There’s My King!

Confession: In the evenings, when my brain is as tired as my body, I enjoy playing card games on my iPad. I’m partial to Spider Solitaire where you line up sets of cards in order from king to ace. I was playing a couple of nights ago and had a set all together – except for the king. I started shifting cards around looking for the hidden monarch. He continued to elude me until I got to the very last row. I turned the card over and there he was. I whispered under my breath, “There’s my king!” And immediately it hit me – one day that will be the cry of my lips and my heart. One day I will see my King in all His beauty and glory. Oh, what a day that will be!

It may come after I have crossed over from death to life. When Jesus hung on the cross one of the thieves that was crucified beside him recognized Him for who He is. He said, “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). The moment my breath leaves my body, I will open my eyes in heaven and I will see the Lord – and I will shout “There’s my King!”

My eyes may see Him before death comes because the Bible ends with Jesus’ promise, “Yes, I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20).  Paul described the glorious scene: “The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God . . . [and] we who are still alive will be caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess 4:16,17). No wonder Paul called these words of encouragement (v. 18). One day soon we may hear a heavenly commotion and look up to declare, “There’s my King!”

Whether in this life or the next, I look for the day that my eyes see what my heart longs for – Jesus – my Savior and Lord – my King. Beloved, I pray that Jesus is your Savior, Lord, and King. If He is not, I pray you will come to Him by faith today, because you do not know what tomorrow holds, or if tomorrow will come at all. How I pray that when that day comes, you’ll join me in shouting, “There’s my King!”

The Breath of God

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16).

I’ve heard this verse almost all my life, it’s a powerful word about the purpose of the Word. I’ve used it often to exhort my classes in the discipline of Bible study. It is in the center of Paul’s charge to his young protégé Timothy, but the Lord has spoken it as a personal word to me. (Note: I am using my given name Dorcas because God uses that name to speak to me): “Dorcas, all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching you Dorcas, rebuking you Dorcas, correcting you Dorcas, and training you Dorcas in righteousness, so that you Dorcas may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This verse is a word of authority. But it is not intended to point to – or worse – point at others, especially non-Christians. God said it is meant to be pointed directly at me. God is calling me to submit to the authority of His Word and to allow it to teach, rebuke, correct, train and equip me “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for [me] to do” (Ephesians 2:10). As a Bible teacher, I tend to read the Scriptures searching for the lesson I am to present. I often forget God wants the lessons to apply to me first. As important as it is to know the inspiration of God’s Word it is equally important for me to know its authority over my own life.

Here’s what I mean. Three times today, Isaiah 26:3 has come up before me: “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.”  What is God saying to me today? “Get your mind off of the problem and put it on Me.” He is teaching me where my peace is through a gentle but firm rebuke – “You are focused on the wrong thing, Child.” He is showing me how to correct the problem – “Focus on Me.” He is training me to trust Him. Now, will I submit or will I continue in my anxious thoughts?

God’s Word is not just our “good thought for today.” It is The Word for every day of our lives. To teach and rebuke and correct and train and equip us to be just like Jesus. Beloved, Have you read your Bible today?

In the Hands of the Master Gardener

It’s been a while since I’ve played in the dirt. No, I’m not longing for my childhood – although I did make an exceptional mud pie. I’m talking about getting my hands in the dirt in the garden. Back in the day, I enjoyed my flower beds.  I tried so hard to be a master gardener like my mother. She always had beautiful flower gardens with bursts of color and fragrance all around the yard. She rarely bought bedding plants. She preferred to start with seeds and bulbs, tucking those tiny bits of promise in the ground and faithfully watering and weeding. And waiting. When they put down roots and the first sprigs of green broke through the ground, she would nurture her babies to their full, God-given glory. Mom’s flower gardens were a sight to behold.

You know that God is a pretty great gardener too. He started the whole idea of flowers and bushes and trees, although I’m not sure He is responsible for weeds. But I would say His specialty is growing people who bloom for His glory.

