Author: looking2jesus13

God is Faithful

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:89-90; Hebrews 10:23; Philippians 1:6

Ray Pritchard defined the faithfulness of God by way of contrast: “How many people do you know who do exactly what they say? Before you answer, let me rephrase the question. How many do you know who do exactly what they say every single time? Now before you answer, let me rephrase it again. How many people do you know who do exactly what they say every single time and do it with such thoroughness and perfection that you never have to worry about anything they say or do? Again, before you answer, let me ask it one more time: How many people do you know who, no matter what the circumstances and no matter how they feel, will always do exactly what they say they will do every single time and do it with the same thoroughness and perfection that you never have to worry about anything they say or do because you know if they say it, they will definitely do it without fail, without change and without excuse?…God’s faithfulness means that because he is the truth, everything he says and does is certain. That means he is 100% reliable 100% of the time. He does not fail, forget, falter, change or disappoint.”

The fact that God is faithful means that He will always do as He has promised.  We can rely on Him.  Because God is faithful, we can count on Him to sustain us and finish the work He started in us (1 Corinthians 1:8-9).  Because God is faithful, we can rest assured that He won’t ever allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Because God is faithful, we can trust Him to sanctify us completely, that we might be prepared for the coming of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).  Because God is faithful, we can rely on Him to establish us and guard us from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3).  Because God is faithful, we can entrust our souls to Him in the midst of any suffering that we are faced to endure (1 Peter 4:19).  Because God is faithful, we can trust Him to always forgive when we confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9).  Because God is faithful, we can lay hold of every promise in His Word, and know without a doubt that He will fulfill it.

A.W. Tozer, “Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness.  Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honored.  Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come.”  Think back on the ways God has proven Himself faithful, the things He has done in your life which He promised in His word to do.  God’s faithfulness is the basis for our confidence in Him.  But it’s one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a Divine truth, it is another to act upon it.  Are we even now actually expecting Him to do for us all that He has promised (Hebrews 10:23)?  God would have us trust Him in all..  

Heavenly Father.  Praise You God that You’ve fulfilled every promise You’ve made.  Though others fail us, You never will.  Though we’ve failed You and others, You can be counted on to do everything that You’ve said.  How incredibly blessed we are in Jesus!  May Your faithfulness work to encourage us to trust You all the more, as You work out Your perfect plan in our lives.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail.

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Bible Reading: Lamentations 3:19-26

God called Jeremiah into his prophetic ministry, forewarning him of troubles to come both for him and especially for his people.  Jeremiah was faithful to fulfill his ministry, undeterred in the face of persecution, repeatedly warning the people of God’s pending judgment.  The people refused to heed Jeremiah’s warnings, and in God’s timing judgment came.

King Nebuchnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem after a very long siege.  Over the next few months the temple and royal palace were destroyed by fire and the city walls were torn down.  All the vessels and furnishings from the temple were confiscated and sent to Babylon. People lay dead in the streets.  Others were taken captive to Babylon.  Only a few poor people were left to tend the land. Jeremiah was a witness to it all–the death, the sorrow, the pain, the cries for help, the tears, the utter gut-wrenching horror of it all.  So we are not surprised when we read of Jeremiah’s response: “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord” (Lamentations 3:18).

It’s not just that Jeremiah’s circumstances were terrible, which they were, but they were a direct affront to all he loved and held dear–the city, the temple, the priesthood, his people.  It’d be hard to imagine the agony he must have felt.  It’s in this context that we read, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope” (Lamentations 3:21).  Here’s a great example of why it is important that we think rightly about God.  Jeremiah’s circumstances were saying one thing (doom), but there were better thoughts, truths bound up in God, that Jeremiah needed to remind himself of if he were to find hope.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’ (Lamentations 3:22-24).”  Jeremiah reminded himself of the steadfast love, mercies, and faithfulness of God.  Perhaps he thought back to the promises of future blessings God had spoken of through him.  Or, maybe he reminded himself of how God led him to buy a piece of property in that doomed region, assuring Jeremiah that “houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land (Jeremiah 32:15).  In reminding himself of God’s faithfulness, the fact that He will always do as He has promised, Jeremiah found hope.  What about you?  Are you facing challenges that threaten to overwhelm you?  Are you losing hope amidst the chaos of these uncertain days?  Remind yourself of how God has proven Himself faithful in your past.  Lay hold of some promises in His word that you can meditate on.  Encourage yourself in the precious truth that you can always count on God!  

