Sunday, June 30, 2024

June 30, 2024

Isaiah 26.3 (NIV)
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Trust starts with prayer.*
God will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is steadfast. Our mind is steadfast because we trust in him. We trust in him because he keeps us in perfect peace. A trusting relationship with God is like jumping into a circle – once you are in it, there is no beginning and no end.

In the original Hebrew, the phrase that is translated as “perfect peace” is, “shalom shalom.” That’s “peace peace.” Or “double peace.” God’s peace is so much more than the world’s peace. It is exactly what Paul refers to in Philippians 4.6 and 7: “Do not be anxious about anything . . . present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
To attain a steadfast mind, we must bring every thought into captivity. Paul addresses this also in Philippians chapter 4. In verse 8, he tells us what we should be thinking: whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. But we have to jump into the circle for we must put our trust in God so that he will provide us the strength to control our unruly thoughts.
Only those who fix their eyes on God can effectively negotiate the right pace of life.*

Saturday, June 29, 2024

June 29, 2024

Isaiah 25.4 (NIV)
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
When all hell breaks loose, all heaven draws near.*
I live in Florida so I have had some real-life experience with storms and heat. During Hurricane Charley, we took refuge in our house and learned first-hand what it’s like to be in a strong shelter during a storm.  After the hurricane had passed, we saw destruction all around us but our house was practically untouched. Oh, our fence blew down and we lost some shingles from our roof and there were so many tree limbs in the yard that we couldn’t open the front door but we were safe and dry.

And shade from the heat? I can relate to that from an opposite viewpoint. Sometimes in the summer in Florida, there is no relief from the heat even in the shade. But we crave that cool sensation – like we crave God’s presence blocking the heat from the sun of our daily lives.

God has been my refuge during my times of need and distress. Many times he used other people as the agents of his relief. When I was poor, a Christian neighbor bought groceries; when the doctor placed me on bed-rest, Christian friends cleaned my house and prepared meals; when I needed someone to talk to, God sent a wise Christian woman as my unexpected lunch date.

When you are facing one of life’s storms, retrace your steps through the last one and see not your own footprints but those of God as he picked you up and carried you safely through it. Trust that he will do it again!
God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.*

Friday, June 28, 2024

June 28, 2024

Song of Solomon 8.7 (NIV)
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.
Romance was so complicated that it must take a genius to figure it out.*
Anyone who has ever been through a divorce knows that this verse isn’t universally true. Love, especially romantic love, is sometimes wishy-washy and unreliable. My love for my children is a better example of unquenchable love because there is nothing that could make me stop loving them. 

The Song of Solomon is a somewhat confusing love song. And love songs are not the most reliable source of information about true love outside of the realm of romance. We generally refer to chapter 13 of I Corinthians as the final authority on what love is. But I think we still don’t get it.  In the words of Max Lucado: “When it comes to love, feelings rule the day. Emotions guide the ship. Goose bumps call the shots. But should they? Can feelings be trusted? Can a relationship feel right but be wrong?”*    

So, even though we are reading the words about how love is patient and kind, we are expecting that we will feel patient and kind if we love someone. The fact is, if we love someone, we will be patient and kind, no matter how we feel. There would be a lot less feelings of guilt in the world if we understood that true love cannot be quenched – it just sometimes feels that way!
The world regards love as an involuntary emotion – something we fall into (like we fall into a ditch) or out of (like falling out of a tree).*

Thursday, June 27, 2024

June 27, 2024

Ecclesiastes 12.13, 14 (NIV)
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Human nature easily deceives itself into thinking it has gotten away with something.*
The Old Testament contains the Ten Commandments and is full of other laws and regulations. But Jesus condensed all of those down to just two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12.29–31). If we kept these two commandments, the rest of them would be superfluous, as would a great deal of the New Testament.

Here at the end of his observations about life, Solomon says that it is the whole duty of man to fear God and keep his commandments. The Anchor Bible translates “this is the whole duty of man” as, “this applies to everything.” You can’t segregate areas of your life from God’s commandments. The rules apply to every corner of our existence. And to every person.

