Satisfied

Oh the sweetness of a mother with her baby – thirty plus years later and I can still vividly remember the quiet love that washed over me like a tidal wave when they placed my son in my arms. But he had only one thing in mind – his craving for nourishment. He wanted to eat! Every mom knows that infants will sound the alarm when the first pangs of hunger hit. Mom fills the baby’s empty tummy, and for a season that is all the child knows of her. She is the one who meets his needs. But children grow and the relationship grows with it. The baby soon discovers that Mom is more than a place to eat.
David wrote, “I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Ps 131:2). This is a picture of the child who is past the craving stage; he no longer sees his mother as just a source of food. She is a person to enjoy, a person who loves him. Now he can be content just being in her presence without making demands of her. He still calls for her when he has a need, and he will frequently glance back at her to make sure she is still there and is satisfied to see her nearby.
Are you content simply being in the Father’s presence? Or do you still regard Him as a means to fill your wants and needs? Those who are most satisfied in their relationship with God are the ones who have learned to enjoy Him for who He is. Yes, they trust Him to meet their needs as they come. But He is so much more than a solution to their problems. More and more the Lord is teaching me to love Him for who He is, not just for what He can do for me.
Can you sit with Him in the quiet and just enjoy the privilege? God is able and willing to meet your needs – and your greatest need is Him. Beloved, won’t you come a sit a while with your Father?

To Know Him is to Love Him

To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him
Just to see him smile make my life worthwhile
To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him
And I do.

Written by Phil Spector and first recorded by “The Teddy Bears,” this song hit the number-one spot in 1958. Through the years it was covered by many other artists and I bet as you read those lyrics, you were singing the melody. I know I did as I typed them. Do you remember those early days of love, when you just couldn’t get enough of your beloved? You wanted to spend every moment together, learning all you could about one another. What is her favorite flower? What is his favorite song? What makes her happy? What makes him laugh? Her fragrance was intoxicating. You hung on his every word. You became “a student” of the one you love, trying to discover all the wonderful things about them, like hunting for hidden treasures. It seemed that the more you knew about each other, the deeper your affection went.
Do you have the same desire to know and love God? Jesus said, “This is eternal life; that they may know you . . .“ (John 17:3). He also said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37). That’s not a casual Sunday-only relationship.
He is the greatest and deepest love you can ever know. Perhaps it never occurred to you that you can know God, but over and over His Word expresses His desire for us to know Him. The apostle Paul said God wants us to “seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27) The same principle in our earthly relationships holds true in our relationship with God.
I have discovered that the more I come to know Him, the more I love Him and the more I love Him the more I want to know Him. Beloved, can there be any better pursuit for your life than to seek to know and love God? Not just know about Him, but know Him. In the Bible, the word “know” implies a level of intimacy that describes a marital relationship. It means there is nothing that comes between the husband and wife. It is deep. Committed. Unbreakable. Everlasting. That is the love God desires from us. “My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8).

Grace

Joy asks a thousand questions a day – that’s how she learns and so I try to be patient with the never-ending stream of “Why?” and “What?” and “How?” Yesterday she saw some honeybees in the ligustrum bush and started asking about what they were doing which became how do bees make honey. So after her bath, we surfed YouTube for videos about bees.  She loves to learn new things and I love to help her explore the world around her.

But sometimes she asks questions with a different motivation. We have rules in our house that have been in place all her life. They haven’t changed just because she isn’t here all the time anymore. She knows the rules well, but sometimes she will ask the question hoping to catch me off-guard and give her a different answer. I may be old and slow, but I’m no dummy. The rules are the rules.

God gave the Israelites the law – the commandments and regulations that must be strictly observed to maintain a relationship with Him. He is holy and righteous and His people must live holy and righteous lives. The law was given to instruct them in His ways and ensure their standing before Him. But the people failed to keep the law – “Everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud 21:25). Which meant they did not obey God’s law. Man was and is still sinful. Sin demands death. The Israelites relied on animals to die in their place, but that was not enough.