Heavenly Father.  How we praise You for your faithfulness!  No matter what we face in life, You are always faithful.  We can count on You to fulfill every single promise in Your Word.  Forgive us that though You’ve proven Yourself faithful to us time-after-time, we have not always trusted You as we should.  May our hearts find great hope and assurance in Your faithfulness, that we might walk in a manner pleasing to You.

God is Merciful

Bible Reading: Joel 2:13b; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Hebrews 4:16; Luke 6:36

His days on earth were fast drawing to an end—and he knew it. I introduced myself to him, having never met him before. His first words to me were “I’ve spent my whole life sinning.”  He then went on to share some troubling things from his distant past that were undoubtedly haunting him in the realization of his pending death.  Mercy is one of those things we don’t give much thought to, until we find ourselves in need of it.  My friend opened a door, so I proceeded to talk to him about God’s mercy made evident to us in Jesus, and the salvation He has availed to us through His death for sins and resurrection from the dead.  I spoke to him of the need to trust in Jesus, and on a subsequent visit he professed his faith in Him!

A.W. Tozer defined God’s mercy this way: “Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.”  As with God’s love and grace, God’s mercy is revealed in different ways to differing folks.  By way of His general mercy, God shows pity to His entire creation and provides for the needs of men (Psalm 145:9; Luke 6:36).  By means of His special mercy, God compassionately intervenes on behalf of the redeemed (Hebrews 4:16).

John MacArthur wrote of God’s mercy: “Doesn’t it give you great joy to know that God not only removed your guilt but looked at you and had compassion? And He’s not through giving us mercy: “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). We can always “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

This world can be sometimes cold and harsh.  We might wonder if there’s anyone who cares.  In God we have a compassionate friend who not only cares, but is able to come to our aid.  The Good Samaritan sacrificed much and thought of everything in caring for that beaten stranger.  How much more will the Father of mercies and God of all comfort work to bind your hidden wounds and bring you to safety?  

Praise You, God, that You are a God of compassion.  By your gracious intervention we sensed our need and cried out to You.  You heard our plea and came to our aid.  It seems that we often find ourselves in trouble, but You never grow weary of hearing our pleas to help.  Nor do you ever lack in Your ability to assist Us.  Thank You that Your Throne is a Throne of grace in which You freely dispense mercy and grace to help us in our times of need.  May we ever draw near with confidence.  Amen!

Saved by Grace

Bible Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 2 Corinthians 8:9

I can still recall how shocked I was when I read for the first time, in the book of Acts, the account of Saul’s conversion.  That God would save a man like that was amazing to me!  It speaks to the majesty of God’s grace.

Saul was a religious man, incredibly so, but he was not saved.  According to his own account, he possessed an impressive religious pedigree, position, practice, and passion (Philippians 3:5-6).  Underneath the religious veneer, however, was a man who was radically depraved.  He hated Jesus and His followers.  He was “breathing threats and murders against the disciples” (Acts 9:1-2).  When they were being “put to death (he) cast (his) vote against them” (Acts 26:10).  In “raging fury against them (he) persecuted them” (Acts 26:11).  “(He) persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13).  He was, in his own words, “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (1 Timothy 1:13).

Saul was not in any way seeking after Christ.  He was engaged in his murderous activities at the time of his conversion.  He would have undoubtedly been voted “least likely to be saved,” had any such vote been taken.  So repugnant was his reputation that God had to convince Ananias to go to him (Cf. Acts 9:10-14).  It was to such a man that Christ appeared.  How are we to account for Saul’s salvation?  Obviously there was no Pauline contribution to it–no goodness of heart or work of his own which led up to it.  He was headed in the wrong direction when God turned him around.  Years later Paul himself explained that which transpired—“But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13a-14).  By what means was Saul saved?  By the love, grace, and mercy which are found in Christ Jesus.  We deserve judgment.  Through Christ’s mercy and grace we receive forgiveness instead.  The distance between what we deserved and what we have received is infinite and speaks to the “overflowing” nature of the grace of God revealed to us in the gospel.

