Give Me Jesus

I had some lovely praise and worship time this morning, thanks to a dear friend who posted some videos of songs that touched her heart. One of those songs was “Give Me Jesus.”. I remember the first time I heard it. I fell in love with it – and with the singer, Fernando Ortega. (I’ll post his beautiful version in the comments.) I loved his style of writing and singing. He was my personal worship leader.
But then my life got very busy when I started back to school. I was also working and serving at my church and caring for my family. I didn’t have – or perhaps I should say I didn’t make time for listening to my favorite musician. When we moved the CDs got packed up – and didn’t get unpacked. They weren’t a priority as I was still deep in seminary and eventually working again and along came a little girl who needed her Nana. Eventually, the box got shoved in a closet somewhere and I forgot about Fernando.
I believe that happens to us in our spiritual life too. We start out with Jesus – so in love and attentive to His word and His Spirit. We talk to Him – and about Him – at every opportunity. But then life happens and Jesus gets less and less of us. Work, family responsibilities, illness, a move, and of course, struggles, disappointments, life changes, and grief all work against our time with Jesus. Or maybe that’s just me.
All the things I’m doing are good in and of themselves. But if they draw me away from Jesus, they are not serving a good purpose. What’s the answer? I have to “Love the Lord [my] God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind and with all my strength” (Mark 12:30). He can’t just be my No. 1 priority. He has to be my only priority. He has to have all of me. Does that mean that I don’t tend to my other responsibilities? No, but it does mean that some things – maybe even good things – may have to get less of me so that Jesus can have more. I can think of several time-wasters that I can eliminate. That may be true for you too.
Beloved, when you “Delight yourself in the Lord He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). He will give you Himself.

In the Heat of the Battle

The Old Testament is filled with battle stories because God’s people were constantly under attack from every direction. There were rare seasons of peace in the land – but it wouldn’t be long before another enemy came at them and the fight was on again. The books of Kings and Chronicles chronicle many of those battles (did you see what I did there?). One of those stands out to me – in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat was king of Judah (the southern kingdom of what was once a united Israel) and their enemies, Moab and Ammon “came to make war” (v. 1) These were very powerful armies and as they drew near, the king went to God for help. He knew his nation was not able to fend off the “vast army that is attacking us” (v. 12). But he also knew that the Lord “ruled over all the kingdoms of the nations” and that “power and might are in Your hand” (v. 6). And he knew that they were God’s own precious possession and He would defend them.

I wonder if you, like me feel like you are constantly in a battle. It seems attacks come at us from every side. From the culture, from the forces of evil, from politics and human ideology, from the devil himself, from the stresses and strains of life, from people – sometimes from family, and from our own temptations and desires. What are we to do?

We do what Jehoshaphat did. We take it to our King and Defender, the Lord and we trust Him to fight our battles, just as He did for Judah. The prophet told the king, “Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. 15). The king commanded the people to “have faith in the Lord your God” (v. 20). And there’s something else I saw in this story that will help us in our battles. Jehoshaphat “appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise Him” – and praise they did, “with a very loud voice” (vs. 21, 19). Beloved, when the battle is on, when the enemy is breathing down your neck, when the culture is trying to shut you up, when people are screaming in your face or scheming behind your back, when temptation is dangling a luscious apple in front of you, call on Jehovah Maginnenu – the Lord your Defender, pick up your shield of faith (Eph 6:16), and sing praises to God – with a very loud voice.

Beauty From Ashes

Here’s your good word for the day: God brings beauty from ashes. He really does. Just consider the biblical account of human language. In the beginning of human history, men spoke in a unified language. In Genesis 11, in their ego and disobedience, they determined to build a tower “that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (v. 4). In response, the Lord confused their language so that they could not understand one another and He scattered them across the earth. Man’s pride brought division to humanity.

Acts 2 reports how the Holy Spirit filled the believers and they “began to speak in other tongues” (v. 4) – languages that were not native to them. Because it was Pentecost, an important religious holiday, Jerusalem was filled with multiple nationalities, and suddenly everyone could hear and understand the Gospel in their own language. “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own language . . . declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues” (vv. 7, 11). Three thousand people were saved that day!