Then Jesus came on the scene. He said that He came to “fulfill” the law and the Prophets – but not to abolish them (Matt 5:17-20). What did He mean? The purpose and demands of the law had not changed. What changed was how one approached God. Under the law, all the rituals and rules – God’s “house rules” – must be followed to a T. But Jesus came “full of grace” (John 1:14). He lived the perfect life that man could not live. And He died to fulfill “every jot and tittle” of the law. Jesus – God in flesh – shed His divine blood to meet the demands of the law. All who receive Jesus’ work are under grace.

That means if you are a believer, you can breathe a sigh of relief because Jesus did all the hard work for you. And He sent His Holy Spirit to live in you and help you live out your holy standing. The rules haven’t changed, but how we obey them has. Beloved, you cannot; but Jesus did. Now you can live in grace.

Grown-Up Faith

There are some things I know by heart, like how to get to work, how to make a pot of coffee, how to work the washing machine, and how to fall asleep in my recliner. Then there are things I need some help with. When I want to make cornbread, I pull out my mom’s cookbook and turn to the splattered pages. When I am having trouble cyphering numbers, I grab my calculator and hope I enter the figures correctly. And when I am going somewhere I’ve never been I plug in my Garmin and let her guide me. I am not too prideful to ask for help when I need it. Especially with my walk with the Lord.
I used to think the more mature I was in my faith the less I would have to ask for God’s help. Like a child growing less and less dependent on his parents, I thought the point of the Christian life was to be able to stand on my own two feet spiritually. But the more I learn about being in relationship with God the more I realize that the most mature believers are the ones who depend on Him for everything. Mind you, that is “wisdom” that I’ve gained the hard way, by doing what I think is best and suffering the consequences.
I’m struck by Jesus’ words: “By myself I can do nothing . . .” (Jn 5:30). Jesus depended on His Father for wisdom and direction and power that came to Him via the Holy Spirit. Why do we think we can manage life on our own? I am proof that it isn’t so. I need Him every day, every hour, every minute. I need Him because I am weak and He is strong (2 Cor 12:10). I need Him because my wisdom is foolish (1 Cor 3:19). He is the source of true, heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17). I need Him because I have a bent to sin and only He can rescue me from my sin nature (Rom 7:24-25). I need Him because I can’t see past the moment or the next curve and He sees the end from the beginning (Is 46:10). I need Him because I am prone to wander and lose my way. He is the voice in my ear saying “This is the way, walk in it” (Is 30:21).
The sign of spiritual maturity is leaning on God. Beloved, you will never outgrow your need for your Heavenly Father – and that’s just fine with Him.

More Than Words on a Page

The Bible is the Word of God for all His people in every generation and culture. The world has changed over the years, but human nature has not. We are all, at the core, sinners. Our methods may be different, but the bent to sin is not. For example, lust has been with humankind since the garden. Eve went after what would bring her pleasure. Lust is that same desire for pleasure. Men may access it through technology today, but the root is the same. Sin still runs through our human DNA. Our means of achieving it may be “modernized” but at the basest levels, we are essentially all the same.
One of the most important Bible study tools I learned is to glean the principle of the biblical text because, like our bent for sin, the principle is timeless. It always addresses the root of our human nature. That is why I will always teach context, context, context. One verse plucked out of its context can be – and often is – completely misconstrued. We need to discover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the text.
Once you get through to the principle you are ready for the application. What does the principle demand of you? A step of obedience? A word to speak? An attitude that needs adjusting? A life change? This is where you decide who has authority over your life – you or God? The Spirit encourages me to put myself into the text to help me understand what God requires of me. I had a deep issue with my dad and the Lord had me put myself in 2 Corinthians 2:7-8: “Now, Dorcas, forgive and comfort your dad . . . and reaffirm your love for him.” It was a clear word that changed twenty years of estrangement.
This also reminds me of what He has done for me. That is where I want to take you today, Beloved.
I encourage you to take this personalized rendering of Isaiah 53:4-6 to heart:
“Surely He took up my infirmities and carried my sorrows,
yet I considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted.
But He was pierced for my transgressions,
He was crushed for my iniquities;
The punishment that brought me peace was upon Him,
and by His wounds, I am healed.
Like a sheep, I have gone astray, I have turned to my own way,
and the Lord has laid on Him all my iniquity.”
The Bible is not an antiquated book of rules and fairy tales. It is the living Word of the living God for you. Take up and read, Beloved.