Grace is commonly defined in terms of “unmerited favor.”  And we’ve addressed the “unmerited” part when it comes to Paul.  But what about the “favor” part?  It’s not just that God saved a man who was seemingly impossible to save, the majesty of God’s grace was unveiled in how God showed “favor” towards Paul in so mightily using him.  That former Christian persecutor, was transformed by grace to become the church’s greatest missionary.  In three missionary journeys he started dozens of churches and witnessed to thousands of people.  He wrote many of the books of the New Testament.  God unveiled the truth to Him, and he was even once caught up into the “third heaven.”  By His grace, God protected Paul through countless trials, and ultimately worked to bring him and the gospel to Rome.  Paul never lost track of his spiritual roots.  He called himself “the foremost of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) and the “least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9).  “By the grace of God I am what I am” he said (1 Corinthians 15:10).  God only knows the full measure of the impact of the ministry of the Apostle Paul both in his life and legacy.  Look how God saved that man!  Look how God changed that man!  Look how God used that man!  

God is able to do the same with any of us.  “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).  To save lost sinners like Paul.  And Paul explained why he himself was shown mercy: “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).  In other words—if Jesus could save Paul, He can save anybody.  His ability to pardon exceeds our ability to comprehend (Cf. Isaiah 55:6-9).  God is amazing in His grace!

Heavenly Father. Thank you for saving me by Your grace! Thank you that Your ability to save by grace transcends our capacity to comprehend. Our hearts are gladdened by every testimony regarding your saving and transforming work. Every part of it is by Your grace, help me to always keep that in mind, and praise and thank You accordingly. Amen.

Grace Upon Grace

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

In all her eighty some years, she had never attended church and she’d never read from the Bible.  It’d be fair to say she was a little “rough around the edges,” but she had a keen sense of humor and I grew to enjoy my visits with her.  The fact of her soon pending death had piqued her interest in spiritual things.  Her vision wasn’t very good, so I bought her a Giant Print Bible, and she began reading through the gospel of John.  It was on one of our first visits that she asked, “With so many different religions out there, how’s a person to know which one is the right one?”  From that point forward we talked about Jesus and the salvation availed to a person by grace through faith.  And that’s where the difference lies, does it not?  God is a God of grace and He saves lost sinners by grace and not by works!  Praise the Lord!

God is gracious. A.W. Tozer wrote of this particular attribute: “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits on the undeserving.  It is a self-existent principle inherent in the divine nature and appears to us as a self-caused propensity to pity the wretched, spare the guilty, welcome the outcast, and bring into favor those who were under just disapprobation.  Its use to us sinful men is to save us and make us sit together in heavenly places to demonstrate to the ages the exceeding riches of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Theologians distinguish between the common grace that is common to all mankind and the special grace that is availed to the believer in Christ.  Through common grace God cares for His creation.  Common grace includes all undeserved blessings that natural man receives from the hand of God: rain, sun, prosperity, health, happiness, natural capacities and gifts, sin being restrained from complete dominion, etc.

It’s in the salvation of the sinner that the manifold riches of God’s grace are unveiled to us.  The word “grace” is to Biblical Christianity a distinguishing word, and is used more than 150 times in the New Testament.  It’s generally defined in terms of “unmerited favor.”  There are then two aspects of this saving grace, the “unmerited” part and the “favor” part.  How unmerited were you?  Ephesians 2:1-3 speaks to this–you were spiritually dead and devil-led; living a life of sin; and by nature a child of wrath!  Then there is the “favor” part.  How has the God of grace shown favor towards you?  We’ve not the space to adequately say, but Ephesians 1:3-14 speaks to how God has super blessed the believer in all the various aspects of his salvation.  Having done it all to the “praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6).  

The language of God’s grace is always in the superlative.  Jesus Himself was “full of grace” (John 1:14) and from His fullness we’ve received “grace upon grace” (John 1:16).  God is rich in grace (Ephesians 2:7), of which there is abundance (Romans 5:17).  We are exhorted to make our way to His throne of grace, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:12).  There has never been and will never be a grace shortage with God (2 Corinthians 9:8). How incredibly blessed by grace we are!  Praise the Lord!

Heavenly Father.  Praise You that You are a gracious God.  We were so utterly lost, without You and without hope in this world.  Being spiritually dead, we were helpless, like Lazarus dead in the tomb.  But by grace You intervened.  In your great love you not only forgave us, but you made us alive together with Christ, and blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Him.  We are forever amazed at your capacity to give!  May we walk in a manner worthy of the gracious calling we have received!  Thank you for loving us!

