HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE

We were having a family discussion about music a few weeks ago with our daughter and son in law.  They asked Jim to quickly name three of his favorite songs from his growing up years.  Jim is a literal whiz at remember old songs and the artists who performed them, so I knew he would have no problem.  The only one I remember him mentioning was “Till”, by the Angels, which was our wedding song. 

Maybe you would like to play along.  Let’s narrow it down a bit first.  Quick: name three of your favorite LOVE songs from your growing up years.  Go!

How did you do?  My list included, “Till”, of course, then  “Leavin on a Jet Plane”, by Peter, Paul and Mary; and “Your Song” by Elton John, the last two were popular when Jim was in Viet Nam, just three months after we were married.  It was a time of great longing for his presence.

Did you notice that my kids did not ask ME what my favorite songs were?  Know why?  They said they knew if they asked me, I’d just pick hymns and praise music because it’s all I listen to.  Kids, they never consider that you might have had a different life before they were born! 

I do love those wonderful love songs from the days when my love for my husband, and his for me, was new and full and deep.  As wonderful as human love is however, it cannot compare to the love God has for us, which is why I also love hymns and praise music and spend most of my listening time singing along to them these days. 

A favorite came on the other day while I was listening to Pandora.  It’s called, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, by Stuart Townend.  You can listen to it on YouTube if you like: https://youtu.be/YV2zMZ-nZ7k

The words to this song embody so much of what makes God’s love so personal, intimate, sacrificial and sweet to me. 

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Imagine.  The Father’s love for us is so great that it can’t even be measured. 

The Apostle Paul prays for the Christians in the Ephesian church to know the fullness of God’s love in this way.

(That) you may be able to comprehend with all (believers in Christ) what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  
(The Bible - Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 18-19)

Dr. David Jeremiah writes this about those verses:

The breadth of God’s love encompasses the world and all that are in it.  The length of His love extends from eternity past to eternity future. The depth of His love addresses the deepest needs of the human heart. And the height reaches to His very throne.

My favorite memory of those years when Jim was in Viet Nam was getting a MARS call, relayed to me from a radio operator there via a ham radio operator in the states.  We were nearing the end of our three minute call, saying our I love yous, when the Viet Nam radioman said to Jim, “You have time for one more I love you, sir.”  There was nothing like being awakened in the middle of the night to get a call from Jim and have him say, “I love you”. 

God the Father, however, did not just speak about His love on the pages of the Bible, He demonstrated His love, with a gift.  He gave His best, His only Son, as the song says, in order to save a wretch like you, like me. What made us wretches?  Sin.  We’re all tainted with it, with no possible way out, until God demonstrated His love toward us.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans, chapter 5, verse 8:

But God demonstrates His own love towards us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Do you ever wonder whether you could give your life for someone else’s - maybe your parent, or spouse, or your children, or a good friend? 

How about someone who wanted nothing to do with you – like your ex-wife or husband, your estranged relative?

Or someone who hurt someone one you loved – like a child molester, or a mugger, or a murderer?

God didn’t wait for you or me to clean up our acts to demonstrate His love for us.  No.  Jesus died for us while we were sinners!  When WE were the person who wanted nothing to do with Him.  When we were the ones who scorned Him.  When we were the ones who broke His commandments.

Who loves like that?  God does. 

Jesus willingly gave His own life for yours, so that you might be forgiven, so that you might become His treasure.  He endured separation from His Father while He hung on the cross so that you would never have to be separated from Him, EVER. 

Feeling like a wretch?  Then come to Jesus, who loved you and gave His life for you, just as you are.  He loves you that much. 

Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Stuart Townend Copyright © 1995 

WHO IS THAT GUY?

I’m going to ask you to use your imagination for a bit.  


Supposing we met at a party thrown by your husband’s boss.  In a cozy corner where no one else bothered us, I asked you about yourself and you told me all about your job, your family, and your love of sewing and reading.  Then you asked me about myself.  For the next fifteen minutes I regaled you with details about how I was descended from royalty, that I had the promise of a fantastic inheritance from my father upon his death and that I couldn’t wait to come into all that was mine.  


I’m guessing you would have smiled and said “um hum” in all the appropriate places, all the while looking for a way out of what seemed like a really bizarre and probably untrue conversation.  Before it was even near time to leave, you started to anticipate the conversation in the car with your husband on your way home. 


Maybe your side would go something like this: 


YOU:  Oh, my goodness!  What a conversation I had tonight with that lady in the green dress.  Did you see me talking to her? (Husband nods)  Who did you say she was?  


YOU: That lady was ____________________________________________!!!


How would you fill in the blank?

