LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, January 10, 2017

Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. ²  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Sometimes I feel like blood – everything I do is done in vein.

I know, it’s stupid humor. But it gets me right to the point. We often feel like our best efforts are going unnoticed and unrewarded. Our best work sometimes ends in failure. Our well-thought-out plans get interrupted and sidetracked. We fail to reach our desired goals. We wonder why it seems that whatever we do turns out wrong. We begin to doubt our abilities. We are tempted to give up and not even try any more. Everything seems vain.

Three times at the beginning of Psalm 127, Solomon uses the word vain to describe man’s efforts apart from God. Lightbulb moment. Anything and everything done apart from God is vain. Whatever we do to build a life for ourselves will ultimately tumble. Whatever we do to protect our own lives will ultimately crumble. Whatever we do to provide financially for ourselves we will ultimately fumble. Everything we do apart from God’s will for our lives is vain.

However, the converse of that truth must also be true – everything we do under the direction of the Lord will succeed. We can build lives that will be meaningful and fulfilling. We can live in security. We can enjoy the peace of provisions and rest. The one and only criteria for doing so is to live as the servant of the Master and not as the master.

When the life you are building is the life God designed and you are building it according to His plans, then you will be rewarded. When the guard you post around your life is the shield of faith in Jesus Christ, then you will be protected. When the labor you do is done for the glory of God, He will provide for your every need and you will sleep well.

Whether or not our lives are lived in vain depends solely on our choice of masters. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 the Apostle Paul says, Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me—but I will not be mastered by anything.”

Has the passion for wealth become your master? Has fear become your master? Has professional status become your master? Have friends and family become your master? Have you decided to be the master of your own destiny? Has anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ become master of your life?

Be careful. Whatever you think you are accomplishing now will be proven vain. Be steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Your labor is not in vain when done in the Lord! (1 Cor. 15:58)

Pastor John

LIFELINK DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, January 9, 2017

Psalm 126:1-6 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. ²  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” ³  The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. ⁴  Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! ⁵  Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! ⁶  He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

It’s human nature, I guess. We have a seemingly irresistible drive to be preoccupied with problems. We are captivated by our circumstances. We fixate on our failures. We illuminate our issues. We tarry in our tears. We wallow in our weeping. We remember the hurts far longer than the happiness. Yet God has promised that in every jam He will give joy, and in every pain, He will provide peace.

I found this poetic prayer that makes the point of today’s Psalm.

Lord of the compost heap

you take garbage

and turn it into soil

good soil

for seeds to root

and grow

with wildest increase

flowers to bloom

with brilliant beauty.

Take all the garbage

of my life

Lord of the compost heap

turn it into soil

good soil

and then plant seeds

to bring forth

fruit and beauty

in profusion.

I don’t know how to express the overwhelming sense of excitement I experience as I read this 126^th Psalm. It applies to so many areas of my life and my ministry. I know it must apply to your life as well. It helps me to realize how guilty I am of focusing on the problems and the stresses of life rather than the joy of the Lord. The promises of this Psalm are magnificent and fill my heart with songs of hope. They renew my strength. They fill me with joy. The Lord has done great things for us! He is about to do more!

Carole Mayhall, writing in Today’s Christian Woman magazine, brings home the point.

I squirmed a bit as I forced myself to listen to my friend cataloging her problems. After three hours, I interrupted her gently to ask, “If you were to draw a circle to represent your life, what would be in the center?

She thought a moment, then said, “My problems.” My friend spoke the truth.

A week later, I sat across the hospital bed on which lay my younger sister, Joye, who had just been diagnosed with acute leukemia. Gray and perspiring, with a swath of bandages encasing her throat from a biopsy, Joye talked to a student nurse who was interviewing terminally ill people to see if there was any way she could help them.

“Oh, Jan, I’m a bit fearful of the pain and process of dying—but I’m not afraid of death! It’ll just be a change of residence for me,” I heard my sister, her face radiant from within, say to this student nurse. And for forty-five minutes, Joye explained the good news of Jesus Christ to Jan.