The Power of Your Words

This may surprise you, but sarcasm comes naturally to me. My mom was always after me about it. “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.” That’s one of the reasons I tend to stay off of the Book of Faces after I post the day’s devotional. I do not trust myself to not get snarky. It’s just that – gosh – some people really deserve it.
But that’s the “old man” in me. That phrase comes from the Apostle Paul who wrote often about the tug of war between who we were before Christ and who we are to be in Christ. Even though our sin has been put to death by the Lord Jesus, our urges and desires remain until we are perfected. It is a life-long battle. For some, it may be drugs or alcohol or physical pleasure or materialism. But God has been working on my mouth for a long time for good reason.
Years ago I read in Isaiah, “I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand” (51:16). That verse grabbed my heart and I prayed that God would put His words in my mouth. The next day another verse came to life – very clear in its meaning and application for me: “If you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman” (Jer 15:19). Boom! I had a calling and a caution. I have bitten my tongue more than once – and failed to more than once.
Jesus said, “Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt 12:36). In the original Greek, that means idle words, useless words, lazy words, ineffective words. In other words, worthless words. So then, what are worthy words? Words that are productive, words that accomplish God’s good purposes, words that work hard for the good of others, words that edify. As Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph 4:29).
Solomon said, “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Prov. 18:21). Your words can do great harm or great good – you and I need to use them wisely and carefully. Beloved, let’s commit to speak only “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Prov. 25:11)

Church History: No Islands in the Body of Christ

My Granddaughter Joy at “Honey School” photo by Wanda Battles Williams at Rehobeth Baptist Church, Rehobeth Alabama.

Paul – persecutor-turned-proclaimer – caused quite a stir. The Jews were perplexed by him – and angry with – him. He “baffled the Jews in Damascus” with his message, “proving that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:22). They plotted to kill Paul, but his friends helped him escape by way of a basket. The Christians in Jerusalem did not trust him and refused to welcome him into their fellowship. He was an island unto himself. Nobody wanted to associate with him. Until a trusted member of the Jerusalem congregation, Barnabas – whose name meant “Encourager,” came to his side and his defense. The brothers in Jerusalem gladly received him and once again rescued him from the threat of death.
Paul and Barnabas would log many miles together as missionary-sojourners. When they parted ways – not so amicably (Acts 15:36-41) – Paul took Silas as his ministry partner. All along the way, Paul gathered people to join him in his work. Timothy, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, and Titus were his closest companions. His ministry team also included Erastus (Acts 19:22), Gaius and Aristarchus from Macedonia (Acts 19:29), Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia (Acts 20:1–5). John Mark brought a great deal of anguish – and companionship to Paul’s life. A runaway slave was also a ministry partner with Paul – after he submitted to his master’s authority and approval (Philemon). Paul recognized many others who were an important part of his work in his letters.
What is the application of all of this? Paul started out as an island, but he didn’t stay that way. He needed Christian friends and companions and mentors and mentees and fellow servants of the Lord to grow in his faith and into his ministry. So do you and I. Even Jesus, the very Son of God, didn’t try to go it alone. When Christian leaders try to stand apart from others they almost always implode. Wisdom says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). You and I cannot hone ourselves. We need people who can spot the dull places and help us reach our best selves.
I cannot imagine who I would be without godly friends and mentors, teachers, preachers, encouragers, challengers, and a few busy-bodies who told me what I didn’t want to hear. I also cannot imagine my life without those I have taught and mentored through the years. Beloved, you need godly people. And somebody needs you. Find your place in the chain of fellow believers.