• ·       A nut job
• ·       Seriously suffering from delusions of grandeur
• ·       Someone we should make friends with
• ·       An escapee from a local mental hospital

(By the way, in case you’re wondering, I made that background up.  😊)


In Matthew’s gospel in the Bible, chapter 16, verse 15 we read an account of Jesus speaking with His disciples.  He asks them:


Jesus: Who do men say that I am?


Disciples: Some say John the Baptist (who had already been beheaded), some Elijah,, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.


Jesus: But who do you say that I am?


Simon Peter:  You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.


Jesus: Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.


Like me at the imaginary party, Jesus made some pretty amazing claims about Himself.  He said:

• He had come from heaven (John’s gospel, chapter 3, verse 13)

• Whoever believe in Me will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

• He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (John 5:23)

• I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger and He who believes in Me shall never thirst (speaking of spiritual hunger and thirst – John 6:35)

• I am the light of the world; He who follows me shall never walk in darkness, but have the light of life. (John 8:12)

• Most assuredly I say to you (Jewish leaders), before Abraham was, I AM. (John 8:59 As God, Jesus is eternal, existing before Abraham)

• I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

• My Father, who has given (My sheep) to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.  (John 10:30)

• I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  (John 11:25-26)

• I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.  (John 14:3)

• I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  (John 14:6)

• I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot received because it neither sees Him or knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  (John 14:15)

• My kingdom is not of this world.   (John 18:36)

These are some pretty audacious claims by Jesus, with others I haven’t recorded.  Maybe some or all of them are new to you.  

If you met Jesus at a neighborhood party and He shared these things with you, what would you say to the driver of your car on the way home?

YOU: This guy I met at the party said all of these far out things about himself.


YOU: That guy is ______________________________________.


How would you fill in the blank? 

·       A nut job who thinks he's equal with God

·       Seriously suffering from delusions of grandeur

·       An escapee from a mental hospital 

If He was any of those things, we could dismiss Him out of hand. 

Some people do, but many, many others down through the ages have believed His claims and seen their lives transformed.

 So. . . . what if all Jesus said about Himself is true?  

Food for thought, isn't it?  Think about it and decide for yourself. Then answer the question:

So, who IS that guy?

DID YOU KNOW? JESUS IS COMING BACK!

I love writing devotional blogs.  Usually some God given idea will come to mind by the Spirit that will begin to percolate in my brain until it forms something more than just an idea, and a blog is eventually born.  Since coronavirus arrived, I have written nothing.  Many of you who regularly read my blogs will already have realized that I have been recycling old ones.  Not a single idea has popped into my head this entire time about which I feel I can write.  


I usually tell people that if I haven’t written a blog in a while it’s because I’ve been neglectful of those things that keep me close to the Lord, and empowered by the Spirit, but that hasn’t been true during this time of isolation.  


Our pastor has graciously been daily recording devotional videos since the start of the pandemic, first going through the entire gospel of John, followed by Acts, and now on to 1 Corinthians, and so nearly every day I have read a psalm, that day’s chapter, and then listened to the video.  Afterward, I’ve spent time praying, for loved ones who don’t yet know Jesus, as well as for those loved ones who do, and praying for a variety of other things.  I have probably been more disciplined to be in God’s Word and in prayer than I have been in a long time because when we’re not on lock down, other activities get in the way.


I’ve puzzled over this inability to write for a really long time, until today I think I finally can pinpoint the reason – I have not be personally touched by the virus.  I only know of one person, a neighbor of my daughter Becky’s, who contracted the virus and was able to manage it at home.  None of our family members are sick, and all of my children are still working, or being paid by their company.  


I have been in situations before when another Christian, who’s life seems to me to be untouched by suffering, tries to speak into my pain.  Their words sound shallow, and trite.  Their stories of others whose children came out of drug abuse, or who were rebellious and then turned to the Lord, not really helpful.  They didn’t spawn my hope, they made me feel worse.  In my mind I think, of course one can be cheerful and full of faith when everything is going well.  I didn’t want to be one of those people trying to speak into the life of someone with whom I could not relate, so I haven’t written.


After all, I don’t know what it is like to have a loved one diagnosed with COVID 19, hospitalized alone, without the comfort of family, to have them die alone without personal good-byes.  I have no idea of the depth of grief that brings to the family.  


I don’t know what it is like to be unemployed, maybe both husband and wife, and have no income, with children to feed and bills to pay.  I don’t know the kind of panic and desperation that causes.


I don’t know what it is like to have the school shut down and to add to all the other concerns that weigh on parents’ minds, the necessity of having to home school your children, or face a summer without camps when you both have to work.