Afterward, I thought, both my friend and sister have serious problems. Yet one’s walking in despair, and the other in joy. What makes the difference?

Then I realized what it was. My friend’s heart was occupied with her problems; my sister’s heart was occupied with the Living God.

It’s our choice – be preoccupied with our problems, or present them to God who will turn jams into joy.

I choose joy!

Pastor John

LIFELINK DEVOTIONAL

Monday, January 8, 2017

Psalm 125:1-2  Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. ²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

Recently I stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem. I was impressed that the city was built in a strategic location that offered great protection from invading enemy forces.  Steep cliffs and deep valleys surround the city on three sides. God’s temple was built on the top of a hill within the city walls, and was called Mount Zion. Even though the city was attacked on several occasions and the temple destroyed, the mount on which it sat remained. The enemy could attack and destroy what was built on the rock, but they could never move the rock.

King David uses Mount Zion as an illustration of our security when we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation. The enemy may attack what we have built on the Rock, but the Rock can never be moved. We can never be shaken. The Rock endures forever. He has us surrounded like the mountains surrounded Jerusalem, and we are secure.

However, just as the enemies of Israel were successful at times in destroying the city, so we too must be aware of the potential for our Enemy to destroy what we have built. Satan’s attacks on us can be destructive, if, like Israel, we allow the scepter of the wicked to remain over us (verse 3).

Israel allowed sin to become a part of their everyday life. They adopted the world’s activities as their own to satisfy the needs of their flesh. They worshipped idols and the false gods of their neighbors in an attempt to keep peace with them. They compromised God’s law for the sake of social security and lost the blessing of God’s fellowship. God removed His blessing from their lives, and the enemy overtook them.

The same will happen to us when we allow sin to reign over us in any part of our lives. When the desires for social acceptance and personal gratification dictate our choices, we have opened the gates of our lives to the enemy, and he will devour us as a roaring lion. No matter how strong we think we are, and no matter how much good we have done in the past, if we are standing only in our human strength and not in God, we will fall.

Take Oscar Schindler as an example. Do you remember Schindler’s List and the amazing story of the German who used his wealth and wiles to rescue 1,200 Polish Jews? What a noble effort that was. I was astonished to read in U.S. News & World Report what happened to Oscar Schindler after the war. This man who had been so brave, so noble, abandoned his wife when the war was over. He became a womanizer and a drunkard, and lived out his life in destitution and dependence on others. So far did he fall that he took that gold ring that was fashioned for him out of gold harvested from the teeth of the people he rescued, and he pawned it for a bottle of schnapps.

Such would be the result for any of us who turn to trust in self rather than trust in the LORD. Only Mount Zion can never be shaken. Only lives that are built on the Rock of Jesus Christ will endure forever.

There is a magnificent passage of Scripture in Hebrews that talks about Mount Zion. It speaks of the mountain the Israelites came to where Moses was called up to meet God and receive the Ten Commandments. Read it carefully, and let the Holy Spirit move you to praise what Jesus has done to build our lives on the true Mount Zion.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. (Hebrews 12:18-23)

When you come to Jesus and build your life on the Rock, your life cannot be shaken away from Him. There is to be no more fear of breaking the law. No fear of judgment. We have been forgiven, and our names have been written down in heaven for all eternity. Rejoice! You are a child of the King, and God has you surrounded. You are secure forever.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, January 5, 2017

Psalms 124:1 If the LORD had not been on our side

I used to have so much fun playing softball with our church team. I Miss it. I honestly think I could still play, but who wants a 65-year old man writhing in pain on the ground from a torn Achilles tendon? But it is tempting. With my new lifestyle of health, and no noticeable injuries, I feel much younger than I am…or look.

One of the things I miss is the spiritual fellowship we had as men. Our team plays in a church league, and at the beginning of each game both teams meet at home plate for a time of prayer. It was always encouraging to hear some of the men pray. The consistent theme of their prayers was that through their attitudes and actions God would be glorified. They may play to win, but they don’t pray to win. They pray for God’s Name to be honored. It would be highly presumptuous and extremely arrogant for anyone to pray as if God was on their side. There is a humble recognition that we are all on God’s side.