Isaiah prophesied seventy years of captivity in Babylon for the rebellious people of Jerusalem. It would be a terrible time of destruction and death and grief. But he also prophesied God’s redemption and restoration for His people. He promised to bring them home and rebuild the ruins of the Temple and their lives.  And He promised to do some gardening with them. He declared, “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor (61:3). They would be “the work of my hands” (60:21). First He buried them in the dark ground of captivity. And then He tended them. Even though they thought He had abandoned them there, He was watering and weeding. And waiting. Eventually, they started growing roots and He raised them up out of the black dirt. They poked their shoots out to see the sun. To see Him. And He nurtured them to become a beautiful array of faithful people once more.

Is it dark around you right now? Does it feel like God has abandoned you? Don’t despair, Beloved. The Lord has planted you and is tending you. He is helping you grow strong roots so that you can burst forth and bloom. He promised, “As the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up” (61:11). He is making you into the display of His splendor. You’re going to be breathtaking.

When Temptation Strikes

One thing that really annoys me is all the FaceBook ads. They are like weeds in a garden. They tend to take over and your posts and pictures get choked out. For a while, every time I saw one, I did the “hide this ad” thing. But another one quickly showed up in its place. They never run out! So I’ve learned to ignore them for the most part. (And no, you can’t stop the ads by copying and pasting text from someone else’s post. It doesn’t work – please stop.)

Temptation is like that. It is nearly impossible to get rid of. Dodge one and another pops up in its place.  Here, there, and everywhere – the enemy never runs out of ways to drag us into sin. Temptation takes over our minds and then our hearts and lives. God and truth and righteousness and holiness get choked out.  We try to fight it – or worse, attempt to ignore it – but temptation taps into our heart’s sinful desires (yes, even believers still have sinful desires – see Romans 7 and James 1:13-15), and we are caught.

So, are we helpless against temptation and sin?  Hardly. God has provided us with the tools of victory over the enemy and his wicked schemes. We have His own armor (Eph 6:10-18) to protect us and enable us to stand firm in His peace, to remember His salvation and righteousness, to wrap His truth around us, to raise the shield of faith, and to defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, which is His Holy Word. We can call on Him for help in our time of need (Heb 4:16) and we can flee from temptation (1 Tim 6:11) and run with our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). I’m reminded of the old saint who, when asked what he did when he was tempted replied, “I look up to heaven and say, ‘Lord, Thy property is in danger.’”

Beloved, if you are in Christ, you have everything you need to gain victory over temptation and sin (2 Pet 1:3-4). You just have to put it all into practice.  Be encouraged – you are more than a conqueror in Jesus’ eyes (Rom 8:37) – and in the enemy’s too!

Acts: The Damascus Road

Meanwhile . . . That word says so much in just nine letters. Meanwhile means things are happening all over the place – and in the book of Acts – they are all connected to the Kingdom of God. In chapter 8 Philip was carrying the gospel everywhere he went. In chapter 9 (please read Acts 9:1-19) the young Pharisee, Saul, who watched Stephen die for the gospel, was carrying hate everywhere he went. He despised this new upstart religion – called the Way – the followers of Jesus Christ who called Himself The Way (John 14:6). He deemed it sacrilegious and offensive to God and to Judaism. With the high priest’s approval, he was headed to Damascus to capture these men and women for prison and persecution. He was an enemy of the Church of Jesus Christ. But he thought he was doing God’s good work. He was about to find out otherwise.

A brilliant light stopped Saul in his tracks and his life changed drastically from that moment on.

I am teaching a Ladies’ Sunday School class and yesterday we were in Exodus 3, where God called Moses into service. It occurs to me just now how similar these two experiences are. Moses encountered God in the wilderness; Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. God appeared to Moses in the fire; Jesus appeared to Saul in a blinding light. God called out to Moses by name; Jesus did the same. Moses asked who was speaking as did Saul. God told Moses His name: I AM WHO I AM. Jesus answered Saul’s question, “I am Jesus.” Moses was called to deliver the Israelites from bondage. Saul was called “as a servant and as a witness” for Jesus and the gospel (Acts 26:16). Moses stood before Pharoah and delivered God’s message. Jesus said that Saul would “carry my name before Gentiles and their Kings . . .” (Acts 9:15).

I would never try to pigeonhole God or restrict Him to only do what He has always done. God is God and He can and will what He determines in accordance to His perfect plan. But I can’t help but wonder . . . Whom might God call next? Who will meet Him in an extraordinary way? Whom will He use for extraordinary Kingdom work? Is it me? Is it you? Could it be a child or grandchild? The possibilities and the power of God are endless. Are you looking for the Fire and the Light, Beloved? Are you ready to serve the Lord?