I don’t know what it is like to have a family member in health care who can’t come home because of COVID exposure, worrying daily whether they’ll catch the virus themselves.


I do lose sleep at night, anxious over who might get the virus and who might lose their jobs, questioning who to believe as I listen to conflicting opinions about masks, medicines, opening up or staying on lock down. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy!  Nevertheless, my life and that of my family members, has not suffered loss.  I am incredibly grateful for that, but aware that it is not everyone’s story.


So, what do I say to suffering people when my own life has not been touched? 

All I can do is share what has been sustaining me through these long weeks of lock down, when I wake in the night with anxiety and as I go through my days.


The answer is simple, not a what really, but a Who.  JESUS


Jesus isn’t just a name to me.  Jesus is not just a character I heard about in church when I was a kid.  Jesus isn’t biblical character I happen to know a lot of things about.  No, I KNOW Jesus as a person, as a friend, as a constant companion, as Someone so worthy of worship, as a personal Savior, as the One who loved me enough to die for me so that I could be with Him forever.  


I talk to Jesus during the night when fear threatens.  I talk to Him about my family because He knows them very well.  I talk to Him about their health, their jobs, their need to know Him for themselves. 


Thinking about Jesus calms me.  I remember that He has promised that nothing can ever separate me from His love.  I remember that He has said: “Call on me and I will answer”, so I know that when I talk to Him, He hears me and answers.


I remember what the Bible says about how great He is.  He is powerful, nothing is too hard for Him – not the resolution of global pandemics, or changing the hearts of those I love which seem closed to Him, not economic uncertainty, or the disagreements between those in charge of handling things.  


Jesus is sovereign.  It may look like presidents, and prime ministers, and health officials are in charge, but it’s really Jesus.  He says He’s working things out for our good and His glory, and He means it.  He has a plan and a purpose and nothing and no one will prevent Him from carrying out His will.  Do you know how comforting that is when I’m anxious?


One thing that has filled me with urgency to pray more and to reprint some old blogs that clearly share the gospel, is that I firmly believe Jesus when He said He was going to come again. I’ve been thinking about that promise a lot! Even when the world seems topsy turvy, that promise gives me hope and joy – even in the midst of a pandemic.  

The Apostle Paul calls it, “the blessed hope of His appearing”.  


I feel so strongly that His coming gets nearer every day that I have shared the gospel recently with someone I barely know, something I’m not always brave enough to do.  I’m posting Bible verses on Facebook in the hope that someone may read them and be drawn to want to know Jesus.  


To speak words of comfort to you, when I have no idea what you might be suffering as a result of COVID 19, seems like it might not comfort you at all.  But, telling you that Jesus is coming again is critical.


When Jesus came the first time, He came as Savior.  He came to live the perfect life of holiness we could NOT live, no matter how hard we might try to obey God’s law, and He lived that perfect life.  Fulfilling God’s law perfectly enabled Him to be THE perfect sacrifice for sin, which the justice of a holy God demanded.  


The death He suffered should have been OUR death, the just penalty for our sin and failure to keep God’s righteous law.  Miracle of miracles, Jesus chose to die MY death for sin, taking MY sin upon Himself, and dying so that God’s justice against sin could be met.  His resurrection from the dead was God’s “seal of approval”, if you will, that He accepted His Son’s death as the penalty for MY sin, that I might NEVER have to pay it.


The death and resurrection of Jesus made the GREAT EXCHANGE possible!  My sin was transferred to HIS account, and HIS righteousness was transferred to mine, declaring me NOT GUILTY!  When I embraced this truth as my own, Jesus claimed me as His very own child.  There is now NO condemnation for me, or anyone who is trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice on their behalf, and nothing can every separate me from His love (see Romans, chapter 8).


Jesus came that first time as our Savior, but when He comes again it will be as Judge.  At that time, He will separate all those who have rejected His sacrifice on their behalf and they will receive in their bodies the just judgement of God for their sin, which is eternal death.  Those who have trusted Jesus will be welcomed into the Eternal Kingdom of the Son to live with Him forever.


That Kingdom will be far beyond our imagining.  There will be no night.  There will be no more tears, or suffering, or pain, or dying.  The righteousness of the Lord will reign – no more sin – in us, in our environment.  We will have glorified bodies like the one Jesus had when He was resurrected, bodies that will never get sick, bodies that will live forever.  We will be greeted by loved ones who died believing in Jesus’s sacrifice on their behalf and we will recognize them! But the BEST part is that we will SEE JESUS, face to face.  His is the first face we’ll long to see.