Solomon goes on to tell us a very good reason to keep God’s commandments: God is going to judge everything we have done. We can’t keep secrets from God. Even the secrets we keep from other people will be exposed in the end. He will judge every evil thought and every secret we keep from ourselves. But here is the beauty of God’s plan: if our sins are hidden by the blood of Jesus, there will be nothing to judge! I am so thankful for his mercy!
Man’s enjoyment of life as God’s gift does not excuse him from obedience or exempt him from judgment.*

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

June 26, 2024

Ecclesiastes 7.21, 22 (NIV)
Do not pay attention to every word people say or you may hear your servant cursing you – for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
God is helping me develop a thick skin while maintaining a soft heart.*
This verse “just happened” to be the theme for my devotional one night after a particularly grueling experience. I had listened to lies, innuendos, and accusations about myself and I struggled with the temptation to “return the favor.” While I am not proud of how I handled the situation – I would like to have been gracious, instead I was defensive – I did manage not to sink to the other person’s level.
  
When I was in high school, I bought a new dress that I thought looked amazing on me. I couldn’t wait to wear it to school, but when I got there, a boy who meant nothing to me said I looked like a fruit salad and I never wore the dress again. Why should I have cared what he thought? There are people in my life whose opinions matter – but there are also those whose thoughts about me should just be ignored.

I know you have done it, too: uttered the thoughtless – even cruel – remark. Did you mean for it to cause permanent damage to the other person? Did you even consider that it could have? None of us thinks that we have that much power – but we do.

Solomon tells us to combat power with power. When others use the power of their words to hurt us, we have the power to deflect the words – to diminish their power – simply by choosing to ignore them.
One knows how little meaning attaches to many of one's own idle words, and should not therefore pay any attention to the idle words of others.*

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

June 25, 2024

Ecclesiastes 7.14 (NIV)
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.
Difficult times are an opportunity for people of faith to shine.*
Solomon has pragmatic advice for how to look at life: Good or bad, we know that God is in control so what are we going to do about it? We can’t understand “the meaning of the complex events of life” but we can “at least enjoy the good that comes” to us.*  

It is good advice – “enjoy the good times.” But, do we need to be reminded that the good times don’t last forever? In Job 1.21, we are prompted to remember that God gives and God takes away (but, may the name of the Lord be praised!).

Since we can’t know whether tomorrow is going to be a good day or a bad one, perhaps we should just expect the best. If you are in a valley, think of it as a “divine assignment from God.”* Look for God’s purpose in your circumstances – how you can grow from them; how others might be blessed; how God might be glorified. As you spend time in prayer and in the Word, God’s purpose will be fulfilled – and maybe even revealed.
If a person believes God’s goal is to make him happy rather than holy, it is understandable that he would be disappointed and irritated when things do not go his way.*

Monday, June 24, 2024

June 24, 2024

Ecclesiastes 7.13 (NIV)
Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
 The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing.*
Usually, when I consider what God has done, I am thinking in terms of creation or miracles, but here Solomon is asking us to think about how God moves in the world. Solomon, while having a pessimistic outlook, still believes in God and his providence.*

There are occurrences in nature which to us seem like bad things: hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, diseases; and if we were in charge, we would eliminate them. There are evil people in the world who inflict unspeakable cruelty upon their fellowman. We would do something about them, too. In other words, we believe we can improve on what God has set in motion.

While we believe that the prayer of a righteous man is “powerful and effective” (James 5.16), we really can’t improve on what God has “determined shall be.”* Look at what God has done and is still doing. Whether we like what we see or not, it is best to learn how to submit to his will because if God wants it to be crooked, it will not straighten itself out. And it will be for the best.
Man is not capable of arranging the events and circumstances of life in such a way as to satisfy his own ends.*

Sunday, June 23, 2024

June 23, 2024

Ecclesiastes 5.10 (NIV)
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
When we make something other than God an absolute priority – even something good – we have made an idol.*
Not everyone who is wealthy got that way because he loves money. Some people inherit, some are good at something that pays well, some are just lucky. But the man who seeks after money for its own sake – a collector, if you will – never has enough. For some, the more they get, the more they love it. I’ve also heard that no one is more obsessed with money than someone who doesn’t have it. Poverty and prosperity each comes with its own set of temptations. 