Are You Going to Worry About It or Pray About It?

I caught myself this morning rolling over some anxious thoughts and asking those same familiar questions: “What if . . . what if . . . what if . . .” I sat down here at my desk with my coffee and my Bible. The Spirit took me to the book of Daniel. As a youth, Daniel and several other Jews had been taken by force from their home and family in Jerusalem and held captive in Babylon.  In his seventy years in Babylon Daniel had been through a lot, and God had remained faithful to him. Through it all he had developed a deep and abiding trust in the Lord.

The scene in chapter 9 was after the lion’s den. (Did you know that there is more to Daniel than the lion’s den? It’s such a rich book, I encourage you to dig into it.) Daniel was pleading in prayer for forgiveness for the Jewish nation and the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple.  While he was praying, he was interrupted by the angel Gabriel, who told him, “I have come to give you insight and understanding” (v. 22) I could use some of that right now. I bet you can too.

Then the Spirit highlighted Gabriel’s words for me: “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given . . .” (v. 23). And He said, “Child, have you prayed about it as much as you’ve worried about it?”  He reminded me of Paul’s words “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything” (Phil 4:6 NLT).

Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow . . . your heavenly Father knows . . .” (Matt 6:34, 32). He knows all about this situation. He knows how it hurts my heart. He knows my concerns for the little one involved. He knows the unexpected twists and turns this has taken. He knows the very best outcome. It became a real conversation in my heart: “What if . . .?” “Child, I know.”

What should we do when worry raises its ugly head? Turn it into prayer. How often should we pray? As many times as it takes until the peace of God takes over (Phil 4:7). Let’s make prayer our response to those pangs of anxiety. God is faithful. Beloved, He knows.

The Touch of His Hand

“The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7).

When God created the universe, He spoke – and from the nothingness everything came into being.  But when He created man, God “formed” him, meaning He worked with the raw materials as a craftsman.  He scooped up the dust – literally the dirt – from the earth and worked it into the form of a human being.  Do you know what that means?  He got His hands dirty creating man.  And He’s had His hands in the dirt of humanity ever since. 

Leprosy was one of the most feared diseases and rightly so. It was highly contagious and meant almost certain death and the person’s diseased body literally fell apart. The leper walked through the streets crying out “Unclean! Unclean!” so that others avoided touching him. But when a man with leprosy approached Him, “Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man” (Mark 1:40-42). He was willing to place His clean hand on a diseased man who needed His healing touch.

He allowed a woman with a long-standing issue of blood (a feminine disorder that made her unclean according to the Jewish Law) to touch Him – and through His power and her faith, she was healed (Mark 5:21-34). He welcomed the touch of “a sinful woman” who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair and anointed him with expensive perfume prior to His crucifixion. It was a scandalous act of repentance and love on her part, and of mercy on His (Luke 7:36-50).

He touched blind eyes (Mark 8:242-26) and mute tongues and deaf ears (Mark 7:31-35). He touched people every day in His earthly ministry – dirty, diseased, sinful people. So why do you think He would turn you away because of the dirt, disease, and sin in your life?  He knows what you’ve done.  He knows where you’ve been and who you’ve been there with.  He knows what has been done to you.  Yes, your life is unclean, but He is not disgusted by it – or by you. 

Beloved, He will take your dirty life in His hands and cleanse it and reshape and rebuild it – and you – into something beautiful.  Bring it all to Him and let Him turn your filth into life. That is His specialty you know.

It’s All About Me

Want to know what the world pays the most attention to? Self. I call it the unholy trinity of “Me, Myself, and I.” But we come at it from two different directions. One is the “I am everything” boulevard and the other is the “I am nothing” path.

The first is the “influencer’ culture” and the “selfie” generation. Their motto is “It’s all about me.” They put themselves on constant display because they believe they are worthy of attention and praise. And the world agrees.  

The other side is more subtle but no less demanding. “I am nothing, I am worthless, I am useless.” I know this one well because that was my ethos for a long time. I wandered around with my empty cup looking for someone to pour affirmation into it. I had the same desire for attention but sought it through sympathy.

