PSALM 119:56 YOU ARE MY PORTION

YOU ARE MY PORTION

            “Betsy got a bigger piece of cake than I did!  It’s not fair! I even helped you bake it while she just played outside.” 

       Have you ever heard children griping about how small their portion was or that their piece didn’t have as much icing as another or was short on sprinkles?  Wasn’t it especially irksome if you were the one who carefully dished out the shares trying to make them as equal as humanly possible?

       I wonder if that’s how God feels when he hears us complaining about our lot in life and comparing it to the neighbors’ situation.  They have a better house, a newer car, a more thoughtful husband, etc.  God just seems to be dishing out the blessings unfairly. After all, I’m going to church every Sunday, tithing, and singing in the choir.  Why do those ungodly people down the street have everything when they don’t serve the Lord at all?  Perhaps we need to read Psalm 37 to see what God says about being envious toward wrongdoers who seem to be prosperous.

       Maybe we need to remember that God is our portion.  Who needs more than that?  The Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the Savior of my soul, refers to himself as the Bread of Life.  He encourages me to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). I can never get enough of God, but that’s okay because there is plenty to go around.  I ate at a restaurant today that advertised a “Chocolate Volcano”.  That’s how God is, overflowing with goodness; and Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6 NIV). As Goldielocks would say, the portion we have of God is “just right”.

 Lord, may I not procrastinate

When it comes to obeying your commands.

May I never hesitate

To thank you for the gifts from your hands.

With all my heart and mind

May I diligently seek your face,

And may I be ever aware

You shower me with love and grace.

JOHN 12:3 EXPRESSION OF EXTREME DEVOTION

Expression of Extreme Devotion

“Give of your best to the Master,”

We sang when I was a teen.

This is a verse that reminds me

Exactly what that can mean.

Mary gave extravagantly

Because she loved her Lord

Not only because He raised her brother

From death by the power of His word.

For Lazarus, Mary and Martha

Knew Jesus as both Master and friend.

Whether she knew it or not

She was preparing Him for the end

Of His ministry as the God-Man,

For to Jerusalem He had set His face

Even knowing all that awaited Him

When he eventually reached that place.

Jesus had been warning the disciples

That He was going to be killed.

Mary gave extravagantly,

But Jesus’s blood would be spilled.

Jesus gave His all for me,

He paid my debt on the tree.

How can I withhold anything

The Lord would ask of me?

Jesus does not demand just certain things from us – He wants our all, our entire being surrendered to Him. We feel such an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love that we desire to give Him the most valuable item we have. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, on the altar at God’s command. Joseph the dreamer continued to be faithful to the Lord after being thrown into a pit by his brothers, and God used him to save the Israelites from famine. Moses took on Pharaoh at the age of eighty when the Lord commanded him to leave his new life to deliver His people. Hannah gave her firstborn son to work in the temple alongside Eli out of gratitude that the Lord opened her womb. Hosea was willing to ruin his reputation when the Lord told him to marry Gomer the prostitute in order to be a picture of God’s love for us. Esther risked her position as queen and her very life in order to save the Jews, God’s people. Mary submitted to God when Gabriel gave her the message that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Joseph married Mary who was pregnant with Jesus disregarding what their neighbors would think of the two of them and the gossip they surely would spread. The apostles left everything, their businesses and their families, to follow Jesus and become His ambassadors to spread the Gospel.  Mary of Bethany gave the most expensive thing she owned to honor Jesus before His death on the cross. Throughout history, God’s people have sacrificed to show how deeply they love God. Is there something you need to lay on the altar to be used by God for His glory. If so, do not hesitate. The reward may not be immediate or even on this side of Heaven, but God sees and knows your heart.

PSALM 119:54 - THE THEME OF MY SONG

Since I gave up all of my struggling

and gave You control of my life,

You have been faithful to stay right beside me.

You’re with me through joy and through strife.

You never promised me that there’d be no pain,

But said You’d stay with me and I would never be alone again.

You promised me everything would work out right

For those who love You, Lord Jesus, who live in Your light.

There once was a time when I simply ignored You,

pretended I just didn’t care.

But then when I realized the joy I was missing

and called out Your name, You were there.

You never left me, Lord, though I tuned you out;

And when I got back on my knees and prayed,

You took away my doubt.

You’re the only one who could love me that way.

I’m Yours forever, Lord. I know that You’ll stay.

            The poem above is really a song lyric.  I wrote it not long after my husband left me.  My husband and I had been out of church for quite some time after the church we had been members of went through some drastic changes. After a 5½ year engagement, we had married, bought a house, and I thought were beginning the “happily ever after” stage of life.  Five days before our first anniversary my husband announced over dinner that he was leaving.  I thought he meant on a business trip.  When he clarified by saying he just didn’t want to be married anymore, I thought I might choke to death on my steak.