But the spiritual battle against sin is not a softball game. We must pray that God is on our side and that we win. We must daily ask the question King David asks in today’s Psalm – (What) if the LORD had not been on our side?

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on the previous experiences in your life and ask that question? Where would you be today if the Lord had not been on your side? When I am ministering to families who have just experienced a tragic death, I constantly hear this statement – What do people do in times like this who do not have the Lord?

However, we must not become presumptuous and proud that God is on our side. To be absolutely correct in our understanding, God is not on anyone’s side. God is a side. Evil is the other side. We must choose which side we are on. God doesn’t wander around trying to figure out whose side to be on. God is constant. He never changes. He is righteous and holy and just, and He cannot move off that pinnacle of perfection. We must choose to join Him where He is, and then we can say we are on His side.

There is an old hymn entitled, Who Is On The Lord’s Side? Take a moment and let its words speak to your heart.

Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Not for weight of glory, nor for crown and palm,
Enter we the army, raise the warrior psalm;
But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died:
He whom Jesus nameth must be on His side.
By Thy love constraining, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Jesus, Thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
But with Thine own life blood, for Thy diadem;
With Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee,
Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free.
By Thy grand redemption, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe,
But the King’s own army none can overthrow;
’Round His standard ranging, victory is secure,
For His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Chosen to be soldiers, in an alien land,
Chosen, called, and faithful, for our Captain’s band,
In the service royal, let us not grow cold;
Let us be right loyal, noble, true and bold.
Master, Thou wilt keep us, by Thy grace divine,
Always on the Lord’s side—Savior, always Thine!

Choose your side. But remember, one choice brings a permanent teammate, while the other brings a permanent opponent.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, January 04, 2018

Psalm 123:1-4 ¹ To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! ²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. ³Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. ⁴Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

Several years ago, God clearly taught me a spiritual lesson in a dream I had. It was a dream about pride. In the dream, I had met a truly humble man who was a leader of men. I worked for him in management. One of the leader’s subservient workers had been asked to make a recommendation concerning a certain project I had been assigned to implement. In my opinion, the recommendation was sub-standard and would not work effectively. But this humble leader did something incredible – he backed the recommendation of his worker. When he saw the doubt plastered all over my face, he simply said, “I believe in building men, not building my business.”

It was at that point that God woke me, and I immediately got up and opened my Bible to see what God was going to teach me about humble leadership. I started reading in today’s Psalm.  I was struck immediately with the contrast portrayed between the proud and the humble person. The proud person, who arrogantly protects his own way, does so at the expense of others with ridicule and contempt. The humble person recognizes that his way is completely subject to another Master as a slave or a maidservant.

But it was the cry for mercy that really got my attention. I looked up the word mercy in the Hebrew dictionary, and discovered it means to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior.

What!?

I’m not inferior.

That’s our typical first response, isn’t it? But we are inferior when compared to the splendor, majesty, and perfection of God. Yet God stoops to us.

Remember the devotional from a few days ago about God stooping to be involved in our lives. Well, now I see what God wanted me to really learn – I should stoop, too. Now the danger in that is that I will become arrogant about who I am because I am seeing others as inferior. Then I would be the arrogant one who ridicules the flaws in others. I would be guilty of holding others in contempt.

The key to accomplishing mercy – to stoop down without arrogance – is to not confuse a person’s worth with a person’s condition. God didn’t confuse those two things when He stooped to me. He saw a man created in His own image with eternal worth, but caught in a hopeless and inferior condition of sin. He stooped and showed kindness to me. Now I am called to do the same.

Shortly after learning this lesson from a dream, I was scheduled to have lunch with a friend. I had been at the hospital to visit a man who was in the emergency room. When I left for the meeting, God impressed it on my heart that I had just shown mercy. As I got in my car and drove, I passed three different individuals along the way who would be considered inferior by society. They were dressed in clothing that looked like rags, they were dirty, and they appeared to have nowhere to go.

