"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Throughout the history of the Church there have been people who refuse to accept the authority of scripture. Paul warned that this would occur. We live in a time right now when the number of people who compromise the word of God is increasing, even among professing Christians. They look for teachers who will say the things they want to hear and support their personal views rather than God's views. Sadly, there is an increasing number of churches with pastors who are happy to oblige.
"And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Luke 24:5-7
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:17-18
As we enter Holy Week, I'm reflecting again, on the astonishing love of Christ. A love so great, so deep, that Jesus willingly accepted the horror of the cross in order to save the lost. This obedience made the Father love Him even more.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15
Three weeks ago the world lost a sweet soul without warning; a woman of God who shined brightly, who loved deeply, and whose laugh alone could light up a dark room. A woman who at the age of ten wrote an essay about how she would like to be a missionary so that she could "tell others about God's word." Her grandmother had told her that many people had never read the Bible, and that made her sad. At such a tender age she had a sweet love for the Lord and other people, and that love never wavered. And although instead of becoming a missionary she would eventually marry my brother and go on to become a mother of three sons, she is remembered as a woman who shared her faith in God openly, believed in the power of prayer, and accepted all the tragedies in her life with grace and dignity.
Sue came into my life when she was fifteen and I was thirteen, my big brother's girlfriend who became my friend, my confidante, and one of my bridesmaids. We enjoyed long talks (many of them over the phone since for most of our lives we were separated by long distances). We laughed, we cried. We weren't simply sisters-in-law, we were sisters in Christ. When my husband passed in 2007, my brother and Sue came from Florida to Ohio to offer their comfort and support. I will forever be grateful for that. I wish I could have done the same for my brother, but I was scheduled for oral surgery in just a few days and couldn't travel.
Since Sue's passing from earth to her eternal home, my brother and I have had several talks. He's a strong believer in Christ, and although he is grieving the loss of his wife of 63 years, he is comforted by the knowledge that she is at peace with the Lord, no longer in pain, and that one day they will be reunited. This is the blessed hope that Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. We don't grieve as those who do not know Christ. We have the promises of God to encourage us and help us move through loss. What a gracious and merciful Savior we have! To Him be all the glory.
One day every one of us will face death. It is inevitable. As a Christian we can carry on with life knowing that our true home awaits. Our forever home is not here. We may call the earthly home of our dreams our "forever home", but that is an illusion, and I believe we need to think beyond pretty houses and lush gardens, and make sure we are ready to face the Lord. Make certain we have put our trust in Christ for eternal life. John 3:16 isn't just a verse displayed by certain fans at football games, it's the truth of the gospel of Christ: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. That whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Sue knew this and received it, my brother knows this and has received it, and I know it and have received it. I pray you have, too.
Today's music video I Am Not My Own by Keith and Kristyn Getty is a song that celebrates our relationship to Christ when we make Him our Savior. There's great freedom to live this life on earth and look forward to our eternal home when we have this settled in our heart.
I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4
(Today's devotional is a repost from May 21, 2022. I'll be back next week!)
I know that many of you who read this blog are in need of comfort. You are suffering with physical pain, or perhaps the loss of someone very dear to you -- a spouse, a parent, or a child. Life is full of events that break our hearts, and sometimes we feel completely alone in our pain. However, there is One who is aware of every tear we shed. Psalm 56:8 tells us that our Heavenly Father collects our tears.
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10
(I will be out-of-pocket for the next two weeks. Today's devotional is a repost from May 22, 2023.)
Years ago I participated in a women's Bible study that required daily homework. One day the assignment was to personalize a particular scripture; to put my name in place of the pronouns in the verse. It's an exercise I've done before, and its very effective in helping me make God's promises in the Bible my own.
"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:8
Recently a Christian co-worker asked me what I do to grow closer to God. She was preparing for a women's get together at her church for which she was tasked with answering that question for a discussion they had planned, and so she was first asking that question of others. The answers she had received up to that point were all good, and certainly necessary for an intimate relationship with the Lord. Pray. Worship. Confession. All are important, and I practice all those things. However, my immediate answer was "read His word." That is the one discipline I have found most effective in getting closer to God. Let me explain through an analogy.
I've mentioned before that I enjoy reading books written by Elisabeth Elliot. She's a superb storyteller, and often uses anecdotes to get her point across. In The Path of Loneliness ( a book I've mentioned before, and which I'm re-reading again because it's just that good), Elliot recounts a time when she received a letter from a college classmate whose husband had just walked out on her. The woman wrote of the loneliness of coming home to an empty apartment with no one to greet her. And how although she had friends and family who cared about her, she was truly alone for the first time in her life.
"O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love." Psalm 59:17
For my daily devotions, I've been reading through the Book of Psalms. Last week while reading Psalm 59 I was struck by David's name for God as "my Strength" (both in verses 9 and 17).In the English Standard Version, which is the version I use, strength is capitalized. Also in the New King James Version of the Bible this same word is capitalized. I'm not a Bible scholar and don't know why some versions capitalize the word, and others don't (if you know the answer, please let me know in the comments), but either way -- whether capitalized or not -- David is appropriating God as the source of his strength.
"Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?" Matthew 7:9-10
I've come to believe that there's no greater earthly blessing than to have the love of a father. Whenever I see a daddy tenderly holding his little child, my heart does a somersault. As one who did not have a relationship like that with her own father, I understand the damage that does to a child. I know the insecurities and fears that ensue, and how it impacts nearly every other relationship in one's life.
"Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha which, translated means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity." Acts 9:36
I find the life of Dorcas intriguing. As a disciple of Christ, she was dedicated to helping others, often sewing garments for those in need. God used Dorcas to provide for others, and except for her death and the miracle of Peter bringing her back to life, we very likely would never have heard of her. However, the lives she touched speak to her faithfulness to God and the love that poured out from her to others.
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"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
