LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

 Psalm 83:18 “…that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.”

News headlines can be shocking. They are written to intentionally get our attention. These are the headlines from today…

Carrier Heads to the Keys

Wait a Second

Amazon Massacre

Viking Discovery

So be honest – which headline got your attention? Some of you may think that mine would be the Viking discovery, and you Packer fans would probably joke “They discovered the end zone.” To which I reply “Get used to it.”

Or maybe you thought the Amazon Massacre had to do with a tragedy at the online shopping giant Amazon. Wrong!

In actuality, the headline that grabs our attention is usually the one that shocks us and directs us to a story we have not heard before. Shock value has only one chance. After that we become desensitized through familiarity. If a story is to live on, then the headline must supply some new information that again grabs our attention so we read on. The whole purpose is to satisfy our need to know, and more specifically our need to know the graphic details.

We also have a spiritual need to know. God has designed each one of us with a recognition of eternity, and a desire to know about it.

Unfortunately, far too often, our human need to know and be known overwhelms the spiritual need to know and be known. The writer of Psalm 83, Asaph, recognizes that condition of man’s heart. In his attempt to know and be known on the earth, man has united together to overthrow all that is God’s. But Asaph makes a powerful request of God. If I were writing the headline for the story it would read:

Catastrophe Produces Sightings of God

Asaph asks God to end man’s pursuit of his own fame in such a way that it shocks people into seeking the knowledge of God. It is clear from what he says in verse eighteen that God is actively designing opportunities for mankind to know Him and be known by Him.

The question for us to consider today is this: What is God doing in your life right now to get your attention so you will value the eternal over the temporal?

The current events of our lives are designed by God so that we may know Him as the Most High over all the earth. The reason some of the events are so shocking is that God needs to get our attention. The “same old, same old” makes us complacent and self-sufficient. Comfort zones are the poisonous bites of the Devil that bring extinction. We need to be shocked backed to life.

God is working to let you know that He is the LORD – the self-sufficient one – and that you are not. He is the Most High God over all the earth. Nothing has happened outside of the direct and complete control of His will. You will find life and peace if you seek Him. To know Him and be known by Him brings the abundance of life that He promised.

Our prayer should be the prayer of Asaph – O God, shock us with your story today so that we may know you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, September 11, 2017

Psalm 82:3-4 “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Last week a famous entertainment star made a very revealing statement about what she thinks is the reason for the natural disasters occurring in America. It was revealing because it publicly exposed her belief system, which tragically is the same belief system of countless others. She boldly declared that the hurricanes affecting America are Mother Nature’s retribution for the last presidential election. The tragic part of that statement has nothing to do with our president, but has everything to do with the worship of creation – specifically man – rather than the Creator. (See Romans 1:18-25)

The worship of man has so powerfully deceived us that even the efforts to relieve the suffering of mankind are motivated by greed and self-advancement. Now I don’t want to sound cynical, but I do wholeheartedly believe that unless we first know God and seek to comprehend His heart for mankind, that every effort we make to extend a helping hand will be tainted by selfish motives.

We place an exorbitant amount of value on what we do, somehow believing that it defines us and qualifies us for the blessing of God. But God’s will is not about where we go and what we do, but about who we are. And who we are is always a product of what we believe about God. If we deny Him, we make ourselves god so we ultimately serve self with everything we do. If we acknowledge God, then we can sacrifice self as He did and serve others with pure love.

Knowing God for who He is and not for what He can do is to be our priority. Then, and only then, will we know what He wants us to do. If we seek to know the heart of God, and choose to allow the transforming power of His Holy Spirit to bring the heart of Jesus Christ to life in us, then we will by nature do the will of God.

God has revealed His heart to us. Moses knew God’s heart, and described Him to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy: For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 

As His people, under the influence of His Spirit, we become the physical expression of God’s heart to those around us. We will reach out in love and compassion to meet the needs of others. We will be others-minded, not self-centered. We will serve others, not self. We will sacrifice our time, our energy, and our resources to “give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem glamorous enough to be worthy of our time. But God didn’t call us to the glamorous, but to the glorious – not our glory but His glory. And it is in acts of love and compassion that we experience the glory of God, for that is when His heart is seen by the world. It is only when we humble ourselves and become servants of others that we will be allowed to enter the glorious.

The Prophet Jeremiah gave great praise to King Josiah of Israel when he said, He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD.