In that moment I was overwhelmed by the mercy of God, and I saw a clear path out of the valley of discouragement that I had been in. The path was lined with people. I had gotten into my valley by focusing on taking care of business.  God wants me to take care of people.

For two days, God had been trying to impress that point on me, and the dream I had was  another confirmation of His holy purpose on my life. The discovery that God stoops was the beginning. Me learning to stoop is the fulfillment.

Lesson learned. Build people not business. That is God’s holy purpose. It’s your holy purpose too. So many people are crying out for mercy because they are being ridiculed by the proud and the arrogant. We are God’s hands of mercy. Stoop down today and show kindness to someone whose condition is not an indication of their worth.

God did it for us. His love compels us to do it for others.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

Psalm 122:1-3  I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” ²  Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! ³  Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together.

I was a weird little boy. I know most of you are probably thinking that the weirdness has carried over quite well into adulthood, but when I was a boy I was different. I’ve met a couple of young men like me since then, but not very many. My criteria for me measuring weirdness is even weird.  Maybe it shouldn’t be defined as weird, but it certainly stood apart from the normal behavior of kids my age. You see, I had a strong desire to know the Word of God. I loved going to church. I carried multiple colored pencils so I could highlight my Bible according to a color-coding system I had developed. I still have that Bible if you ever want to see it. I diligently took notes in my Bible on every page used by the preacher as a text. I went to church Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights. It brought joy to my life to be in the presence of God and His people.

This passion started out when I was a young boy because it was expected – dad was the pastor. But I remember even as an 8-year old not having to be begged to get ready to leave for church. I remember clearly being excited about going to Sunday School and learning yet another story that told me about this incredible God who loved me. I memorized every assigned verse. I was excited for every opportunity to learn more about Jesus.

When I got to High School and could make my own choices about church attendance, I stayed weird. I never missed church because of sports or recreation of any kind. I never stayed home to watch an important game on TV. I never missed because I was busy or tired from being previously busy. I never missed to spend the day with friends. The people I cared about most and wanted to be with also never missed. There was an intimacy of fellowship that combined with the excitement of hearing from God which made church impossible to miss. I anticipated every opportunity to be with God’s people and experience the deep love of true fellowship.

If you are under the age of 40, you are probably having a hard time relating to what I have just written. Culture has redefined the importance of church. In fact, the church has redefined the importance of church. There is a philosophy permeating our society that church is just the cherry on top of a perfectly good and delectable hot fudge sundae. If I have my own devotions, and live my life pleasing to the Lord every day, then church is not really all that important. God won’t mind if I spend my summers playing soccer or golf or fishing or camping or just working on my lawn. I can still be a Christian and not go to church. That may be true, but it is NOT God’s plan for life. It is NOT His will for you. He intended the abundant life of a Christian who is experiencing His peace and presence, to be lived in the context of the local church as a functioning and vital part of the body of Christ.

King David expressed the importance of Christian community when he said, Jerusalem is built like a city that is bound firmly together. Look at that words bound firmly. They do not refer to the close proximity of the houses in the city. It refers to the way people related to one another. The words in Hebrew literally mean to join together in fascination and have fellowship.

The people of the city joined together in intimate fellowship because they were fascinated with the same thing – the worship of God. That unifying fascination with God brought them into intimate fellowship in all areas of their lives. The city of Jerusalem, which for us today represents the church, became the center of their lives. Even those who did not live in the city were thrilled with the opportunities they had to enter the city and become a part of the fellowship (see verse 4).

It thrills me to see young families learning this principle. They are being bound firmly together in the context of Christian fellowship. They spend more than just Sundays together. They eat together. They play softball and basketball together. They golf and fish together. Their first choice of friends is with people who have the same fascination for God that they have. And the church is once again becoming the center of their lives.

