Temporary Insanity

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For the momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2nd Corinthians 4:16-18 (New American Standard Bible)

I tend to forget at times that my here and now will soon be there and went. I become pretty much focused on my present journey and the current world insanity forgetting that I am only a pilgrim passing through a small valley on my way to a better and eternal weight of glory.

The times are crazy. What is evil passes for good and what is good is openly condemned as evil. Thankfully I cling to Galatians 2:20 believing the life I now live is through the Son of God. Fortunately the pain and suffering associated with everyday living is, I realize, only temporary. Yes, this too shall pass. My inheritance lies in a better land, the land where the Lamb is seated at the right hand of the Father and it will be here I will be able to behold Him in all His victorious glory forevermore. The trials of this time will one day be no more. I will receive my inheritance and a place of peace and well being in the Lord’s new kingdom.

If this world were all there was I could cry with the apostle Paul “God forbid!” But with all the insane developments I see going on around me I can rest assured it is only temporary insanity. The Lord has promised me a precious heritage and an eternally first-rate life. He has always been in control and is currently sorting things out to His glory; the world situation is no surprise to Him. He is as good as His word and when the world is acting out of control around me I take heart in what He has in store for me. This insanity is temporary. I'm just passin' through.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

A Good Thousand Miles

“And I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.” Isaiah 42:16 (New American Standard Bible)

A great word picture about things crooked and straight came to me by my 9th grade World History class teacher, Mr. Lusvardi. As a student one summer, Mr. Lusvardi visited the old Soviet Union. He told my class about a train trip he took to Siberia. As his train approached Siberia he said the train was rolling through woods and hills. When it came to the Siberian plain all the trees and hills disappeared with a 1,000 mile straight shot of rail all the way to his destination. I remember him saying “there wasn’t a single curve in those 1,000 miles.”

I’ve had times in the past where the road I was on got pretty rugged through no fault of my own. The going seemed as if it would never level out and the winding road was full of rocks, potholes and lots of high hills. It was rough as a cob.

Fortunately more than once on these rough roads the Lord has intervened on my behalf and turned my crooked roads into 1,000 mile straight shots. He desires to do this and is able to easily overcome life's crooked and difficult highways. Relying on Him has taught me to trust in His compassionate Love and Authority. He is able to do great things and He’s done some really marvelous things for me in my lifetime. He loves me without condition and knows when my road is crooked and rough. He knows. He can turn any crooked and hard journey into a straight way and is so willing to do it. I’ve never seen a road that lasts forever. There’s no such animal. If your road is currently a combination of hills, valleys, potholes and rocks it might be that a great plain is coming up and you’ll find yourself singing for 1,000 miles. He leads in paths we aren’t sure of, bringing our darkness into light. These are the things He will do. Jesus will not leave us undone.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Night Watches

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11 (New American Standard Version)

I had a chance to look at the stars a few nights back. I was reminded of how vigilant a shepherd has to be during the night watches. Predators prowl the shadows and the sheep are probably more vulnerable during the dark hours than during the day when the shepherd has a full range of vision and can more easily see trouble coming. I imagine the wee hours just before sunrise were the most difficult for a shepherd. He may have slept lightly but always had to be ready for possible attacks and to instantly respond in defense of his flock.

I love that Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. He said a hireling would have no devotion for the flock and would turn tail and run at the first sign of danger, allowing the sheep to be mauled by predatory beasts of the field. The good shepherd jumps to the defense of the sheep and intercedes in their defense to the point he is willing to lay down his life to protect them. David faced this kind of defense as he mentioned to King Saul he had killed both a lion and a bear that came to hurt his flock (1st Samuel 17:34). The dangers a shepherd faces are not worrying about where the wood is coming from to cook his supper.

Throughout the dark nights I have always taken comfort knowing the Good Shepherd is near with His rod and staff at the ready. His rod symbolizes His Authority and protection while His staff tells me of His continuing love and direction of my life. Even during the days I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death I have taken comfort knowing He is with me. When He says “Lo, I am with you always” that includes the night watches when I am most vulnerable. He is always vigilant for me and after the sun rises He anoints my head with oil. Care, devotion and protection; He is a good shepherd in the truest sense.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

That Ol' Funny Bone

David danced before the Lord with all his might. 2nd Samuel 6:14 (The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible)

I sometimes struggle with a happy God. And I’m not the only one. I’ve even met some folks in the past who said it was blasphemous to say Jesus even laughed or had a good sense of humor. Being made in God’s image, as Genesis records, doesn’t mean in His splendor and magnificence. Being made in His image simply means we, as humans, have the character qualities that God has. I think if He didn’t have a sense of humor he would have left it out when he created Adam from the dust of the earth.

As I grow older I am more of the belief that humor and joy are a basic part of our God-given character and that God loves for us to laugh and enJOY life. David wasn’t afraid to let a little joy show when the Ark of the Covenant was brought up from the house of the man Obed-edom to Jerusalem. The celebration was done with great excitement using musical instruments and David in his joy and abandonment danced before the ark and the Lord as it was moved on its way. And just like party poopers of today David’s wife, Michal, scolded him for being foolish and undignified by displaying unreserved joy before the people. It is appropriate here to mention that no prophet came forward to rebuke David for his leap into joy.