        After he left, I began to talk to God.  No, I began to yell at God.  I told him it wasn’t fair for me to be going through this.  I was a good girl.  I didn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs.  I was a virgin bride and married a man who was active in church.  I’d done everything the “right” way. Surely God wouldn’t let me go through divorce!  Somewhere in the midst of screaming out my pain to him, God reminded me that I was the one who had not been seeking him.  He’d been there all along and was listening to me at that moment.  Jesus was the one who would be there for me when all human companionship failed.

        My first wedding anniversary found me in church listening to a sermon on God’s desire to reconcile us to himself.  I found myself in a group of people who loved me and encouraged me to read God’s word more consistently than I ever had before.  I learned that God never promised us a life free from pain but has promised us the comfort of his presence in our lives.  I learned my own free will and the free will of others often leads to wrong choices that create suffering, but ultimately God is in control.  I found comfort in God’s word and memorized a scripture song that became the testimony of my life: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalm 28:7 KJV).  May God’s truth always be the theme of my song.

LUKE 10:21 ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

At that moment he was filled with joy

by the Ruach HaKodesh and said,

“Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated,

yet revealed them to ordinary people.

Yes, Father, I thank you

that it pleased you to do this.

Luke 10:21 (CJB)

People often compare themselves to the Apostles and early disciples and lament that there is no way they could have Stephen’s faith, or preach like Peter, or survive persecution like Paul. They forget that Stephen was an ordinary man chosen to serve as a deacon to take care of widows until the Lord filled him with extraordinary faith to become the first Christian martyr. Peter was a simple fisherman who had never attended a rabbinical school, but Jesus entrusted him with feeding (instructing) His lambs, the people for which He gave His life. Paul had been the chief persecutor of the early church until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, then literally and figuratively removed the scales from his eyes, making him a bold proponent of the way of the cross. The Lord has purposely chosen to reveal Himself to ordinary people rather than those who are “wise in their own eyes” (Isaiah 5:21). Jesus is the X factor that makes ordinary people extraordinary in His service!

PSALM 119:43 GOD'S WORD IN MY MOUTH

I hope in your laws and trust in your word

And strive to learn what I’ve read and I’ve heard.

Lord, place your words in my memory.

Then when I need them, they’ll flow from me.

I’ll speak boldly about you like Peter and John,

For it is the strength of your word I stand on.

Your love letter, the Bible, may I always treasure.

I ponder your truth, and it brings me pleasure.

“May your unfailing love come to me, O Lord,

 your salvation according to your promise;

then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth,

for I have put my hope in your laws.

I will always obey your law, for ever and ever.

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

I will speak of your statutes before kings

and will not be put to shame,

for I delight in your commands because I love them.

I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love,

 and I meditate on your decrees.”

Psalm 119:41-48 (NIV)

God’s Word in My Mouth

            Many words come out of my mouth.  My friends say they love to hear my stories.  My critics tell me I take to long to make a point, that there’s got to be a shorter way of saying whatever it is I’m saying. I’m sure there is.  I’m not prone to using foul language since I was raised in a home where bad words were never heard.  However, I have been guilty of using words to hurt rather than heal, to tear down instead of build up.

        The Psalmist gives some good uses for words, God’s words.  Through trust in God’s word, he could answer taunts. Being able to stand up to hurtful words without sinning with my own mouth is a difficult thing.  Having God’s word stored up can help me to be confident in the security of God’s love.  I can let one who taunts me know that I am a child of the King of kings…and that he can become one.

        The word of truth needs to be in my mouth both in the sense of being honest and in sharing the truth of God’s love. May God keep me “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks me to give the reason for the hope that I have.” (I Peter 3:15b) I pray I will remember the scripture I have memorized and be able to share it with others at all times.

        I’ve not had the opportunity to talk about the Bible before kings, but who can say that God may not place me in that situation someday.  When Christ sent out his disciples he assured them that God would give them the words to speak when they were brought before rulers.  Look up Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7) or Paul’s defense before King Agrippa (Acts 26). God gave them the words to speak.

        Let us be determined to find time to study and memorize God’s word.  Then he will empower us to speak it whether it’s with someone seeking him, to someone persecuting us, or maybe even before a president or a king. 

LUKE 10:20 REJOICE

PSALM 119:36 - FOCUS ON THE WORD

Lord, your Spirit illumines your word as I read

And gives me the understanding I need.

You turn my attention from earthly things

And show me the joy obedience brings.

May your work in my life bring glory to you.

May others see you in all that I do.

       Think of some things you do wholeheartedly.  I sing wholeheartedly. I hug my children wholeheartedly. I probably eat cheesecake wholeheartedly.  But do I obey God’s law wholeheartedly, or is it sometimes obeyed begrudgingly?  Oh, that we might pray, “Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.”