God is Good

Bible Reading: Psalm 31:19, 34:8, 119:68; James 1:17; Romans 8:28

“Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee!”

These words, from the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” were authored in the early 1700s by a pastor named Robert Robinson.  When he was only five, Robert’s father died.  He grew up as an incorrigible young man, but was saved after hearing a sermon by George Whitefield.  Robert went into ministry and pastored for many years, apparently facing many challenges.  I wonder how often reminded himself of these words he had written.

Let’s face it, life is not always easy. There is much bad news in the world.  I used to say that ministry is made up of “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”  And I’d say that we should thank God for the good, trust Him in the bad, and leave the ugly with Him.  In recent years, in dealing with Laura’s cancer and more recently in my work as a hospice chaplain, I’ve been confronted with plenty of what some might deem “bad.”  How can God’s goodness work to bind my wandering heart to Him?

In the midst of the bad news we hear of and deal with, here’s some good news–God is good! He is always so.  A.W. Tozer wrote that God’s goodness “disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.”  God is not good in measure, He is infinitely so.  And in His immutability, His goodness is unchanging.

So amidst the troubles we face, the goodness of God always works to draw us to Him (like a fetter) as an unwavering source of comfort and hope.  I love the truth of Psalm 119:68, “Thou art good, and Thou doest good.”  It’s a verse we’d do well to memorize and meditate on!  That’s who God is and that’s what God does.  Always.  As believers we’ve already tasted of the goodness of God (Psalm 34:8).  But it was never God’s intent for our souls to be satisfied with a mere taste, but instead to be well satiated in a fountain of living waters full of His goodness.

In His goodness, God is well able to bring good out of our bad.  There’s a great example of this in the life of OT Joseph.  He was sold off into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused by his master’s wife, and put in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.  He experienced plenty of “bad,” but continued to trust God through it all.  God worked in miraculous fashion such that he was made to be the prime minister of Egypt, and was able to store up food for the people in the midst of a seven year famine.  As he later told his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20; Cf. Romans 8:28). The cross likewise speaks to the goodness of God and to His ability to bring good out of bad (Cf. Titus 3:3-5).  Jesus died but rose again!  Lost sinners are saved through faith in Him!  God is good!  

Heavenly Father.  We praise You for You are good and do good.  In this darkened world, Your goodness shines as a beacon of light bringing both comfort and hope amidst our challenges.  How thankful we are that You are always wanting the best for us!  Thank You that in Your goodness You sent Your Son to die on a cross for our sins!  And that You are well able to bring good out of the bad in our lives.  Help us that, by the Spirit, we might bear the fruit of Your goodness, so that others might be drawn to You.  Amen.

Jesus Loves Me

Bible Reading: 1 John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:7-12

I can recall a visit to my Uncle Frank’s house, almost fifty years ago, when I was first introduced to the thought of God’s love.  My Uncle Frank was an Associate Pastor at the nearby Bible church.  I was an unsaved teen, with my whole life ahead of me.  I had no idea where I was going.  My cousin Amy, just 5 years young, asked a question which planted a seed in my mind. “Do you know Jesus loves you?” she asked.  I didn’t know Jesus at the time and had no idea Who she was talking about.  I’d find out years later.  

I was thinking the other day about the various things I’ve learned about God’s love since then.  Not so much in a theological sense, but in a personal way.  What difference has it made in my life knowing there is a God who loves me?  And though it’d be impossible for any of us to recount (or even know) all the ways in which we’ve personally experienced God’s love, it is nonetheless profitable for us to reflect on such matters.  So here’s some of what comes to mind:

Unbeknownst to me, God in His love, had led people to pray for my salvation.  Simultaneously to that, the Spirit was at work, burdening my heart with a sense of need.  I began to ask myself if there was a God and if so, how could I ever be forgiven for my sins?  In His love, God sent someone to share the gospel with me and I trusted in Jesus for salvation!  Later God, in His loving provision, brought some wonderful men into my life who discipled me, helping me to grow in Christ.  About that same time, I prayed asking God to give me a wife.  I trusted God–putting the matter completely into His hands.  In His love, God gifted me with an amazing woman who has been my companion now for almost 39 years.  She’s been an incredible inspiration to me in her faith in Jesus and in her capacity to love and serve others. God in His love later gifted us with four wonderful children and two grandchildren. 