In Revelation 7:9 John, in his heavenly vision saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language” standing before the Lamb.” The throne room of heaven rang with Christ’s praises – in every language – languages that came to be because God had to punish man’s rebellion and sin back in Genesis 11. Image the glorious sound – praise to Jesus, the Lamb of God in every tongue known to man. God has been working throughout human history for one purpose: the glory of His Son. Everything is leading up to this scene.

That’s awesome on the grand cosmic scale, but what does this mean as stare at the ashes of your life? The God who controls human history also controls your life. He uses every heartache, every grief, every sorrow, and every tear. He even uses our rebellion and sin and the sins committed against us to bring beauty and gladness and praise from ashes and mourning and despair (Is 61:3). Nothing is wasted in the hands of the One who holds it all. And just as a multi-language song of praise will fill the heavens, all things in your life will come together in a beautiful, multi-color picture of God’s glory and grace.  Beloved, be assured – He is faithful. You can trust Him with the ashes.

Sing to the Lord!

For many years I sang in church choirs as an alto –in the lower female range. In one choir, I was seated with a soprano to my left, and a tenor and bass directly behind me on either side. Everyone was going in different vocal directions and I had the hardest time staying on my alto notes. Because the soprano was a strong singer, I was constantly being pulled in her direction. The choir director didn’t want to move me (he had us arranged aesthetically by height), but he did give me some advice. He told me to concentrate more on my note – and to lean just a little towards the alto to my right. He said that he could hear me singing the correct notes, but at the same time, he could tell that I was listening to all the other singers around me and losing confidence in myself. I will always remember what he told me, “You’re on the right notes, but you have to stay focused and not back off.”

I think about that often when the world is loud and I’m struggling to stay on the right way. Many different voices are saying many different things, and they are apt to draw me away from what I know is true. The culture wants me to embrace things that God’s Word has clearly forbidden. The scholar wants me to trade truth for worldly philosophies that have no regard for God. The unsaved world wants me to stop singing God’s praises altogether. My choir director’s advice rings loud and clear: stay focused. Concentrate on what you know is right and true; lean into godly wisdom and don’t back off. This world is becoming more evil and more vocal every day. If we are not intentionally listening to God, you and I will be pulled away from what is right and true. I love this word from Paul to his protégé Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of” (2 Timothy 3:14). Stay the course. Focus on the truth. Let God’s Word drown out the voices of the world. The way of righteousness has not changed just because the music around you has. Beloved, don’t let the world change your song.

Hebrews: The Voice of God

Joy rediscovered her toy radio last week. I bought it for her when she was about a year old to have something to play with on the drive to and from her nanny. When I first gave it to her she kept turning it over and over like she was looking for something. She turned to me with a puzzled expression and said, “Where da moosic?” Because she loved to watch kids’ music videos on TV, she thought she should be able to see the moosic as well as hear it.

The writer of Hebrews highlighted one of the most famous events in the Bible in retelling Moses’ story. “By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible” (Heb 11:27). While Moses was in Midian, tending his father-in-law’s flock saw a bush on fire. Not so uncommon in the dry, hot desert. What caught his attention was that the blazing bush was not consumed by the flames. As he went closer to investigate, he heard a voice coming from the bush – calling his name! I would have taken off for the hills, but Moses answered, “Here I am.” And his whole life changed from that moment on.

Of course, you know that it was the voice of the Lord God speaking and He called Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage. And Moses obeyed. Well, he argued a bit first, then he obeyed. He went into Egypt where he had been a wanted man, confronted Pharaoh (and made him very angry), and convinced two million plus Jews to follow him to freedom. All because of a voice that spoke to him out of a burning bush.

God speaks to me. No, I haven’t heard audible voices, but He speaks to me every day through His Word. I trust what I read in the Bible as the authoritative, infallible, perfect voice of the Lord God. And I haven’t seen any burning bushes, but I often feel a burning in my heart over a Scripture – a sense of knowing that He is speaking directly to me. I’ve never seen Him, but I hear Him, and I strive to obey. God is speaking to you too, Beloved. Just open His Book and listen with your heart. You’ll hear His voice. By faith.

