Archive for Devotional with Hymn

How Can We Describe It?

2016-08-11 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father 2 comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 3:8; 4:13-14; 7:37-39

How can we describe the life of Christ within us?
The Bible says it is
like breathing the breath of God,
like a river of life constantly flowing in us,
like a deep, inexpressible joy.

We know this:
as we trust Him,
His life grows within.
His Spirit joins with our spirit, and
we become more and more like Him.
He lives in us constantly and forever, and
we in Him.

Father, when we seek Your best gifts,
You gladly give them.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Living Christ
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We Need to See You

2016-08-09 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Father, we are flooded with so many needs,
but our real need is
You.
We need to know You for all You are,
the One true God,
high and lifted up,
the Holy One,
our Source and Goal,
the All-in-all,
our Eternal Father.
We need to see You for all You are.
We need to trust You always for all You are.

Lift our eyes, Father.
Help us to see You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: High and Holy Sovereign God
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Creation Will Be Redeemed

2016-08-07 Devotional with Hymn No comments

For all the elegant beauty of this natural earth, it is also a violent, tumultuous place where life is always in the grip of death. How can this be, if God rules all creation? How can a good God claim to be sovereign in a world such as this?

Genesis 1:26-28 proclaims two truths about God’s creation of the human race:

  1. He made us in His own image and likeness.
  2. He created us to rule over the earth as His stewards, sharing in His sovereignty.

We are inseparably connected to God our Creator, and we are inseparably connected to this earth, over which we rule. God subjected the earth to us.

When we rebelled against our Creator, we chose to use creation for our own selfish purposes (Genesis 3:1-6). When our relationship with the Creator was corrupted, so was the earth over which we ruled, now as unfaithful stewards (Romans 8:20). As our home and our responsibility, the earth shared in our fractured relationship with the Giver of all life (Genesis 3:17-18; see Psalm 104:27-30). The results were corruption, futility, and death, both for us and for our beautiful home.

Consistently in scripture, our obedience or disobedience to our Creator brings us either God’s blessing or His cursing, respectively. This blessing and cursing are shared by our natural home as well (e.g., Deuteronomy 7:12-15; 8:6-10; 28:4, 18). As Creator God subjected this earth to us, this earth unwillingly shares in the fruit of our rebellion.

We see the turmoil in our natural world and know that as violence, pain, and death shrouds all human life, it shrouds our natural home as well.

But the good news is this: the corruption, futility, and death that rule this earth are only a passing phase. Creation’s present turbulence is only the pain of childbirth (Romans 8:19-22). When we are redeemed and freed from our suffering, our earthly home will be as well (Isaiah 11:6-9; Revelation 21:1). Our destiny, God’s unchangeable promise, is that we and our beautiful home will be perfected to the full glory of God. As it has shared our curse, it will share our blessedness. All the earth will be permeated with His life, His love, His holiness, and His perfect peace.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Creation Will Be Redeemed
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Strengthen Yourself in the Lord

2016-08-02 Devotional with Hymn No comments

1 Samuel 30:1-6

On February 20, 2015, our 38-year-old son, David, took his own life. During the terrible grief that followed, the Lord led me to a lesser-known story in 1 Samuel 30.

The biblical David had been anointed as the next king of Israel, and as a result, the current king, Saul, was pursuing him to kill him. To escape Saul, David and his men had settled among Israel’s enemies, the Philistines, and had been given the town of Ziklag as their home.

David and his men had traveled a great distance to fight for their Philistine hosts. But when they arrived, they were mistrusted and turned away. So they had to turn around and make the long, exhausting trip back home.

When they arrived, a foreign raiding party had struck their town. They had taken all their wives, children, and possessions and had burned everything else to the ground. They had absolutely nothing left. They all wept until they had no more strength to weep. I identified with that detail.

When it seemed things couldn’t possibly get any worse for David, his men blamed him for their loss and talked of stoning him.

But here comes the important part of the story. With all this facing him, “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6b, NASB). That one sentence grabbed me.

We go through times when the darkness is so deep that we can’t see God acting. We can’t feel His presence. We can’t understand what He is doing or not doing. Sometimes He just seems gone.