In His love, God burdened me with a desire to prepare myself for pastoral ministry and provided everything needed to accomplish this calling. Then God miraculously directed me to pastor the church where the first member of my extended family had been saved! In His love, God privileged me to serve in that church for 27 and ½ years. During the course of my pastoral ministry, I observed the working of God’s love in too many ways to recount. But let me just summarize by saying I’ve seen God’s love in action as He worked to save souls, transform people’s lives, restore broken relationships, revive churches, impart comfort and hope and otherwise spiritually prosper the lives of countless folks. In nine trips to Africa I witnessed God’s hand as he brought spiritual growth and transformation to an entire region!

In recent months I’ve been working as a part-time hospice chaplain.  I’ve been on lots of visits to the homes of folks who are dying.  I’ve witnessed God’s love in action through the compassionate care provided by caregivers for their loved ones.  I’ve had opportunities to share with patients about God’s love revealed to us in Jesus, and in some cases I’ve seen folks respond to the gospel!  

My sweet wife Laura has cancer.  It’s been a five-year battle in which she suffers with chronic pain and is sometimes quite ill.  “Where’s God’s love in all of that,” someone might ask.  I look at her amidst it all and marvel at the love of God!  He’s provided for all our financial and medical needs in amazing fashion.  Her undiminished faith amidst her adversities is miraculous.  By God’s grace He’s made her strong and is using her as a witness to the love of God. 

The God who loves me has promised to never leave me or forsake me. He is not only with me, but in the person of the Holy Spirit He indwells me. God knows all about me, but loves me anyway. In fact, nothing can separate me from His love. I’ve failed Him on numerous occasions, but He’s never failed me! In my times of deepest need, when I’ve felt all alone and helpless, I’ve cried out to Him and He’s never failed to respond. He has made promises and has been faithful to keep them all. He began a work in me and will complete what He started. In His love, He gifted me and has privileged me to serve Him, until the appointed time when He shall safely deliver me to the home He has made ready for me. In His love, He’s prepared a place where there is no more death, or mourning, or crying, or tears. One day I’ll depart this place for the glory of heaven and I will marvel at the One who loved me and gave Himself up for me!

So the answer to Amy’s question is yes, I KNOW Jesus loves me!!!.  It’s an amazing thing!  A precious treasure!  A life-changing reality!  Praise God for His love!  Take time to thank Him for His hand in your life.  There is hope for everyone, because there is a God who has a big heart full of eternal love!  Do you know that Jesus loves you?

Abba! Father!  How incredibly blessed we are in the Beloved!  In Him we’ve become the focus of Your affection, indeed You’ve shed abroad Your love in our hearts and lavished us with Your grace.  Forgive us when we take You and Your love for granted.  May the Spirit empower us to better know this love which surpasses knowledge.  Oh, that we might know You better.  That we might be better equipped to make You known.  Amen.

A few days ago we passed the five-year anniversary of our visit with the oncologist in which Laura was diagnosed to have stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Cancer changes everything. And life for us was dramatically changed on that day. In the days following her diagnosis, there were radiation treatments and the start of chemotherapy and being fitted with a back brace (since the cancer had caused massive deterioration of her spine from top to bottom). Soon after that Laura came down with a case of shingles, but unlike most cases of shingles, the pain she experienced was so severe that it caused her to cry out in agony (this went on for several days). We didn’t realize it at the time, but the shingles pain caused serious nerve damage resulting in a condition called “post herpetic neuralgia (PHN).” There’s no cure for PHN, doctors can only prescribe various medications to try to manage the pain. Laura’s been in chronic pain now for almost five years.