Hebrews: A Forever Home

I don’t own a home. We rent a very nice house and love where we live, but now and then I wish I owned a place of my own. Homeownership is the “American dream.”. Renting seems like throwing money away, but really – all I need is a stable roof over my family’s head, and I have that now. And years of moving around as a military brat make me want to put down deep roots. But the truth is, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through.” The author of this song is unknown, but it could have been Abraham. 

Hebrews says that “By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents . . . For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (11:9, 10). Abraham had the promise from God of a land – “All the land that you see I will give you and your offspring forever” (Gen 13:15). It was a physical place, real ground he could set his feet upon, a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex 33:3). But for Abraham, it wasn’t “home.” Nor is it for those who follow Christ.

Philippians 3:20 reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven.” And Peter said we are “aliens and strangers in this world” (1 Pet 2:11; also Heb 11:13). “Home” for the believer is nothing less than heaven. Jesus said because we belong to Him, we “do not belong to the world” (John 15:19).

He also said he was going to prepare a home for all who will believe and trust in Him.  “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you, [and] I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). You can bet it will be better than any house man could build. And did you catch the reference to “foundations?” John’s description of heaven in Revelation 21 noted that our heavenly home has a twelve-layer foundation – each one of precious stones (vs. 19-20). You can’t get more stable – or opulent than that.

I’ve seen some pretty impressive homes and I confess to a twinge of jealousy. But then I remember that “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop.”* My forever and ever home. (*Ira Stanphill – 1949)

Say It Again, God

“When God repeats something, He’s making a point and we need to pay attention.” My seminary professor’s words stuck with me as I sat before my Bible the next morning reading the day’s Scripture. I had been working through the Psalms for several months and was sitting in Psalm 136. You need to read this for yourself, so go grab your Bible (or look the verses up here) and read through this chapter. I’ll wait for you. What did you notice? Every verse ends with the refrain: “His love endures forever.” Twenty-six times. Do you think God is trying to make a point? Do you think you and I need to pay attention?

If there is one persistent theme in all of the Bible it is the love of God. God’s love often comes in different ways and the Psalmist points many of them out to us – His great wonders (v 4), His creation (vs. 5-9), salvation (v. 10-12), miracles (vs. 13-15), guidance (v. 16), protection (vs. 17-20), goodness (vs.  1, 21-22), faithfulness (v. 23), redemption (v. 24), and provision (v. 25).  God’s people in every generation could add to that list. God’s love is extraordinary and indescribable, through writers of books and songs and scripture (and blogs) have attempted to put it into human words. And they’ve all fallen short. There is a great old hymn, “The Love of God,” written in 1917 by Frederick. Lehman and Claudia Mays, that I think comes as close as anyone ever could. The third stanza is my favorite:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.[1]

This psalm is full of beauty and majesty and wonder. But the point God was making over and over and over  – the thing that He wants you to grasp with all your heart, Beloved, is that He loves you and His love will endure forever. And that is something to repeatedly thank God for (vs. 1-3,26).

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[1] The Love of God  (1917) by Frederick M. Lehman, 1917, har. by Claudia L. Mays, 1917, v. 3 by Anonymous/Unknown, copyright status is Public Domain.

How to Make the Devil Run

Is there anything more precious than the “Cherub Choir” – those little preschoolers singing “Jesus Loves Me,” and “This Little Light of Mine” (won’t let Satan blow it out-whoosh!)? Precious to you and me, but a sight and sound that makes satan tremble. That’s why I love these words from the quill of King David: “From the lips of children and infants, you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2).

It is a sweet image with a powerful truth: Praise silences the enemy!

What is the devil’s most powerful weapon against us? Verbal abuse. He throws a constant barrage of words, thoughts, doubts, fear, condemnation, lies, lies, and more lies at us. Jesus said that lies are satan’s “native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) This verse gives us the secret to disarming the devil and shutting down his lies: Praise the Lord! Praising God puts Satan in his place by reminding him that he is a defeated foe and that Jesus will soon return to complete his destruction.

