A Grazing Mace

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5:10-11

If you have been reading Something Special For You for any length of time - by now you know inspiration comes from interesting places. My mother and I were in Kansas visiting my daughter and son-in-law. On the way back to their house after breakfast, my mom brought up the topic of her final arrangements, a topic my daughter was vigorously opposed to discussing. At one point as my mom was trying to name a particular song, what came out instead is the inspiration for this week’s devotion - A Grazing Mace.  

A mace is a weapon, used primarily in the middle ages. A club like weapon often with a spiked head. Warriors would bash each other with it in close combat; a well landed blow could mean the end for the adversary. However, a grazing blow would also result in a dangerous wound. Earlier in chapter 5 Peter warns his readers that the Devil is like lion on the hunt. I would guess that a grazing blow from the clawed paw of a lion or bear would also leave a nasty wound. Life on this planet often leaves us wounded by the grazing blows caused by relationships, finances, and health problems - the effects of living on a fallen planet - surrounded by fallen humans.

Peter promises us that because of God’ grace, our wounds will be healed. That God himself will restore us and make us strong and steadfast. This is the power of His amazing grace. No matter the seriousness of the grazing wounds we receive as we go about living our lives, He will bring healing if we let him.

I don’t know what you may be facing this week, but if you receive a grazing blow from one of the maces this world tries to bash us with - seek His amazing grace, that’s where you will find the healing you need to stay in the battle.

A Prayer
Father - snares, spears, arrows and maces are all around us, a direct hit could mean the end of us, a grazing blow can leave us wounded and vulnerable to more attacks - thank you for your amazing grace, that brings healing, restores our strength and fills us with your power. Help us to share that grace with those around us who are also wounded. In the name Jesus, whose grace is more than sufficient, we pray - Amen.

A Life Changing Journey

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ …Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.”
Acts 9:3-4, 8

Sorry, no old country song references this week. We all travel some and I reckon some of us travel more than others. Then, of course our whole of life is a journey from birth to death and into eternity. Every once in a while a trip becomes a life changing journey. That certainly was the case for Saul.

Saul was a Pharisee - in other words he was an “I’m better than you, let’s squash this whole Jesus movement, Jewish leader. The kind of guy Jesus liked to irritate. After witnessing the stoning of Stephen Saul was even more motivated to punish those who had aligned their lives with Jesus. With the proper documents in hand he and his posse hit the Damascus road ready to ruin the lives of believers in the city of Damascus. Only Saul and his men ran into a wall of light that was the risen Christ and that changed everything.

Saul’s life was forever changed from that moment on. Saul changed from prosecutor to preacher, from self righteous Pharisee to sold out follower of Christ. Saul who had once taken pleasure in hunting the followers of “the Way” was now on the Pharisee’s most wanted list. His return to Jerusalem on the same Damascus road was much different than what he had expected it to be. 

Saul’s life changing journey to Damascus would eventually result in a new name - Paul and a whole new purpose for his life. That one journey would lead to other life changing travels, travels that would continue to change Paul, would change the lives of his traveling companions and would change the lives of the people they encountered. Saul’s life changing Damascus trip would lead to Paul’s audiences with Governors and Kings. The journey would lead him ultimately to an eternity in the presence of the very One he had once hated but now loved with every fiber of his being.

Every day of this life is potentially life changing. Be open to the journey that Lord has laid out before you, follow where he leads; let Him change you and one day you will find yourself in the presence of the King of Kings for all of eternity.

A Prayer
Father - give us the courage to let You take us on a life changing journey. We know there may be moments of darkness and pain, but we also know that You will be ever present as we journey to our eternity with you. Send others to travel with us, to encourage us on our way and help us to be of encouragement to others. In the name Jesus, who has laid out the journey, we pray - Amen.

Life is a Highway

“And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.”
Isaiah 35:8

Perhaps it was the early morning bike ride or preparations for a trip that had me thinking about roads and highways. As I thought about that, I thought I remembered a song called “Life is a Highway.” Turns out it is a song by Rascal Flatts. One of the verses says: “There was a distance between you and I. A misunderstanding once, but now we look it in the eye.” Of the course the song is meant to be a love song, but these words could be applied to the relationship we have with the Lord.