Before cancer Laura would shy away from taking any medications, now she’s got almost a dozen that she takes on a daily basis. Before cancer Laura was incredibly fit and active, today she’s happy for the strength to get around the house in her daily routines and sometimes get out of the house for a short walk. Its hard to remember what life was like before cancer. Laura raised our four kids, not an easy task on its own. But when they got older, she worked part time at the local grade school—she loved that, and the kids and fellow teachers loved her. For 27 and ½ years she was an amazing pastor’s wife, serving and caring for others with incredible compassion and faithfulness. She taught in Sunday School and Children’s Church, managed the nursery, oversaw the women’s ministry, took care of the kitchen, and did countless other things that go along with being a part of a local church. If anyone had a need, she was on it. If someone needed a meal, she’d be the first to sign up to take one. She babysat kids. Helped to clean other people’s houses. And she helped people move more times than I can recall. If someone was in the hospital, she was glad to go with me. She’d manage those huge Easter breakfasts and Thanksgiving potlucks, and it was nearly impossible to drag her out of the kitchen. She’s always been that way. Her first inclination has always been to serve others.

The anniversary of a cancer diagnosis is hardly a reason for celebration. But its good to think on the positives. Laura has received great care by the many doctors and nurses we’ve had through her cancer journey. The staff at Kadlec, where she now goes, have been great. They genuinely care and have been proactive in diagnosing and prescribing the necessary cancer treatments. Over the course of five years, we’ve had hundreds of DR appointments and have received hundreds of prescriptions resulting in huge medical costs. We’ve paid out about 1% of that. Kadlec has been great in finding grants to help alleviate the costs associated with our deductible.

So many have prayed for Laura. She and I get messages all the time from people around the US, and even around the world, asking how she is doing and reminding us that they are praying for her. Some might suppose that God hasn’t answered their prayers, since she’s experienced no healing from her various afflictions to this point. But that would be a wrong assumption. Don’t get me wrong, every day is a struggle for her—the countless medications to take and the chronic pain to deal with and the loss of strength and energy day-by-day—but God gives her strength. She seldom complains and has the same servant-minded perspective on life that she’s had ever since I’ve known her. Putting the needs of others ahead of her own in the way she’s lived and still does to this day.

Fighting cancer is like a war. Life is like that too. You can wish all you want for better circumstances. But the fact is, you’ve got to live your life and make the best of it in the context of what you’ve got. And Laura has exemplified the spirit of a warrior who refuses to shrink back or pity herself, despite all the challenges and obstacles, trusting Jesus in all and finding strength in His all sufficient grace.

For her five year cancer anniversary Laura got Covid. About the time she was finishing her seven day chemo cycle. Already sick from the chemo, Covid caused her to be incredibly fatigued. After a couple of days of that, God opened a door for her to receive a monoclonal antibody treatment which quickly worked to turn things around. And she’s feeling much better now. Praise the Lord!

We’ve been so incredibly blessed by the loving concern and prayers and help of so many family members and friends! Thank you for your unwavering support through it all. In this needy world, how precious it is to witness the love of God in action through it all!

So, here’s to you, Laura, on the five-year anniversary of your diagnosis. To say that its been a difficult five years would be an understatement. But you’ve been remarkable and amazing and brave. I love you. You are much loved by so many. May God strengthen your heart and alleviate your pain and grant you renewed strength in the days ahead.

The Love of God

Bible Reading: Isaiah 49:15-16; John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:3-6

It is a tremendous challenge to write a devotional about this glorious theme, kind of like dipping a thimble full of truth out of an ocean full of love (Ephesians 3:19)!

God’s love has been revealed to us in the Bible as existing within the Godhead (John 14:31, 17:23) and in His providential care for all (Matthew 5:43-45), but it is at the cross where the depth of God’s love can be best understood (John 3:16; 1 John 3:16).

If the Bible is God’s love letter to us, then Jesus is the One who has come to reveal that truth and the Cross is proof of it.  From eternity God planned to send His Son to rescue lost sinners. The Son left the perfection of heaven and the adoration of worshiping angels to come to this broken and sin-needy place.  He came in humility, born in a stable, laid in a feeding trough, growing up without wealth or even a place to lay His head.  

As He spoke truth, He served relentlessly and loved without limit; healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers, feeding the multitudes, raising the dead, and doing other miracles which all testified to the truth of His Divinity.  He was devoid of sin and lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father.  Despite all this, enemies coalesced and conspired against Him, plotting His demise.  They even enlisted one of His own to betray Him.  They had Him arrested.  Though He could have called on ten thousand angels to rescue Him, He did not, for He had been born into this world to take our punishment on the Cross for sins not His own.  He willingly subjected Himself to it all–the betrayal and arrest, the abandonment of His friends, the false accusations, the beatings, those laborious steps to the cross, the crucifixion.  