That is the question we MUST wrestle with – “Is that not what it means to know me?”

James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, writes this in his New Testament book:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

You see, we cease to be involved in the glorious when we stop caring about people, no matter who they are, where they’ve been, or what they’ve done. And we cease to be involved in the glorious when we extend a helping hand motivated by a personal need to receive something in return. God’s heart is love, and His actions are not motivated by personal need, for He has none. We enter the glorious when we are motivated to act by love, not reward.

In Psalm 82, God has come into the council of the nations and declared this – “My judgment is that you have selfishly ruled over others for personal gain, and shown partiality to those who provide you with value. Repent of such pride, and give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. But because you don’t have true knowledge of me, the foundations of the earth will be shaken.”

That’s what I believe God is doing right now to get our attention. Does He have yours?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

September 8, 2017

Psalms 81:6  “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.

Have you ever seen a carabao? No, I didn’t misspell caribou. The carabao is a domesticated sub-species of the water buffalo, and is the oxen of the Philippines. The first time I traveled to that country I saw the way Filipino men cherished there carabao. I was told by my good friend Victorino that a farmer would protect his carabao before he protected his wife. You see, the carabao was his means of productivity and income. He used it to plow, plant, and harvest, and then carry the load of the harvest to market. Vic said to me something that broke my heart. He said, “The farmer’s wife can be replaced, but not his carabao.”

One day when we were traveling through the countryside, I saw a man riding in a wagon being pulled by his carabao. Another man sat in the back with the materials that were being hauled. The man sitting in the back had a huge basket filled with wood strapped to his back and shoulders. He had been walking and had been offered a ride by the man in the wagon. But when he got in the wagon, he refused to release the basket from his back and set it down in the wagon. Even though he got to rest from his walking, he was still straining under the weight of the wood on his shoulders.

How foolish, I thought, to be offered total relief from a burden and not fully accept it. The wagon and the carabao were already bearing the full weight of the man and the basket of wood, but for some reason he had decided he still needed to carry his share of the load.

Then I got the point God wanted me to understand – I behave the same way with Him. I remembered the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 where He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I imagined carrying a huge load for a long distance and being weary from the walk and the weight. Then I saw Jesus standing with His arms extended inviting me to come to Him and let Him carry me. I surrender to His powerful right arm that lifts me up and holds me tight. But as His left arm reaches to take the burden off of my back and carry it for me, I refuse, and cling to it, afraid to trust anyone else with the cargo.

It’s not that I doubt His strength, but I am concerned about losing control. It was mine. I worked hard to create this load, and I would see it through to my predetermined destination and conclusion. When we finally arrive at the destination and Jesus puts me down, I wonder why I am still so tired.

What a fool I have been, to not fully release my burdens to the one who will carry them completely. Jesus wants to remove the burden from our shoulders and release our hands from the basket. He will carry the cargo of our cares and He will control the outcome.

Once again today I hear Him calling for me to come and rest in Him, and let go of the basket.

Maybe you can hear Him too.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, September 07, 2017

Psalms 80:1  Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

The imagery of a shepherd is used consistently throughout Scripture to describe the nature of God’s care and leadership of His people.

When blessing his sons Jacob declared that God has been my shepherd all my life to this day.

Moses proclaimed that the Lord would faithfully lead the people of Israel so that they would not be like sheep without a shepherd.

King David, a man after God’s own heart, was a shepherd, and when called to be the King God said to him, You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.

The prophets of God use the imagery of a shepherd some 35 times as they write about the leadership of God and the responses of the people to His leadership.

When Jesus was born, it was shepherds who were given the privilege of first hearing the good news of His birth. In His ministry on earth, Jesus saw the lost people of the earth as sheep without a shepherd, and became the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.

The writer of Hebrews declares Jesus to be the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

When declaring the return of Jesus for the saints Paul calls Him the Chief Shepherd.

And in describing the scene in Heaven when we arrive, John sees the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

One of the many attributes of a good shepherd is faithfulness, and in Psalm 80 Asaph is contemplating the faithfulness of the Good Shepherd. Let me illustrate it for you.

Paul Gerhardt was a hymn writer in the 17^th century in Germany. John Wesley translated some of his hymns into English and we still sing them today.