But we must be on guard against two things. First, that fellowship with others does not become the end in itself. It is the worship of God that holds us together. It is fascination with the things of God that unites us. Satan would like us to become fascinated with each other and lose sight of God. Satan would love to destroy the unity of our churches by getting us to care more about the people of the church than the Lord of the church. Satan would love to influence us to think that so long as we are with God’s people during the week we don’t need to be in church on Sunday. Satan wants us to classify church as a cherry. We must be alert to these deceptions of the Devil.

And second, we must be cautious that by becoming firmly bound together we do not close our doors to further growth. Firmly bound does not mean cliques. When small groups of people become satisfied with their circle of friends and stop reaching out to include others, then they have lost sight of God and have become self-serving. We are to bound firmly together so we can make room for more.

I pray that our church, and your church, will continue to get more closely and firmly bound together. That will require us to establish two goals for our personal lives. First, get more and more fascinated with God and the study of His Word. And second, get more and more inclusive as you reach out and bring others into the fellowship of fascination with God.

Then maybe, in a good and Godly way, we will all be identified as weird.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Psalms 121:1 – 8  I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Less of me and more of Christ.

As I begin a new year, that is my highest goal. It will be hard. I have a natural bent toward self-sufficiency. I trust me. I believe it’s easy for all of us to depend on self first, but especially men driven by the macho mentality like me.

I can handle it!

I’ll take care of it! 

I’ll make it happen! 

I’ll fix it! 

These are all standard responses to the everyday situations and events that march us into emotional valleys, far from our preferred mountaintop lifestyles. But sometimes the valley we are in leaves us with no hope of escape. Everywhere we look we see nothing but hills, and we’re too tired to climb them.

Today’s Psalm is just the reminder I need to begin this new year of less of me and more of Christ. There will be days when all we can see are hills, and we have no hope of help. There will be many moments of trying to resolve the circumstances of life according to my own experience, strength, and resources. There will be moments when I am overwhelmed by it all and want to cave in, and rather than climb up the hill I would be content to slip into a cave in the hill and hide.

But the Psalmist reminds me that if I will simply look up to the hills, the Lord is there ready to help. When I stop trying, and start trusting, hope is restored and help is on the way.

The psalm begins with a declaration of who God is – He is the all-powerful Maker of heaven and earth. Certainly He is capable of handling whatever circumstance we are currently enduring.

Yet this all-powerful God comes along side of us and intimately cares for us. He will not let our foot slip as He leads us. He knows and has prepared the path. He has a plan. He is not tired. He will not make a mistake. He will not get distracted. There will be no accidents along the way.

Next, the Lord lets us know that He cares about our well-being. He watches over us to protect us from harm. Whether it be the potential harm from natural events or harm planned by enemies, God will protect us. Four times in this Psalm we are told that the Lord watches over us.

When I’m in a valley of any kind, it feels like I’m being watched. It feels like everybody on the hills is looking down at me. I respond with more and more self-condemnation because I assume that’s what everyone in the hills is thinking. But when the Lord watches over me it is with eyes of love and compassion. The Hebrew word used here in all four instances is shamar, which means to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc. When it appears that people are trying to make the valley worse, God steps in and builds a hedge of protection around us and guides us back to the hilltop.

God provides and protects. When all my physical eyes can see are unclimbable hills, my spiritual eyes are opened to see the Helper of my soul. He knows what I’ve gone into and what I’m trying to come out of. He watches over my life. He is in control.

The valleys are necessary to teach us to trust Him. They teach us to be helpless, and it’s ok to be helpless. As the hills close in and become a formidable barrier to hope, look up into those hills. Your True Helper dwells there, and He is ready to help you when you let Him have control.

Less of me, and more of Christ.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, December 29, 2017

Psalms 120:1 – 4 (NIV) I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.

In Boston, a minister noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. “What are you doing, boys?”

“Telling lies,” said one of the boys. “The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog.”

“Why, when I was your age,” the shocked minister said, “I never ever thought of telling a lie.”

The boys looked at one another, a little crestfallen. Finally, one of them shrugged and said, “I guess he wins the dog.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Sin comes in all shapes and sizes, but lying is the handle that fits them all.”