He is the creator of all. In a macabre scene which defies comprehension, the created mocked their Creator. The religious leaders, the soldiers, the two thieves who hung alongside him, and the people gathered there, joined in a cruel cacophony of insults against the One who had given them both life and breath…the One who had come to their rescue.

And there He is, dying on that Cross. A Cross which points to heaven from whence He came. And down to the depths, to the devil, whom He was soon to triumph over. It points both to the east and west, to the far reaches of the globe, to where the message of His gospel would ultimately reach, people from every tribe and language and people and nation.

He who knew no sin was made to be sin when He bore our sins and He cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46).  Who can measure the degree of agony He experienced as His soul was crushed under the weight of humanity’s sin!  There He hangs, bruised and naked, bearing both physical wounds and a broken heart.  

The precious Lamb of God has taken on Himself the sin of the world. He’s utterly alone, an outcast from both the humanity He’s come to rescue and the perfect and intimate love of the Father, which He treasured above all else.  What kind of love is this–that God would predetermine to do such a thing and that Jesus would willingly subject Himself to it?  

What kind of love is this–that someone would suffer and die, not for friends, but for all people, even those who hated Him?  What kind of love is this–that would reach so far and endure so much?  He didn’t stay dead, No one took His life from Him, He had authority to lay it down and authority to take it back up again.  He rose again and later ascended to the right hand of the Father.  And from there He invites sinners to come to receive by faith the salvation He availed and freely offers to all. 

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16).  The proof of God’s amazing love has been unveiled to us on the Cross. Are you doubting God’s love–look there!  An incredible cost, the precious blood of Jesus, was paid for your salvation!  “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou My God, shouldst die for me!”

Heaven Father. How amazing it is that You would love us like that! That you would endeavor to make such a sacrifice, though there be nothing in us to deserve or merit such love. That though we be your enemies, you would be willing to bear our sins. How wonderful it is to be loved by You with a love that knows no limits and cannot fail. Thank you for loving me! Amen.

The Wisdom of God

Bible Reading: Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; James 1:5

It was Voltaire who, hundreds of years ago, observed that “common sense is not so common.”  One wonders what he might think of our day!  There is a relationship between wisdom and common sense, if wisdom is knowing what to do; then common sense is knowing when and where to do it.  In an age where the exercise of wisdom and practice of common sense are in severe decline, it’s good to be reminded that God is perfectly wise. 

As with the other attributes of God, it is not just that He is wiser than we are, in a “more” or “better” sense, His wisdom is infinitely transcendent.  A.W. Tozer has a wonderful description of how God’s infinite wisdom is made manifest, “Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.  It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture.  Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relationship to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.”  God is infinitely wise in who He is and all He does.

Creation testifies to the wisdom of God, as the Psalmist declared “O Lord, how manifold are your works!  In wisdom you made them all” (Psalm 104:24).  Whether God is acknowledged, or not, how much scientific research is devoted to a better understanding of the intricacies and interactions of that which has been created by God? 

We read in the gospels of how folks repeatedly marveled at the wisdom of Jesus and on one such occasion asked, “How is it this man has learning, when he has never studied? (John 7:15).  Jesus’ learning and wisdom came from no outside source, it was intrinsic to His Being, and He navigated life accordingly.  Indeed, in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).”

The wisdom of God has likewise been made plain in the saving work of Jesus Christ.  Though to some it is a stumbling block and to others a foolish thing, the word of the Cross stands as an abiding testament to the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).  Those who receive Jesus as Savior can testify to that!  The Apostle Paul, concluded his treatise regarding how God has so incredibly worked through Christ to reconcile sinners, be they Gentiles or Jews, to Himself, by breaking forth into praise for the wisdom of God (Romans 11:33-35).

We are exhorted to go to God, who gives generously and without reproach, if any of us lacks wisdom (James 1:5).  Let’s go then!  Who doesn’t lack wisdom in dealing with the challenges they face?  We’ll find no shortage, or rebuke when we bring our requests to Him.  As A.W. Tozer has said, “With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?  Surely we are the most favored of creatures.”

Praise You Father, for your infinite wisdom. Forgive us that we are far too prone to rely on our own wisdom or that found in the world, and not Yours and what is found in Your Word. Thank you for your open invitation to come to You for wisdom. Grant us the wisdom to seek Yours!

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”

“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”