.

...if we'll learn to hear His voice and tune out the doubting.

He will help us overcome our unbelief. And there's no doubt about that. Exclamation Point! Do you believe it?

Where's The Backdrop?

Imagine spending twenty dollars on a ticket to see a play. You get there, excited to see what entertainment is in store for you. The curtain opens, the opening lines begin, but you soon realize that there’s no backdrop, no set, and the actors and actresses are in street clothes...no costumes…it’s just a story, a raw script. If the acting is phenomenal, you might get what you paid for, but it’s really difficult to enjoy and understand without the proper setting. Oftentimes the backdrop and costumes help explain the story, the characters, etc. It would lengthen a play significantly if the actors had to explain everything to the audience without these tools.

In some ways, the same can be true of God’s Word, though it will NEVER return to us empty or void. This great treasure is given to us. We open it and read a wonderful verse, maybe a common one that gives us reassurance or peace. Or maybe we've been encouraged to look up a particular verse. We read it and are given insight, but often we miss the full blessing and effect of it because we don’t understand the setting or the characters. Let us take a common passage and explore this idea together:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:28-31

Every time I read this verse, I am humbled, comforted and blessed. However, when I read some of the notes in my study Bible and went back to the beginning of the chapter, I was even more so. By the time I got to this verse, I was truly enlighted and invigorated. The cool thing is that it didn't even matter that I don't have a theology degree. If I were to listen to a Bible teacher instruct on this verse, I’m sure I would learn a ton; however, I’m talking about reading the Bible through my brain, and I’m an every day person with limited education on the background of His Word. That said, with only a few extra minutes, this is what God taught me about this very special passage in Isaiah.

In the notes of my Study Bible it explains the historical context of the chapters that precede this one. I’m not going to go into that, because one fact would lead to another, but the gist of it is that God has allowed “His people” to go through much hardship…war, battles, death, illness…in chapter 40, he allowed Isaiah to provide comfort to them by reminding them of these three things: 1. Who we are, 2. Who God is, & 3. What God gives to those He loves.

Verse 6 of chapter 20 says that “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.” What a beautiful setting to this story!

It goes on, (vs 7 & 8) “The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.” Now we know who we are in light of who God is---the ornamental kind, but grass nonetheless. I can picture Him reaching down His hand gently, picking me up in all my “grassiness,” and whisping me where He wants me to go next.

Then it continues to give us a picture of who God is: (vs.13 & 14) "Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? (vs.18) To whom, then, will you compare God? (vs. 25 & 26) To whom will you compare Me? Or who is My equal? says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? (It is) He who brings out the starry host, one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

Isn’t this an amazing backdrop for us to see? Throughout all of Scripture, since it is said to be “God-breathed,” He is that backdrop indeed!

This picture of who we are in light of who God is sets us up for the popular passage in verses 28 through 31. Just as we begin to get a grasp on the story, the grand finale of this marvelous play full of beautiful scenery, imagery and interesting characters is revealed to us. We get to see what God, this incredible, One and Only Deity, gives to those He loves, even though we are likened to the grass that withers and fades. Only God would love and comfort us in our smallness, you know?

Doesn’t all that background give a fresh and fuller meaning to the familiar verses we started with?

HE is the everlasting God.
HE is the Creator of the ends of the earth.
HE never tires, never runs out of energy.
No one can fathom what HE understands.
Only HE can give strength to the weary and power to the weak.
When we hope in HIM, the One who never stumbles, we will have renewed strength.
HE will make us part of the scenery as we soar on wings as eagles.
HE will make us part of His drama as we draw on His energy, walking without becoming faint.

Now that’s a play I’d like to pay my twenty dollars to see acted out on stage. I challenge you when you hear a beautiful verse or feel conviction about a passage of Scripture to dive in and research the background, the context, the history, the setting. Let God help you grasp the fullness of His Word through the power of His Spirit which searches even the mind the God.

Let's ask Him to open our eyes, sharpen our minds and help us to hear all that He would have for us to know. He will reveal to us what insight we can handle at the time, because He knows what we need more than we even know ourselves. I pray that each time we read His Word we can visualize Him as the magnificent Backdrop of every story and teaching, the Breath behind the characters, and the One worthy of all the applause and glory.

Open the curtains now, Lord. We’re ready to get a glimpse of You.