The truth is, whether you think highly of yourself or lowly of yourself; you’re still thinking about yourself. We talk of “self-esteem,” “self-image,” and “self-worth.” And the culture feeds us non-stop messages like: “Love yourself.” “Indulge yourself.” “Express yourself.” The Christian version is “Live your best life.” Now, hear me well – I’m not against taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and mentally. I am trying to get healthier in mind and body. But I’m also hearing Jesus’ words: “Deny yourself.”

The Lord said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). To deny oneself means to disregard our own interests. That sure rubs against the world’s philosophy of self-focus, doesn’t it? In the week before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). That doesn’t mean being harsh to yourself or withholding what you need to survive and thrive. It means that when what you desire is at cross-purposes with what God desires, you yield your desires to Him.

In this self-obsessed world, self-denial looks strange, but from heaven’s vantage point, it looks just like Jesus. Remember the scene in the Garden on the Mount of Olives when Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus knew the Father’s perfect plan and He submitted to it, even at the cost of great suffering and death. Where would you and I be if He chose Himself over the Father’s will?

Beloved, it would scare the hell out of you.

Run to Win

What’s bogging you down? What’s slowing your forward progress in your faith?  What keeps you from being all you were created to be? The writer of Hebrews said, “. . . 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.” (Heb 12:1). 

What is the biggest hindrance to the race of faith? Sin. “Sin that so easily entangles.”  Runners today wear the sleekest, most lightweight clothing so that nothing slows them down. They keep their legs as free as possible. Imagine trying to run with long garments people wore in the first century. When there was a need for speed, the runner tucked the bottom of his clothing into his belt to keep his legs from becoming entangled. The writer pictured sin wrapped around the Christian making it impossible to “run the race.” 

Here’s something unexpected I discovered when I researched this passage.  In addition to this visual, the phrase “which so easily entangles,” includes the meaning of “well or much admired.”  Do you see it?  What entangles us so easily is the sin that we cherish.  It’s the sin that we secretly love.  It’s the one we keep returning to again and again – the one we don’t want to let go. 

But it absolutely must go – and it is up to you and me to do the cutting.  The writer added, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Hebrews 12:4). That is exactly what you and I must do—fight against that sin, even if it feels like it will kill us. We must “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Col 3:5)

But that’s not what we do, is it? The truth is, we really don’t struggle with our sin. Oh, we may give a wimpy word of protest, but we barely raise a fist to it. We don’t look for “the way out” that God provides, because we don’t want to escape it (1 Cor 10:13). Your pet sin is not your friend. You need to kill it before it kills you.

The victory tape awaits you – the prize is in the Lord’s hands – eternal life in an eternal place with your eternal Savior. Run the race Beloved, and don’t let anything slow you down.

Are you Watching the Wind or the Wind Maker?

I told the Lord this morning that as much as I wanted Him to speak a word through me for you, I needed Him to speak a word to me for me. I confessed that my hope was starting to fade. Our family has been through a lot of heartache and struggle in the last few months. There is a lot of uncertainty on the road ahead. I’m praying every day for healing and restoration and justice and provision and protection and wisdom and strength and peace. But I’m not telling you anything you haven’t experienced in your own life. None of us have an easy go of it.

God gently revealed the reason for my fading hope. I’ve lost my focus. Yes, I am the one who constantly tells you to keep your eyes on God. I’ve taught the lessons of Peter who walked on water until he became distracted by the wind and waves and doubt caused him to sink. Well, call me Pete because I’ve done the same thing lately. Let me tell you, that water is cold.

The Spirit took me to the Old Testament prophet Micah who wrote: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (7:7). Other translations say “watch expectantly.” The phrase means “to lean forward, to peer into the distance.” At what? The Lord.

Micah didn’t say, “I watch for the solution” or even, “I watch for the miracle.” His eyes were on God. It was a lesson Peter would have to learn. As long as he kept one fixed point – Jesus – he was able to walk on the water. The water didn’t magically change properties to hold him up. It was the object of his focus that enabled him to stay on the surface. And so it is with you and I.

I got distracted by the wind and waves swirling and crashing around us. I forgot for a moment that the Lord, who made the wind and waves, had perfect control of them. God’s word to me this morning is simple: “Child, look at me. Only me.”

Beloved, where is your focus? Where is your hope? I pray that it is in the Lord. Nothing else will hold you up in the storm. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus . . .” (Heb 12:2).