God hates lying. In Proverbs 6:16 – 19 we read, “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Notice how lying is involved in all the things God hates.

• Haughty eyes, or pride, is a lie about who we really are.
• Hands that shed innocent blood have lied about someone else to defend their own actions.
• Hearts that devise wicked schemes will lie to accomplish their own goals.
• Feet that are quick to rush into evil believe the lies of immediate gratification and self-indulgence.
• People who stir up dissension among others may lie about them, but in reality, they are lying to them about their own innocence, using the dissension as a smoke screen for their own guilt.

Lying is the handle that fits all the sins that God hates.

When Saul was still king of Israel, and David’s popularity was growing, Saul tried to rescue his monarchy by banishing David from the land. As David and his mighty men traveled they came to the town of Nob, where a priest named Ahimelech officiated over the people. He saw the big picture of God’s purpose for David and provided food for David and his men.

Also present at that time was a man named Doeg. He was Saul’s chief shepherd of all his flocks. He went and reported to Saul that Ahimelech had helped David. Saul ordered Ahimelech and all his family killed, and Doeg volunteered for the task. That day Doeg killed 86 people.

It is in the context of these events that David writes Psalm 120. To protect his own status, Saul had been lying about David. To advance his own position, Doeg lied about Ahimelech. David was tired of suffering the effects of lying lips and deceitful tongues.

There are many ways to lie. Some of them have become acceptable even among Christians. We strive for desired outcomes by changing the meaning of our words with inflections and body language. We embellish the truth to draw attention to ourselves. The need for recognition couples with the desire for acceptance and convinces us that those goals justify any lie.

But lying hurts. It hurts others and it hurts us. It hurts God.

Here’s why God hates lying – because lying is the proof of pride. To lie to another person is to prove that we love self more than we love them. But what we may not really undersstand is that seeking to advance self is really a proof of hatred of self. If one truly loves self, then there is no need to continually try to prove self to others, to protect self from others, or to improve self-image in the eyes of others. Lying is the attempt to protect whatever value we believe we have, which is really a product of hating all the rest of who we are. God hates lying because it focuses on our worth and denies His worth in us.

God, save us from our own lying lips. Show us the worth of your Son Jesus and that we are complete in Him. With that knowledge and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we are free from any and all attempts to defend, protect, and advance our own cause. The truth will set us free.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Psalms 119:169 – 176 (NIV) May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

As a pastor, I have stood with families beside the beds of many people who were near death. Some have asked for prayer that they might live longer. Occasionally I will ask them, “Why do you want to live longer?” I get lots of different answers. Most involve family, and the desire to spend more time with them. Some answers involve unfulfilled dreams and ambitions. But never once have I heard this response – “Let me live that I may praise God.”

How would we answer that question if we were the one lying at death’s door? Why do we want to live? Maybe it would be for personal reasons that benefit us or those close to us. Maybe it would be to accomplish something we left undone. Maybe it would be to spend the money we built up as a treasure for our old age and we now know we can’t take with us. We face the possibility of death every day, and we have all developed a list of reasons why we hope and pray we don’t die today.

Some people actually don’t want to live any longer. There are two reasons for this. First, they are hopeless. John G. Neihardt is listed as one of our great American poets. He lived from 1881 – 1973 and was the author of some twenty-five volumes of poetry, fiction, and philosophy. His official web site says that he was a visionary thinker with keen spiritual insight, and he left us a rich inheritance of wisdom and a legacy of understanding. I found it interesting that a man with keen spiritual insight would write a poem with such a hopeless theme as the one he entitled Let Me Live Out My Years.

LET me live out my years in heat of blood!

Let me die drunken with the dreamer’s wine!

Let me not see this soul-house built of mud

Go toppling to the dusk—a vacant shrine.

 

Let me go quickly, like a candle light

Snuffed out just at the heyday of its glow.

Give me high noon—and let it then be night!

Thus would I go.

 

And grant that when I face the grisly Thing,

My song may trumpet down the gray Perhaps.

Let me be as a tune-swept fiddlestring

That feels the Master Melody—and snaps!