Ephesians 2:10 tells me I am Christ’s workmanship created by Him for good works which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them. Believers in Christ are real works of art. That includes, I firmly believe, an ability to laugh and be happy. Jesus loved to be in happy situations and never turned down a social invitation. It is difficult for me to imagine Him at one of these occasions sitting stone-faced with the disposition of a lemon. He was the Perfect Human who displayed every human characteristic perfectly, so why wouldn’t He have smiled, laughed and enjoyed Himself? Appropriate humor is OK. It was the Holy Spirit who inspired Solomon to write a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance. I want to be more like David dancing. Laughter truly is the best medicine. And why not, wasn’t it the Lord who made the funny bone?

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

An Encouraging Word

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

I love it when lives are changed for Christ within a different culture. Unfortunately when it’s come to foreign missions I’ve heard mostly about the need and seldom about any positive results. But I recently read in a December 13/20 issue of “World Magazine” a story about a Coptic Christian priest named Zakaria Botros who has taken to the airwaves of the Middle East and is bringing Christ to the Muslim world.

Brother Botros, an Egyptian, is 75 years old and began this ministry in an internet chat room where he engaged many Muslims concerning their faith. He was finding he was leading many of them to faith in Jesus Christ. His live radio program is broadcast in Arabic to an estimated 60,000,000 Muslims and in 2008 began to be translated into Turkish and Farsi to be aired in Iran. While he has an enormous following, he has many enemies. Jihadist groups have placed a $60,000,000 bounty on him to be paid for his death. Needless to say, Botros moves around a lot, keeping his locations mostly secret for his and his radio staff’s protection. He does a good job as during a live call in window one frustrated enemy said, “I want to kill you and I want to cut your neck but I cannot find you.”

With the world in the shape it’s in I sometimes wonder if the Gospel is having any effect. I am deeply encouraged when I hear stories like this. This story is just one of thousands of positive reports of Christ working around the world. It is an encouragement to myself that every nation, ethnic group and language will be represented in the New Kingdom, both those who have come to faith and those yet to do so. God is working around the world through Missions and courageous men and women who present the Good News of Jesus Christ to the nations. Brother Botros was asked what he feared. His reply was stunning; “Fear? My dictionary does not contain the word ‘fear.’ I believe in God and I believe that the epistle of Ephesians says we are created in Jesus Christ for a plan, which was engaged from the early beginning. No one can cut it, and when it is completed no one can continue it.” Encouraging words for every heart.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Fully Pasture-ized

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. 1st Samuel 16:1 (New Revised Standard Version)

I do admit I struggle at times seeing people the way God sees them but I certainly believe He works in mysterious ways. The mystery isn’t so much in the “how” He chooses to do something as in the “why.” Thankfully He works apart from any other counsel or advice. He is sovereign.

When Israel faced the choice of another king to replace Saul God didn’t go into Saul’s palace and find royalty. He didn’t go to the Israeli War College and choose a mighty warrior. His choice came from a sheep pasture as a 16 year old shepherd with a humble heart. Of David it is said he was a man “after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). He was willing to serve as a shepherd or a king. Humanly speaking David wouldn’t have been Samuel’s first choice but he was God’s. He thought David’s older brothers better fit the kingly ideal. Samuel judged with the sight of his eyes while God judged the inward heart.

Seeing others as God sees them is where I need to be. Loving them for who they are and exactly where they are is my mission. I need not be offended or think less of a person because they aren’t cut of the jib I think they ought to be. Anyone He sends my way who might still carry the smell of the pasture could be a king in the making.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Oh The Rature of It

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1st Thessalonians 4:16-18 (New American Standard Bible)

If there is anything I’ve discovered about life on planet earth, it is that it is difficult and, at times, discouraging. I’ve often felt like I’m on some kind of endless treadmill, like trying to find a square corner in a round room. Life can be tedious and mind-numbing. There is little comfort from the words of the world.

Hal Lindsey, the noted author of “The Late Great Planet Earth,” wrote that after he became a Christian he was made aware of the concept of the “Rapture” or the catching away of the body of Christian believers by Christ, both those who had died and those who were still alive at the moment.  He said it was one of the most exciting discoveries of his entire life. The thing that excited him was the hope of this coming event. The words “caught up” are from the Greek word “Harpazo” which means to seize with great force or to be snatched up. While it is true the word 'Rapture' doesn't appear in the Bible the meaning is derived from the Latin word rapturo which means 'caught up.' The Bride of Christ, the believing Church, will be caught up to meet her Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to be with Him forever.  Every person who was a believer at their death and those still alive will be forcefully and dramatically translated into new bodies by the power and authority of Jesus Christ into His literal presence.

For me, this is one of the greatest blessings and events I will ever experience. Whether I live to see it, or die trying, I will be part of it either way. I believe there is more to my life than a 6 foot hole at the end. The excitement for me is that I serve a Righteous and Almighty Redeemer who will transport me into His presence, whenever that will be. I don’t have to know the day or the time only that through His revelation He will be faithful to do it. There is no greater glory or greater hope for myself or you as a Christian believer. It is indeed something with which I encourage and comfort you. The Harpazo of the Body of Christ is something I anticipate with great joy. It is a blessed hope with respect to the dead in Christ as well as the living. Let us comfort one another with these words. Glorious.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com