Archive for Devotional with Hymn

Nine Months Pregnant

2015-04-05 Devotional with Hymn One comment

“Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
(Isaiah 66:9, NIV)

I remember when my wife, Gloria, was pregnant with Jason, our first child. As we attended childbirth classes, she felt the insecurities that I’m sure most mothers-to-be share: Will I be able to do it? Will something go wrong? Even though I was only a coach and hand-holder, I too was apprehensive about the whole process.

I remember the teacher repeating to the class the same basic assurances over and over: childbirth is a natural function, and one way or another, the baby will be born. Unless you’ve been through it, that probably sounds laughable. But during the long months of waiting and wondering, we clung to those statements. And even when the day came, as Gloria’s intense pain gnawed relentlessly, and the hospital staff seemed so unhurried, we wondered if the delivery would ever really happen.

I’ve been through those times in my life. The relief that I desperately need, or the dream I cherish as deeply as life itself, doesn’t come for years…or decades. Most of us endure times when, in some important area, we feel nine months pregnant, with discomfort and pressure that won’t quit, but no relief in sight. We feel full term, but God is in no hurry.

During my “labor”, Isaiah 66:9 brings me assurance that helps me not only endure, but rejoice. I can testify that God never begins anything in our lives that He won’t finish – beautifully, completely, and perfectly. All that His love has conceived, He will deliver, and at the right time.

If you’re feeling nine months pregnant, learn to rest in Him more constantly and completely. He is drawing you to Himself. Even as you wait, He is working all things for your good and for the blessing of those around you.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Wait on the Lord
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God Blesses His People

2015-03-29 Devotional with Hymn No comments

When God was preparing Israel to enter the Promised Land, as He was forming them into a people who were uniquely His own, He commanded the priests to regularly bless His people with these words:

Yahweh bless you and keep you.
Yahweh shine His face on you and be gracious to you.
Yahweh lift His face on you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26, author’s translation)

To bless someone is to speak their well-being. Human speech, of itself, is relatively powerless. It is simply vibrating air. Though our blessings express kind intent, they are wishes, not commands.

But God’s words are sovereign, and so are His blessings. When He speaks, reality responds. When He blesses us, He decrees our well-being. And here in Numbers 6, as throughout scripture, God decrees the well-being of His people. He decrees the well-being of all who trust Him.

This special blessing in Numbers 6 doesn’t stop there. God wants His people to know that He is always keeping them. The word for “keep” means to watch, guard, and protect; to exercise great care over someone or something. For example, it describes the way one cares for a garden, or tends a flock, or watches over one’s own house.

Psalm 121:3-8 is a beautiful description of the way God keeps His people:

  • God keeps us constantly. He never sleeps.
  • God keeps us completely. Not even the sun and moon can touch us without His permission.
  • God keeps us in every place, in every daily activity, in every circumstance, in every season of life, now and forever.

But my favorite part of this blessing in Numbers 6 is God’s promises about His face. Remember the story of Esther? She was afraid to enter the presence of the king without permission, and if she entered without him extending his favor, she would die. But here, God promises that the light of His face is always shining on us. He is always a gracious, loving, welcoming King. He invites us into His presence, and when we enter, He lifts up His face toward us and blesses us with His peace. This peace is not just the absence of all conflict. It is wholeness, harmony, and well-being, all the best that our sovereign God can give.

What does the light of God’s face mean in practical terms? Turn to Psalm 44. The psalmist is recounting all the ways God provided for His people by bringing them out of Egypt, taking them through the wilderness, then into the Promised Land. They overcame major challenges every step of the way.

It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them. (v.3, NIV)

God’s blessing, His keeping, His compassion, and the smile of His loving favor are constant toward His people, toward all those who love and trust Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: God Blesses His People
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Risen with Christ

2015-03-22 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,
the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-22, NIV)

In Jesus Christ we are
risen from eternal death,
risen from slavery to sin,
risen from darkness and futility.

In Jesus Christ we are
risen to eternal life,
risen to be like Christ,
risen to completeness in Him.

In Jesus Christ we are
seated at the right hand of God,
kept by His sovereign love,
robed in every spiritual blessing.

Praise be to Him forever and ever!

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Risen from Eternal Death
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Washing Feet

2015-03-15 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet . . .”Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. . . .”Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:4-5, 12, 14-15, NIV)

Imagine it: some awesome dignitary shows up unexpectedly at your door. With excitement and great humility you receive him as an honored guest. You spare no efforts to make him feel comfortable. Then he insists on cleaning your bathrooms.

You’d probably react like Peter did: “No! You’ll never clean my bathrooms!”

But Jesus’ demonstration was powerful. As a people, we’re more inclined to serve ourselves than others.

“Lord, I’m too busy to wash feet. I have more important things to do.”

But Jesus wasn’t too busy. In the final hours of His ministry, with so much yet for His disciples to learn, He taught them this. He changed His clothes, got down on His hands and knees, and washed feet.

Lord, teach me to wash feet. I’m not too old to learn. Help me put my priorities where You put them. Help me focus my days on humble service to my family, my coworkers, and to the least ones around me. Give me Your Spirit and Your heart, Jesus. Teach me to wash feet.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Here at Your Feet, Lord
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The Christ of Easter

2015-03-10 Devotional with Hymn No comments

from A Christ-centered Year

By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
(1 Corinthians 6:14, NIV)

During Easter, Jesus is the Life of the Father,
overcoming death and sin forever.

Consider the power of His Life in your life.
He became a helpless infant,
so He doesn’t recoil at your weakness.

He wrapped Himself in shame, rejection, and homelessness,
so He isn’t offended by your lowliness.