We have to remind ourselves who He is. We have to remind ourselves what He has done in the past. He has repeatedly proven Himself to us to build our faith for times just like this.

When life is overwhelming, strengthen yourself in the Lord your God. Grab hold of the truth. Cling to it. Claim it as your own, and act on it.

The psalmists express that idea over and over. When trouble and pain settle in and seem to block everything else, remember, remember, remember. God hasn’t changed. He hasn’t moved. He hasn’t abandoned you, and He never will.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Blind Faith
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For the Joy

2016-07-31 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NASB)

Jesus endured unimaginable suffering
physically, emotionally, and spiritually,
not out of obligation,
but “for the joy set before Him” (v.2).

The scripture emphasizes Jesus’ complete humiliation before His enemies
every step of the way.
Crucifixion itself was designed for humiliation, and
the place of crucifixion was chosen for maximum public visibility.
The Jewish leaders, the most “holy” and respectable men of their day,
mocked and ridiculed Him even as He was in the grip of searing pain.

Yet Jesus endured all this “for the joy set before Him”.
He “despised the shame” (v.2).
That means He dismissed all that shame, that humiliation,
as unworthy of consideration.
He faced His trial “for the joy set before Him”.

Remember what Jesus was longing to share with His disciples
only hours before His suffering?

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy made be made full.” (John 15:11, NASB)

All who love and trust Jesus share His remarkable joy.
Our Father graciously gives each believer a precious gift:
He allows us a small share in Christ’s joyful sufferings.
He calls us to give ourselves, to sacrifice ourselves for others.

As I look at the sacrifices that have come into my life –
sacrifices for my wife, my children, and my grandchildren,
for the ministry God has given me –
I find that for the most part, I make those sacrifices,
not out of obligation,
not for glory or gold,
but out of love…out of joy.
I joyfully sacrifice out of
love for my family and friends,
love for my Father, and
love for the beautiful truth He has revealed to me.
Love brings joy, and
I find great joy in helping those I love.
I love God, and
I find great joy in glorifying Him –
in helping people see how great and good and ever-present He is.

Father, give me the heart of Christ.
Fill my life, my service, my every daily activity
with His joyful self-giving.
Help me to live and love and labor every day
for the joy.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: For the Joy
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Psalm 65

2016-07-28 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD 

All the silence of our most profound worship,
All the exuberant joy of our unbridled praise,
All the promises we have ever made,
All the hopeful prayers our hearts have whispered
we give to You alone, our Lord, our Almighty God, our Father!

We are sin.
We are weakness.
We are deepest need in all its forms.
Yet You choose us.
You draw us near to You.
You pour out Your goodness,
deeper and more varied than all our need.
You abundantly satisfy all our hungers
with all You are.

Your creation teaches us,
reminds us,
engulfs us
in Your power,
Your mystery,
Your faithfulness, and
Your joyful generosity.
Every sunset, every sunrise
sings of You.
Every rainfall permeates our world with Your blessings.
Every harvest celebrates
Your overflowing, never-failing goodness.
The pastures, the hills, the forests, and the valleys join the dance,
the dance that began at creation and
will never end.

O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
All that is, is Yours! (Psalm 104:24, para.)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: You Are Good
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No Fear

2016-07-26 Devotional with Hymn No comments

When nagged by uncertainties big and small –
no fear.

In the grip of illness –
no fear.

In need –
no fear.

In loss –
no fear.

In change –
no fear.

In all my weakness and boundless ignorance –
no fear.

In the darkness –
no fear.

When opposed by forces far stronger than myself –
no fear.

When assaulted by temptation –
no fear.

When threatened by suffering –
no fear.

In the valley of the shadow of death –
no fear.

For my life is hidden with Christ
in You,
my Father,
my loving Savior,
my mighty Rock,
my sovereign Lord and
my everlasting God.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: If God Is on Our Side
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Beyond This Life

2016-07-24 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling . . . For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4-5, NIV)

While we are in this tent, we groan (v. 4). I groan, Lord, even though my body is relatively healthy and free from pain. I groan because of the earthly concerns that burden my mind and emotions. I groan because of a certain restlessness that churns deep inside me. Even when all is going well and my life and work are fulfilling, there is an unsettledness, a feeling that my heart is not home.