Gerhardt’s family was very poor. He was the shepherd boy who cared for a small flock of sheep and goats on the edge of the forest. One day a hunter came out from among the trees and asked the lad how far it was to the nearest village.

“Six miles, sire,” he replied, “but the road is only a sheep track and can easily be missed.”

“I have lost my way, and I am very tired,” replied the hunter. “Leave your sheep and show me the way. I will pay you well.”

“No, sire,” said Gerhardt. “I cannot do that for they would stray into the forest and be stolen or eaten by the wolves.”

“Never mind; your master would never miss one or two, and I would pay you more than the price of one or two sheep.”

“But sire, my master trusts me with these sheep, and I have promised not to leave them.”

“Well,” said the hunter, “let me take care of the sheep while you fetch me food from the village and a guide.”

“I cannot do that either, sire. The sheep do not know your voice and would not obey you.”

“Can you not trust me? Do I not look like an honest man?” asked the hunter with a frown.

“Sir,” said the boy slowly, “You tried to make me break my master’s trust, and my word to him. How do I know that you will keep your word to me?”

The hunter could not help laughing. “I see you are an honest lad, and I will not forget you,” said the hunter. “Which is the path? I will have to find my way for myself.”

But young Gerhardt would not let the man depart hungry, so he gave him the humble contents of his pack which was to be his own lunch. Just at that moment several men came hurrying through the forest uttering shouts of delight as they caught sight of the two of them. It turned out that young Gerhardt had been talking to the Grand Duke, and these were his attendants who had been much alarmed at his disappearance. This was the beginning of Gerhardt’s future career of honor and success. Pleased with the lad’s honesty and faithfulness, the Duke had him well educated and thus gave him a good state in life.

O that we would be as faithful to the Master as that young shepherd. But consider this – Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, sits enthroned between the cherubim because He was faithful to the Master’s task of saving the sheep, and He will continue to be faithful to the Master’s task of leading and caring for His sheep.

What peace that brings to us, knowing that Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, is faithful and true, and can be trusted to never leave the sheep.

Understanding His faithfulness adds new beauty to the Shepherd’s Psalm. Read it in a fresh light today and be blessed by the words of faithfulness I have highlighted.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

²    He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

³    he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

⁵    You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶    Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

September 6, 2017

Psalms 79:10  Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

When God created the world and everything in it, He did so as an expression of His nature and glory. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20 that since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

But God’s relational attributes are specifically and exclusively revealed in Jesus Christ, and subsequently seen in the lives of people who have been transformed by His grace. When those who know Him fail to live out the grace of God in their lives, the world is justified in asking the question, “Where is their God?”

I do not intend to place all the total responsibility for the world’s rejection of God on Christians, for the unsaved people of the world have made their own choices and are responsible for their own responses to the knowledge of God. They will be held accountable. However, we as Christians must admit that we play a role in this to some degree.

The nation of Israel had fallen into sin and rebellion against God. They had chosen idolatry and pleasure over the pursuit of holiness. In His eternal paternal love for them God disciplined them to draw them back into right relationship. But while the discipline endured, the nation was shamed before the world, and that brought shame to the name of Jehovah. Asaph cries out to God to end the punishment for the sake of His glorious name.

God knows the perfect timing to restore His fame, and eventually he did, but it is the attitude of Asaph that fascinates me. What is our response to our culture and to God when the very existence of God is being brought into question? When the world is saying, “Where is their God?”, we should respond as Asaph did in this Psalm.

First, our hearts must be broken by the attitudes of the world towards God. How can we who love Him so dearly not be utterly conflicted by the lack of love for Him by the world? Our hearts and minds cannot be at peace when we know that the world is being convinced that God is not relevant or necessary. We cannot find rest while we know that others around us are being led to their eternal destruction by the philosophies of secular humanism. We are driven to our knees before our Father in heaven and cry out for Him to display His power and glory to the lost people of the world for the sake of His glorious Name.

We would never allow anyone to unjustly accuse and belittle our spouse or our children. We would quickly rise to their defense because of our love for them. How much more should we be willing to rise up against the false accusations of the world against Almighty God whom we love.

Second, we must come before the Father and acknowledge that it is our own sins that have, to a large degree, caused God’s shame in front of the world. Asaph says, Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. (Psalms 79:9)

Two things have happened as a result of our choices to live according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit of God: one, we have ceased to live in the power and deliverance of the Name of Jesus; and two, we have brought on ourselves and our nation the discipline of God against sin. When we, the children of God and witnesses of His transforming power, cease to be the living examples of that power, then the world has the right to ask, “Where is their God?” When the sins of God’s people are dealt with by a holy and loving Father who disciplines His children, the world interprets our struggles and suffering as the absence of God.