It seems too easy to be real, but it works. Just open your mouth and pour forth praise. Search the scriptures, especially the Psalms where expressions of praise abound. Write them out so they will be handy. Better yet, commit them to memory. Let your praises drown out the lies of Satan. And surround yourself with songs of praise and worship. I know this works because I’ve experienced it in my own life. Several years ago during a deep and serious bout with depression, “After All/Holy” by Crowder came on the radio. I tried to sing, but all I could do was sob until the 2nd verse and slowly words began to replace my cries, and by the end of that song I was singing with full voice and a face full of tears. It was the turning point in my depression. 

When the enemy of your soul is berating you, when he’s pouring condemnation and doubt into your mind,  resist him with songs and words of praise. Not only does it stab at satan’s evil heart, but it refocuses your mind and lifts your own heart.  And the best reason of all to praise God? Because He is worthy. Beloved it’s time to stand on the Name and the Praise of God Almighty and make the devil run!

Rejoice!

Repetition is important in studying the Scriptures. When God repeats a word we should pay attention. One particular word is used 154 times in English translations of the Bible. That’s a lot. God is serious about this. It is a word that should mark our lives as His people and followers of Christ. No, the word is not holy or obey or pray or repent – though those are all important words that God wants us to know. See if you can discern what word I’m talking about in this verse:

“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!” (Phil 3:1a). Hopefully, you picked up on the word rejoice. Rejoicing should be what makes us stand out as Christians in the world because we are the only ones who have a reason for Joy.

We rejoice because the Lord has blessed us (Deut 12:7). We rejoice because we have a great reward waiting in heaven (Matt 5:12). We rejoice that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). We rejoice because we were lost, but Christ has found us (Luke 15:6). We rejoice because we have hope (Acts 2:26). We rejoice because we know the truth (1 Cor 13:6). We rejoice because the God of love and peace is with us (2 Cor 13:11). We rejoice because the gospel is going out into the world (Phil 1:18). We rejoice because we are giving our lives for the Kingdom (Phil 2:17). We rejoice in our sufferings because they identify us with Christ (1 Pet 4:13). And one day we will rejoice together at the wedding feast of our faithful and true Bridegroom (Rev 19:7).

There are blessings and benefits to rejoicing. It lifts our spirits, gives us strength, keeps us focused, opens doors to gospel conversations, and makes the devil mad. Paul highlights another benefit of rejoicing that we need to know: rejoicing “is a safeguard for you” (Phil 3:1b). Rejoicing guards our hearts and our faith. When days are hard and depression begins to raise its dark head I turn on praise music and rejoice in song. When my heart is heavy, I fill my prayer journal all those reasons I have to rejoice. Every time I turn my mind to rejoice in the Lord, my heart follows. And one other benefit is that rejoicing is contagious. It spreads to other heavy hearts and acts like medicine for the soul.

Beloved, I think it’s time we start a movement of rejoicing in the world. Will you join me?

Simple Blessings from My Father

I am so happy to be using my favorite blue pen this morning. I used up my last blue pen last week. It’s not like I don’t have any pens – I have a box full of them but I have one style that I like (Pilot G2) and I prefer to write in blue ink. That’s pretty silly I know when there are so many more important things. But I was honestly a little giddy when I pulled my pen out of the package and touched the tip to the paper in my prayer journal. As the blue ink flowed across the page I thought about Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:11: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”  Now I realize Jesus is not talking about blue ink pens – or is He? Is God only concerned about “spiritual” matters? Does He care about the mundane things of my life? He does.

Why would He make the world so beautiful and colorful and breathtaking? He could have just made a functional, utilitarian universe that would meet all our basic needs but instead, He scattered stars across the night sky to wink at us and created glorious sunsets and spectacular sunrises and painted sweet faces on pansies. He added fragrance to the roses and gave the magnolia tree those creamy, sweet-smelling flowers. Why would He put such effort into the world? To draw our hearts to Him as David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). All of the good things God gives us – sunshine and music and sweet little arms around our neck – and blue ink pens – are meant to turn our attention and affection to the Giver.

Paul said, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Indeed, God is concerned about my spiritual well-being. He sent His Son to redeem my life from sin and give me eternal life.  But He also wants to show His love in tangible, simple ways. Like giving me my favorite blue pen. Beloved, how is God showing His love to you? I’d love for you to share the sweet, simple ways your Father is blessing you.