       In what do you find delight?  I find sunsets delightful, sunrises too.  In the laughter of children, I find delight, don’t you?  But do I find delight in following the path God has shown me in the Bible?  Oh, let us pray to find delight in God’s commands.

       Think of all the effort you put into getting more. More money, more fun, more prestige. The Lord told Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8) True prosperity, true contentment is found in the center of God’s will; and God’s will is found in his word. Oh, let us meditate on God’s word and let him turn our hearts from selfish desires.

       How many worthless things do you do in a day?  I play computer solitaire. I watch TV. Sometimes I simply daydream.  Yet, I find myself claiming I don’t have time to study God’s word. I spend time on meaningless pursuits rather than investing time in that which is able to preserve my life.  Oh, Lord, I pray that you would help me use my time more wisely by seeking you through prayer and the study of scripture.

       Define “fear of the Lord”.  Reverence? Respect? Awe?  Proverbs 9:10 tell us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  When we see God fulfill his word, it should inspire fear as it demonstrates that he is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-wise.  Who can stand in the presence of such might?  Oh, Lord, let us see promises fulfilled that we might fear you and be much more grateful for your grace and love.

       Do you ever feel ashamed, disgraced?  I’ve never felt that way when I was doing what I knew to be right.  Those feelings only assault me when I’ve strayed from God’s laws.  Obedience brings freedom. Oh, may we remember the words of Jesus, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

       Lord, help us to “long for your precepts”.  Let us crave your Word.  Then give us the wisdom to obey what we’ve learned from you.  May the evidence of your work in our lives cause others to have reverence for you. Thank you for the opportunity to know you more through your Holy scripture.

       

LUKE 9:58 - HOMELESS

HOMELESS

By Susie Hale, PJM

Dedicated to our dear brother, Ray.

The man was unkempt and dirty. His long hair was matted and his beard untrimmed. His feet were calloused from walking everywhere he went. He owned no property, no home of his own. He often camped out with his friends or stayed a night or two with a friend or a gracious stranger. However, he had twelve faithful disciples who followed him everywhere he went. Many people had no idea that he was the Son of God, traveling incognito in our world.

We picture the Jesus of our movies and passion plays, wearing a clean white robe with flowing wavy hair. We do not picture him looking like the homeless man we pass on the way to work each morning. When Jesus told the potential disciple that he had no place to lay his head, he was pointing out that those who followed him were called to a life of humble service rather than exalted ease. Are you willing to leave all to follow Jesus the homeless guy? 

PSALM 119:28 WEARY WITH SORROW

Weary With Sorrow

Have you ever been “laid low in the dust”?

Has your soul been “weary with sorrow”?

In God’s word you can find strength

And courage to face tomorrow.

“I am laid low in the dust; 

preserve my life according to your word.

Psalm 119:25 (NIV)

            I know what it is to be “weary with sorrow”.  The Amplified Bible describes it well, “My life dissolves and weeps itself away from heaviness.”  In August of 2000 the son God had blessed me with four years earlier, moved to another state to go to school.  That same month two beloved family friends died.  Later that month I had such severe chest pains the school nurse called the paramedics. In October, my daughter also finished high school and moved out of state. That month I moved in with my parents because my father had cancer. Daddy died in January 2001. Less than three weeks later Jim, who had been Dad’s friend since they were seven years old, passed away.  In March of that year my uncle suffered a head injury and was in a coma for over a month. That fall his 35-year-old daughter died of cirrhosis of the liver. At the same time his other daughter went to jail. In the span of two years I attended funerals or “viewings” of no fewer than 16 family members and close friends.  I had four sixth grade students threaten violence against other students in those same two years.

Yes, I found myself weeping often.  I recounted all this to God.  I chose to focus on the blessings he has given me and the wonders he has performed both historically and in my own life.  He strengthened me and set my heart free.  It is possible to be weeping in sorrow yet confidently singing “Like a child I will dance in Your presence. Oh, let the joy of heaven fall down on me” at the same time.

Amid all the sorrow and stress, God performed many miracles.  My uncle  regained his ability to walk, talk, eat, and live a fairly normal life.  His sense of humor remained intact in spite of his own sorrows.  My children are healthy, and Tom met and married a godly young woman. Even though I had not called the church, God sent one of my ministers into the hospital room just as Daddy was literally breathing his last breath. What a blessing he was to me and my family. Jim’s wife and my mother were been able to comfort and encourage each other.  The cousin with cirrhosis of the liver came to know the Lord before she died.  The family members and friends we “lost” are not lost at all because we are confident they are with the Lord.  No students were physically harmed after those four threats. 

God’s word is true.  He is in control, and he is my strength.