I have read that 15 percent of everything Jesus said relates to money and possessions – supposedly more than his teaching on heaven and hell combined.* But Jesus doesn’t condemn the possession of money. Many rich people touched his life and were members of the church.

Solomon, the richest man of the ancient world, reveals that his wealth had brought him “no satisfaction, but only more responsibility, more anxiety and sleeplessness.”* Wise Solomon should have known that “[l]ooking after your personal interests is proper life management. Doing so to the exclusion of the rest of the world is selfishness.”*
Our use of material resources will reflect our commitment to God, and the extent to which our hearts are set on HIS kingdom and righteousness.*

Saturday, June 22, 2024

June 22, 2024

Ecclesiastes 5.6 (NIV)
Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.
The sensual nature of man is stimulated by the sins of the tongue.*
This verse is referring to unfulfilled oaths but it could apply to any other sin that we commit with our mouths. While I may be taking the words out of their intended context, the new context is still a Scriptural one.

In Scripture there are plenty of references to the bad things we can do with our mouths so I wondered: what good things can come out of our mouths? A quick scan of a concordance finds that from the mouth can come laughter, wisdom, praise, graciousness, confession. With our mouths we can make his faithfulness known; extol him; speak what is true; and glorify him. Add to these the references to lips and tongue and we find that there is plenty to keep our mouths too busy for false oaths, lies, gossip, and every other sin that our mouths can lead us into.

It is possible to honor God with your lips while your heart is not engaged (see Matthew 15.8 and 9, where Jesus quotes Isaiah), but James tells us, in chapter 3, verse 12, that a salt spring can’t produce fresh water. Before we can have a mouth that does not lead us into sin, we first need to allow God to help us clean up the source of our words.

Take responsibility for what you say. Start with what you think.
Thoughts are words to God.*

Friday, June 21, 2024

June 21, 2024

Ecclesiastes 5.5 (NIV)
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
A person is always building trust or breaking it.*
We are under constant obligation* to God and no vow makes it more or less our duty. Vows are arbitrary things – it is our choice whether to make them or not. But once we have made a vow, we are bound to keep it.*
  
There are two key factors that lead us to break a vow: 1) we didn’t really mean it in the first place; or 2) we didn’t realize the ramifications of our promise. Often, in the first case, we want to mean it. Too many times we agree to things just because we don’t know how to say “no.” I have a friend who agreed to help with the kids’ program at church. My friend wanted to be pleasing to the children’s minister but she was totally unreliable - which the minister did not find pleasing. These two people could have remained friends if the one had been able to say “no” when she meant “no.”

There is an extreme example in the Old Testament (Judges, chapter 11) of the second basis for breaking a vow - making a vow without considering the possible consequences. Jephthah was a military commander who was commissioned to defeat the Ammonites. He tried negotiating with the king of Ammon but got nowhere with him. Finally, Jephthah made a vow that if God would deliver the Ammonites into his hands, he would make a burnt offering sacrifice of “whatever” came out of his house to meet him upon his triumphant return. Talk about rash promises! “Whatever??” What kind of “whatever” was going to propel itself out the door to greet him? He had to know that “whatever” would be a “whoever.” And the “whoever” turned out to be his daughter – his only child.

Clearly, as Solomon said, it is better not to make a vow than it is to break a vow. When we break a promise, we lie to God. Was Jephthah truly obligated to keep his vow and sacrifice his daughter? Does a vow take precedence over human life?  There are no easy answers but I promise to be careful about making vows!
If broken promises were lumber, we could build a subdivision.*