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.

Help Someone Find Heart

Joy – like most kids – parrots what she hears and copies what she sees, which is a huge wake-up call. I can always pinpoint who she has been spending time with the most by her attitude and personality. That’s not to say that I am always the model of sunshine and rainbows. On those days when she has pushed every button and stomped on my last nerve, I am not the paragon of patience. And it shows. In her.
Did you know that you have a great deal of influence on the people around you? I thought about that as I read in Deuteronomy this morning. Moses was retelling the story of Israel’s journey through the “vast and dreadful desert” (1:19) (There’s another devotional in the making.) to the Promised Land. When they reached the hill country of the Amorites, they sent twelve spies on ahead to scout out the land, discover the best route, and create a battle plan. They brought back glowing reports of the lush, fruitful vines – and terrifying reports of the people they would have to fight.
Moses reminded them of their rebellion – they refused to go on. Instead they “grumbled in [their] tents and said, ‘The Lord hates us; so He brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.’” (1:27). Here’s what caught my attention: “Our brothers have made us lose heart” (1:28). Oh, what a telling statement. Even though Caleb and Joshua tried to encourage the people, ten of the twelve gave a negative, alarming report of giants versus grasshoppers. And the people soaked it all in.
Think about how the media always reports on crime and tragedies and crooked politicians and what is wrong in the world. Sure they may tack on a “feel-good” story at the end, but that does little to counteract all the discouragement they just dumped on us. Have you ever walked away from a news report feeling hopeful and positive? Me neither.
You and I are surrounded by family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, our children’s teachers, and the list goes on and on. We don’t want to be the reason they lose heart. We want to be conduits of encouragement, comfort, hope, peace, Joy, and love. Especially love. Beloved, here’s a challenge for you: ask God to use you today to encourage and build up at least one person. Let’s be the one who helps them find heart. I’m starting today with you.

If the Truth Offends . . .

According to Scripture, my job as a Bible teacher is to make you mad. My brothers will tell you I’ve been practicing for this my whole life. The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (10:24). The word “spur” means “to incite, irritate, or provoke” and it comes from a root word that suggests a sharp disagreement. “But wait a minute,” you say, “I thought we were supposed to always get along and be at peace with one another.” We are. But sometimes peace requires confrontation. The church suffers greatly because we are not willing to confront uncomfortable issues like what a Christian should look like. The writer pointed to two specific things: Love and good deeds.
Jesus said that love would be the distinguishing mark of His followers (John 13:35), and His Apostle John went a step further (on someone’s toes) and said if you don’t love fellow believers in Christ, that’s a good indication that you are not in Christ (1 John 2:9-11). Love is non-negotiable for the Christian.
We are also called to do good deeds. Paul said that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But James said that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Who’s right here? Both. Salvation comes by faith in the grace of God and is evidenced by good works. No, you don’t have to go to Calcutta and join Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity to prove that you are a Christian. Simple acts of love, kindness, gentleness, and compassion are good fruit in the believer’s life. Hate, harshness, rudeness, and indifference are evidence that one is not a Christ-follower. If there’s no good fruit there is no root in Christ.
Love and good deeds are the identifying marks of the Christian. If they are absent, then Christ is not present. If that makes you mad then take it up with God – He’s the one who said it first, not me. Also, you might need to re-examine your relationship with Him.
The writer of wisdom said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). Sharpening iron involves rubbing it with an abrasive stone to grind the edge. Sometimes we need kind words and other times we need a gritty whetstone. I’m called to give you both, Beloved. I love you too much to not tell you the whole truth – in love – even if it makes you mad.