“O Father, forgive us for our sins and for bringing shame to your name. Restore unto us the fullness of your presence so that our lives may be the living example of your power and glory.”

Finally, we must acknowledge to the Father that we will live differently from this point forward. No more will we choose sin and self over surrender to the Savior. We will seek to honor and bring praise to self no longer. We will, with Asaph, declare that we are the sheep of God’s pasture and we will praise Him forever. We commit with every ounce of our being and every aspect of our lives to bring glory to His Name alone.

Then the question of God’s existence and His personal involvement in human affairs will be moot, and all those who asked it will be mute. The power and salvation of Jesus Christ will be seen in us, and the Name of God will be glorified.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

September 5, 2017

(Before I begin, a reminder of my goal. I am working my way through the Psalms one-by-one, and picking out one highlight from each that the Holy Spirit uses to continue the process of producing the character of Christ in me. We are just past the half-way point.)

Psalm 78:35-38  ³⁵  They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. ³⁶  But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. ³⁷  Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. ³⁸  Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

In ancient Greece, the politically crafty philosopher Aristippus had learned to get along in court by flattering the tyrant Denys. Aristippus looked down his nose at some of his less prosperous fellow philosophers and wise men who would not stoop that low. One day Aristippus saw his colleague Diogenes washing some vegetables and he said to him disdainfully: “If you would only learn to flatter King Denys you would not have to be washing lentils.”

Diogenes looked up slowly and in the same tone replied, “And you, if you had only learned to live on lentils, would not have to flatter King Denys.”

Like Aristippus, the people of Israel had not learned to live in contented trust of God. They had fallen for the Satanic deception that God was nothing more than a means to their own selfish ends. They knew in their heads the truth about God’s nature and character, but they used that knowledge to satisfy the desires of their own hearts rather than to transform their hearts. They could say with their lips that God was their Rock and their Redeemer, but their hearts were not loyal to Him and they were not faithful to keep His covenant. They turned to God only when they needed deliverance from affliction, not realizing that their own selfish hearts were the cause of those afflictions.

It may be true that we get caught up in the same cycle of selfishness. We lose patience with God’s purpose and want more immediate results. We lose strength to endure the hardships of this life and want relief, having defined relief as prosperity. We want God to make our lives better according to our perception of better. And because of our knowledge of His nature and character, we put on the appearance of loyalty and faithfulness with elements of praise and worship hoping that God will grant us what we want.

We have to some degree become flatterers. We use our knowledge of God to tell God what we believe He wants to hear so that we can receive from Him what we want to receive. But our selfishness has blinded us to the reality that God knows the intent of our heart regardless of our words.

I ran across a simple definition of a flatterer – a flatterer is a person who tells you your opinion and not his own. That’s what the people of Israel were doing, and it may be that’s what we do also. It would be spiritually healthy for us to evaluate the true condition of our heart.

The knowledge we have of God is intended by God to transform our fleshly hearts into spiritual ones where the Spirit of God resides with full authority and access to every part of our life. At times, however, our knowledge of God is used to strengthen to position of our flesh and to seek the desires of our fleshly hearts.

This is dangerous.

Be careful not to take advantage of the mercy and forgiveness of God. Yes, He was merciful and forgiving to the people of Israel, but He did not withhold judgment. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t stir up any wrath at all. He did not utterly destroy them but He did discipline them.

Maybe the difficulties you are experiencing right now are the result of your own sin. Maybe you have been using God to accomplish your own goals.

Maybe the time you spend in Bible study and devotions is primarily to discover more things God should be doing for you rather than just learning more about who God is so you can love Him more completely.

Maybe your participation in worship at church is to enhance your sense of spiritual well-being rather than to humble yourself before Almighty God and seek His face.

In humble repentance, do we dare say that anything we do that we hope will please God so that God will be pleased with us is flattery, and it is done from a selfish heart?

If only we would learn to trust that God is our Rock and our Redeemer, and let that truth transform our hearts. Then we would be content in the sovereign care He promised in verse 72 – With upright heart he shepherded them, and guided them with his skillful hand.