This week’s passage from the prophet Isaiah comes from a poem or song written about the time that was coming when God’s people would be redeemed and would journey home after being exiled. The journey on this particular highway would be joy filled and safe. Back in the day only the very wealthy and powerful traveled in “style” and perhaps relative safety. For everyone else even a “short” trip, never mind a long journey, was difficult and filled with danger. Back to Isaiah, you see the people had put distance between themselves and their God by the way they were living. For their efforts they ended up on a highway that led somewhere they didn’t want to be. God had no intention of leaving them there, He just wanted them to draw near, where they could see eye to eye once again. The Hebrew word translated as highway in this passage can also mean “way of life” - God, wants us to have a way of life that will allow us to stay on His “Way of Holiness” even when the going of this life gets tough. 

The opening verse of the Rascal Flatts song says: Life’s like a road that you travel on when there’s one day here and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand, and sometimes you turn your back to the wind.” Jesus wants us to travel the highway of life in such a way that we can stand and not break when traveling gets tough. 

So how are you traveling?

A Prayer
Father - there are so many roads and highways that we can travel on in this world. When we don’t like where we are heading sometimes we even go off road. Help us to travel on the highway you have prepared for us, that allows us to see eye to eye with You and to stand when the going gets tough. Thank you that Your Son makes the way for us to live in the Way. In the name Jesus, who constructed the Way of Holiness with a wooden cross, we pray - Amen.

Too Hot to Handle

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:2-3

Temperatures are rising in California; triple digits will soon be the norm here in the central valley. But even if the temperatures aren’t soaring, life can sometimes be too hot to handle. Financial struggles, unemployment, health issues, relationship problems and a whole host of life situations can cause the temperature of life to soar. We can combat triple digit weather with air-conditioning, swimming pools and holidays to cooler climes but what can we do when life gets to hot to handle? 

King David faced plenty of situations that made life to hot to handle and when he did, he trusted his Lord to bring the temperature down at least for a little while so his strength would be restored. I love the images David uses in Psalm 23 of the green pastures and quiet water. Just the thought of those two things together bring a cooling effect to my soul and mind. The prophets of the Old Testament were also familiar with a life that gets to hot to handle. They also had to trust God’s promises to refresh and restore even in the midst of life’s heat waves. God promised Jeremiah that “He would refresh the weary and satisfy the faint” (Jeremiah 31:25) and the prophet Isaiah tells us that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and soar like eagles…” (Isaiah 40:31). If God’s promises and provisions were good enough for David and the prophets they are good enough for us. Life is often going to get to hot to handle, but there is relief waiting.

This week, when the situations in your life get to hot to handle let Jesus lead you to the green pasture and quiet waters of His peace. There you will find what you need to refresh your soul, cool your mind and renew your strength. I’ll be there cooling off - see you there.

A Prayer
Father - thank you the green pastures and quiet waters that cool us when life gets to hot to handle. Thank you for the peace you promise will refresh our souls and restore our strength. When life makes us sweat may we soak our feet in the cooling stream of your love and may we invite others to join us there. In the name of Jesus we pray - Amen.

Back Away From...

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16

In our house my husband does the yard work, this includes pruning the hedges, bushes and trees. I know they need to be pruned so that they stay healthy and grow properly, but I still like them to look natural. So every once in a while when he is out pruning something and it looks like a little too much might get pruned, I say “Back away from the tree” sometimes that works and the pruning stops, but sometimes it doesn’t and the pruning continues. Sometimes we are like that when we approach God. We lay something down, ask for His assistance and then on our way out we pick our concerns back up and take them with us even when God has asked us to back away from them. 

At church as we have been studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians we have been talking about how important it is to change our perspective on life and the world around us. Pastor Steve Ingold challenged us to change the filter we look through and Pastor Steve Madsen asked us to choose the illogical peace that is attainable only from God. Ok easier said than done - I know. Still we are given the instructions that should help us do that. We are told to “To be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Paul tells the Philippians “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). The bottom line is that when we approach the throne we are to lay down the negatives of our lives and back away leaving them there and taking with us instead all of the positives God has ready for us including the illogical peace that we can only get from Him.

This week, approach the throne of grace with confidence and back away from discontentment. Back away from fear. Back away from the lies this world whispers in your ear. Back away from wrong choices and responses. Back away from darkness and as you back away from all of these things remember to pick up peace, love, faith, joy, truth and light. 