He poured Himself out in teaching and healing,
so He warmly embraces you in your ignorance and need.

He begged forgiveness for His torturers.
so He will not abandon you in your sin.

He silently accepted all the abuse His enemies could dish out,
so He will not be frightened away by anything you might do.

The Life that spoke all life into existence
could not be defeated by death—
not in Christ and
not in you.
This Life took the worst that evil could give and
emerged the Conqueror.

You have absolutely nothing to fear.
Not now.
Not ever.
The unconquerable Life is now your life. 

“Your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3, NIV)

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NIV)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Christ Is Alive! We Live in Him!
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Give Me Your Heart

2015-03-08 Devotional with Hymn One comment

Jesus,
burden me with what burdens You.
Make me willing to suffer
for that for which You suffered.

Help me find joy
in what brings You joy
and weep when You weep.

Teach me to despise what You despised
and reject all the lesser things
You rejected.

Give me a passion
for what impassions You.

Give me Your heart,
Lord Jesus.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Heart of Christ
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One with Your Creator

2015-03-05 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God One comment

imagefrom the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Ephesians 2

Remember who you were and what you were like
before God forgave you and began renewing you.
Remember the sudden change that happened in a moment.
Remember the gradual change that is still going on as you trust Him.
Remember how imperfect and inconsistent you still are.

Look ahead.
Imagine being one with your Creator.
The relationship He intended is complete and constant.
His power has done all its work.
His wisdom has had its way.
His love is satisfied and smiling.
You are one with Him.
The glory of the Living Christ is shining from every corner of your being,
with no shadows and
no hidden places.
You are one with Jesus Christ.
We are all one with Him.
His beautiful creation is complete.

Jesus Christ, the sovereign Word of God,
God’s will in action,
God’s agent in creation,
is recreating us into His own perfect image,
the image of our Creator Himself.
Our future is in Him.
Our destiny is in Him.

I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6, NASB)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: New in Christ
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The Christ of Holy Week

2015-03-03 Devotional with Hymn No comments

from A Christ-centered Year

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10, NIV)

During Holy Week, Jesus is the Love of the Father,
humbly submitting to death on the cross.

Watch as Jesus burns with zeal for His Father’s house and
cleanses the temple.

Listen as He urges His disciples to
pray boldly,
patiently endure persecution, and
remain faithful.

Breathe the alabaster fragrance of a woman’s lavish worship
in preparation for Jesus’ burial.

Be humbled as He bows to
model servanthood and
washes your feet.

Stand helplessly as He is arrested and led away.
Hear His silence in the face of brutal injustice.
Sense His deep loneliness.
See His agony.
Watch Him die.
Feel the awful stillness as a huge stone seals in His lifeless body.

This is the measure of Jesus’ love for the Father.
This is the measure of His love for us.
This is the new standard for our love for each other:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, NASB)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Here Is Love
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What Kind of Father

2015-03-01 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”  He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”  

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.  On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”   

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. 

Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”  

Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” 

Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:1-18, NASB)

To be honest, this story makes me angry. Think about it: What kind of God could even imagine a father having to sacrifice his own son? Does such a God know anything about the love of a parent? Does He have any idea how dear that one is? A man’s son is his own life, his own being. He has flowed out of his deepest, most personal, most passionate love. A man’s son is more precious than his own life. He would rather rip out his own heart with his bare hands than kill him! Honestly, what kind of a God could even entertain such a thought?

And what kind of a father could actually do such a thing…for anyone, under any circumstances? How could a father thoughtfully plan his son’s killing? How could he think it all through and calmly calculate exactly what it would take to make it all happen? How could he patiently pull together the materials, like he was planning a picnic, then pack it all up, take his son, and travel that long journey with his son right there with him. How could smile at him and talk with him along the way, knowing where they were headed and what he would do to him when they got there?

How could he lay all that heavy wood on him and send him trudging up that hill? How could he watch him struggle to carry the instrument of his own death? How could he tie him up, lay him on the wood, look down into his innocent, trusting eyes, and then, ignoring every impulse of his soul, drive that cold, sharp iron into his sensitive, living flesh?

The whole idea of such a sacrifice is absurd anyway! A sacrifice is a life for a life, right? What, in all this wide universe, could ever merit such a sacrifice? Who is important enough or worthy enough that any father should consider, even for a moment, having to murder his own son to save them? It spits in the face of all that is good and right! Tell me, who could possibly be that worth saving? Who?

What kind of God is that?
What kind of father?
What kind of love would ever do such a thing?

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Genesis 22
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Wisdom in Our Ignorance

2015-02-22 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33, NIV)

We human beings are inherently ignorant. Physically we live a fraction of a second on a grain of sand in a universe that is ancient and vast beyond all imagining. Our perspective and objectivity are minuscule. Our view of truth is highly tainted by our personal prejudices and selfish desires. To claim that we understand reality, or that our minds and limited senses are an accurate gauge of reality, is laughable. Ignorance is common to each and every one of us.

God in His greatness has chosen to reveal Himself to us. And by degree He graciously helps us understand reality as we understand Him. He has given us His own Spirit to enlighten and guide us.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV). As we trust His revealed Truth and faithfully speak the Truth and live the Truth, we need to remember our limitations and the weakness of the vessel in which we hold His treasure. Our understanding of our great and boundless God is always only partial.

Yet God’s promise to us is this:

  • God, who through the millennia has spoken to us in many different ways, has spoken fully and finally in Jesus Christ, His own Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).
  • In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ (Colossians 2:9-10a, NIV).

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Colossians 2:3). If you desire wisdom, if you want understanding, seek Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Truth of God Is Greater Far
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