My longing for change, for the next stage of life, seems to grow out of this unsettledness. I have a good life, Lord, but the best this life has to offer is not good enough. It doesn’t satisfy. I am thrilled by beauty, but I can’t take it into myself or keep it with me. Attained goals don’t fulfill. The best of times and experiences passes so quickly.

I long to be clothed with my eternal dwelling, to be free from this life of restlessness and lingering death. I long to have a body designed for the being You created me to be, for the being You are making me in Christ:

  • a body that is never a hurdle for my spiritual life but a body that is one with that life, that nurtures it and expresses it and sets it free;
  • a body designed to do Your work throughout eternity, without weakness or hindrance;
  • a body that is Your holy temple, filled only with Your praise.

I grasp for satisfaction and permanency, and I find only You, Lord. Clothe me in You, Jesus. Unite us completely, body and spirit, life to life, forever and ever. I love You, my Lord. Come soon.

The moments of life filled with
waiting and helplessness,
desperation and futility,
remind us that Jesus Christ alone is
our life,
our hope, and
our future.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Longing for Home
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Keep the Focus on Him

2016-07-19 Devotional with Hymn One comment

Many years ago God called me to use the Lord’s Prayer as the pattern for my own daily prayer. In the years following, I spent most of my time in the first half of the prayer:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10, NIV)

I gravitated to that first half of the prayer because every morning I crave seeing Him again. When I focus on God, high and lifted up, everything else falls into place.

Often I spent less time on the second half of the prayer:

Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:11-13, NIV)

After focusing on the transcendent God during the first part of my prayer, I felt uncomfortable shifting the focus to our needs in the second half. Yes, I was still talking to God, but now my heart seemed focused on us, not Him. I came to realize that this made the second half of the prayer feel smaller and less meaningful.

Then one morning God showed me that I should pray the second half of the prayer like the first, with my focus still on Him. For example:

Father, we joyfully depend on You for all our needs today.
Forgive us for our sins,and
we will share Your forgiveness with all who wrong us.
We don’t want anything to come between You and us.
Deliver us from temptation and from the evil one.
Keep our hearts and minds on You alone.

We can keep our focus on Him, even while presenting our needs. We can confess our dependence on Him out of a burning desire to live in Him more constantly and completely. When we pray with our hearts fixed on God alone, the entire Lord’s Prayer becomes an act of deep, life-centered worship. We come seeking, not His gifts, but Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Our Father Exalted
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Judgment Day

2016-07-17 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Since the very beginning, since the garden, God has promised to rid His creation of all evil. In a world where He has given His creatures free will, this complete cleansing will necessarily involve God’s direct intervention. In the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the death of an entire generation of Israelites in the wilderness, this unchanging God showed Himself ready to take decisive steps to fulfill His purpose.

Through the prophets, God spoke of The Day of the Lord, a time when God Himself would come to His world and bring justice, with both reward and punishment.

And God has come, in Jesus Christ. He came to bring justice, not through condemnation but through mercy and the free offer of salvation. But Jesus also spoke repeatedly of a coming judgment day. He is the only person who has seen both this world and the next, and He persistently warned of this coming judgment in the strongest and most graphic terms, urging us to live every hour and make every decision in the light of that coming day.

The Spirit of Christ also spoke of that day through His disciple, John.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. (Revelation 1:7, NASB)

Imagine the scene on that day. And later John wrote:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-12, 15, NASB)

From this Being earth and heaven themselves will flee away, yet each of us will face Him personally. He Himself, by His very presence, will bring the burning, overwhelming reality of holiness and truth to our world. That is why this merciful God has sent us out ahead of Him, to prepare people for that day:

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20, NASB)

No one knows the day or hour of His coming, so the only way to be ready is to get ready now and stay ready. If we do, that day will bring unspeakable joy. If not, unspeakable terror.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Mighty Day
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