 

Some people don’t want to live because they are hopeless.

But others don’t want to live because they are hopeful. Let me explain. The Psalmist says “Let me live that I may praise you.” As I think back to all those dear saints I have watched pass into eternity, one thing was true of them all – they had hope. And even while they longed to live longer on this earth to experience more of this life, their highest ambition was to live eternally in the presence of their Lord and Savior so that they might praise Him. They never said they wanted to live longer here to praise Him because it was understood that their hearts were set on living with Him and praising Him.

The Apostle Paul struggled with this in his letter to the Philippians. He said, as paraphrased in The Message, “Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose. As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.”

Paul was willing to stick around in this life for one reason – to join with God’s people in praising Jesus Christ as they grew together in the joy of trusting God.

May this be our prayer today and every day that we are granted life on this earth – For me, living is for Christ. Dying is my gain.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Psalms 119:161 – 168 (NIV) Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.

I am not a thief. I have, however, been a safe-cracker.

In 1974, I went to work for the new owner of a grocery store. Included in the purchase of the store was a large old safe that was locked. The previous owner said he couldn’t remember the combination and if we could get into it we could have whatever was in it. I volunteered to crack the safe. I tried for a couple of hours to listen to the tumblers fall on the dial. I had seen it done that way on TV and figured it would work for me.  It didn’t. It was time for demolition techniques. I didn’t have access to dynamite, so breaking through the outer shell was my next best plan.

This was a huge safe. It was 5 feet tall and three feet wide. With sledge hammer and chisel I began to slowly peel off the steel side of the safe. Underneath I found four inches of concrete reinforced with iron rebar. I smashed the concrete and cut through the rebar. Then I had to somehow get through the inner steel wall. I don’t believe that sledgehammer and pry bar had ever been used so hard. Finally, after two days of work, I broke through.

Inside we found lots of old papers and ledgers from the early days of the store. Then, tucked away in one small drawer was a little black velvet bag. Inside I found something I had never seen before – two, twenty-dollar gold pieces from the 1800’s. The boss told me I could have them for all the work I had done on the safe. I took them home and hid them in a safe place.

The next time I went to the big city I stopped and bought a coin collecting magazine to see what they were worth. I was shocked when I saw their value at over $400 each. Eight hundred dollars was a lot of money to a single guy back in those days. It would be like finding five thousand dollars today. I immediately started making plans for how I would put that money to good use.

Unfortunately, I never got to spend any of it. News travels fast in a small town. The previous owner heard about the discovery and it jogged his memory. He asked that the coins be returned. I gave them to him. But for a time, I knew what it was like to discover treasure. The thrill of finding it and owning it captivated me and dictated most of my thought process as I evaluated all the options the treasure afforded me.

I can also remember when God’s promises captivated me in the same way. Once I could relate to the words, I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. I remember the first time I discovered some of those treasures. They would dictate all my thoughts as I evaluated all of the options those promises gave me for my life.

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. I remember the thrill it brought to my heart to know that God promised to direct every part of my life and that I could trust His control.
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I remember the peace that came from letting God have control. I remember taking those and many more such treasures to heart and tucking them away for safe keeping.

Some days I wonder where the thrill has gone. Why have the “spoils” been spoiled? Has God asked for the treasures to be returned and they are no longer mine? Unlike the story of the gold pieces, God has not asked for the treasure to be returned. Actually, His treasures are ours forever. His promises will never be taken back.

So why are we not rejoicing over the treasure anymore? I think it’s because we locked them up for safe keeping and have forgotten the combination to the safe. They sit in the back of the store of our lives while we continue to conduct business as usual. We’re so wrapped up in doing things our way that we’ve even forgotten that the treasures of God are still in the safe.

If a young man would spend two days of hard labor cracking into a safe just for the chance to see if treasure exists, don’t you think it’s worth whatever effort you have to put forth to discover the treasures you know are in God’s Word?

And when you find them, don’t hide them. Use them. Their value can never be fully spent.

Pastor John