A Prayer
Father - help us to change our perspective and claim the peace you have for us no matter what we are facing. Thank you that we can approach Your throne and lay our needs and requests down at Your feet. Help us to leave them there as we back away. Grant us Your peace and help us hold on to it even in the midst of life’s storms. In the name of Jesus we pray continually - Amen.

If Life's a Bowl of Cherries...

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:33-34

Cherries are one of my favorite foods, especially when they are fresh from the tree. Perhaps the bowl of fresh cherries on the kitchen counter made me think about the book If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits by the late humorist/author Erma Bombeck. The book takes a humorous look at the trials and tribulations of this thing we call life. I think the title of the book is a good analogy for the two possible perspectives we can have as we go about the business of being humans on this planet. 

“The pits” might as well represent the perspective the world seems to think we should have. This worldly perspective is filled with worry, fear, anger, disrespect and the devaluing of humanity. Don’t misunderstand me there are real problems in this world that need to be dealt with - missing girls in Nigeria, water borne diseases in third world countries, hunger and violence used as a problem solving tool everywhere. It seems to me that the world wants us to be hopeless, to think there is nothing we can do about the state of humanity and our planet.

“The bowl of cherries” represents a completely different perspective. This perspective, alluded to in this week’s passage acknowledges all of the short comings of life on this planet and still tells us not to worry. It implies that we don’t need to be fear filled, or overwhelmed by anger. We can be respectful of one another, place a high value on our own humanness and the humanness of others. This is the heavenly kingdom perspective. His kingdom perspective wants us to be hope filled, understanding that when we seek Him first above everything else He will not only provide us with what we need to live day to day, He will also grant us the wisdom and give us the resources we need to make real changes to the state of humanity and our planet.

What will it be this week - life in the pits or an abundant life with a bowl full of cherries? It’s your choice. You will find me in the bowl of cherries.

A Prayer
Father - thank you for knowing exactly what we need and standing ready to provide those things for us. Help us each day to seek You and Your kingdom first, so that we can live the abundant life, free from worry that You have planned for us. Help us to have a kingdom perspective of our lives, the lives of those around us and our planet. In the name of Jesus - Amen.

Camping at the River

“Your love, O LORD. Reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life: in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright heart. May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.”
Psalm 36:5-11

Twelve women met at a nearby river for a weekend camping trip. This group of ladies of various ages, from different backgrounds, different churches and each carrying their own burdens came together to enjoy the beauty of creation and the fellowship of friendship and sisterhood. Together, they laughed and played, rested and walked in the cool river water, they ate and shared life together. 

Come Sunday morning I had been asked to lead a short devotional time. I had been thinking about what I would say for a couple of week and spent some of my time at the river, praying and studying. You see with twelve women, each dealing with their own stuff we probably could have spent all day pouring through the Scriptures to find something to encourage each individual. As I studied - this week’s passage kept coming up and so I shared what I gleaned from the passage.

God’s love is - unfailing. His love is loyal, devoted and kind. His love is priceless, it is a rare and precious gift that He freely gives. He loves us no matter what we are facing or how we react to our circumstances.

God’s faithfulness is - steady and trustworthy. He will be faithful to keep His promises even if our faith feels like it is failing, His never will.

God’s righteousness is - strong, sure and as solid as the majestic mountains. His standards will never fail and He stands ready to help us live up to them.

God’s justice is perfect and yet a mystery to us because it does not match our understanding of justice. His justice is always right and will protect us from those people or situations that threaten to trip us up. We just need to remember He welds his justice in His own time.

God will lead us to the river, when we are parched and dry, so we can be refreshed and restored to the thriving and abundant life He intends for us. 

The bottom line in all of this is that David understood that no matter what he faced, no matter what we face - we are never alone. God, whose love reaches to the heavens, can reach our hearts just as easily, no matter where we are. He will protect us and provide for us everything that we need for an abundant life, just like the fertile land that lies beside the rivers of the world.

What about it? Do you need to campout at the river of God’s love - soaking up His faithfulness, righteousness, justice and the abundant life He has for you? 

A Prayer
Father - thank you for making such beautiful world for us to live in and learn about your from. Where rivers flow life thrives in abundance. Our lives can get dried out by circumstances of life, draw us to the river of your delight so we can campout and be refreshed, restored and encouraged by your love and faithfulness. In the name of Jesus - Amen