It has been so difficult to write to people who are suffering when I am not experiencing that suffering for myself.  In the light of what I believe is the Lord’s soon coming, I couldn’t not write about that.  


This world with its pandemics, economic woes, death and dying, wars, politics, hatred, is real.  You know it because you’re experiencing it’s suffering.  Yet, there is another world, just as real, though we can’t yet see it. Jesus has promised He will return and usher it in.


Are you ready for His coming?  Jesus didn't tell us when.  Maybe it will be tomorrow.   Are you ready?

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

MY FAITH STORY - FROM knowing TO KNOWING!!

I haven’t always loved Jesus.  It’s only as I’ve looked back on my life that I can see the evidence of His drawing me to Himself, even when I was a child.  


There was the Vacation Bible School I attended at a local church when I was about seven.  My parents sent me to give me something to do in the summer. What I remembered was being captivated by a story about Jesus the teacher told using flannel figures on a flannel board (maybe some of you remember those).


Hollywood, believe it or not, produced a story called, Adam and Eve, probably when I was in middle school and I dragged my dad to see it.  I don’t know why the movie intrigued me, I just wanted to see it. 


When The Ten Commandments, with Charleston Heston came out, I talked my cousin, who was babysitting us, into taking my brother and me.  Why?  I don’t know, it just sounded interesting.


I had almost no knowledge about God or Jesus, and yet these three experiences made me feel warm toward God, so that I wanted to know more.  


Sometime in middle school I talked with my dad about going to church.  He and I were most alike in personality, and though he had almost no church experience at all, while my mom did, he was the one I approached to take me on a church quest.  He was surprisingly agreeable.  We attended a few different Protestant denominations and settled on a Methodist church right across a park from us in Union City, NJ. That’s the first church we began to attend as a family.  


From then on, we always regularly attended one church or another, one Protestant denomination or another.  I did lots of things in churches as I grew older.  I sang in choirs, taught children in Sunday school, and Vacation Bible School, and was a Christian camp counselor for a week.  By this time in my life, I knew a lot more ABOUT Jesus, but I did not “know” Jesus in a personal way, though I didn’t know it at the time.  I continued to live my life the way I always had, which was not always very good, all the while doing my Sunday “thing” and serving in my church.


Then I met Jim at the very end of our last year in college.  He had more of a religious background than I did – years of parochial elementary school, high school and then college.  Since we had different backgrounds, and neither of us was particularly wild about going to church at that time in our lives, we stopped going altogether.  We did what we wanted and were satisfied.  About six years passed.


I really can’t pinpoint any one thing that caused me to long for God.  I can only explain it by using the words of the Apostle Paul regarding a woman named Lydia in the book of Acts in the Bible; chapter 16, beginning with verse 11:


Paul and his companions went to the city of Philippi in Macedonia. Because there was no synagogue in the city, they went to the riverside where people had gathered for prayer and they spoke to those who were there.  Lydia, a business woman from Thyatira, was there, and she was a worshiper of God. 


What Paul says next is exactly what happened to me those six years after Jim and I married:

The Lord opened her heart to believe the things spoken of by Paul.

 (Acts 16:14)

Lydia worshiped God, but she didn’t yet know Jesus.  


What was it Lydia believed?  The most important message Paul ever preached – the one he undoubtedly preached to Lydia that day - the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Jesus died for our sin.  Jesus was buried.  Jesus rose again on the third day.

If you had asked me before that time what I knew about Jesus, I would have told you those very things – but back then I only knew them as facts to be recited, not truth to be embraced.  


Once the Lord opened my heart to believe, my heart was changed!  I didn’t just believe with my mind, the Lord filled me with an understanding of Who Jesus is and why He came that was personal, and personally applied – a message for ME!  The result was a commitment of my whole being to that truth.  


The first thing I noticed was that I could not get enough of the Bible.  I didn’t always understand what I was reading at that time, but I wanted more of it.  I wanted to KNOW God more and more.  When I read about Jesus in the Gospels, my love for Him grew.  There were tears of gratitude for His sacrifice for me that I had never shed before.  


There were new priorities – in addition to devouring the Bible, I wanted to be in church to hear more about Jesus, to sing about Him, to know other people who also loved Him.  I prayed more, and over time, I just talked to Him all the time in what has become an intimate, personal relationship with my living Lord.  


When I did the same things I did before – singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, and Vacation Bible School – I had a desire not just to DO something at church – but a desire to SERVE God and His people, to teach His Word so that others could know Jesus too.


I began to notice that I cared a lot more about people than I used to and that my care didn’t just stop with my mind and heart.  I began to think about practical ways to show Jesus’ love to other people – reaching out to an elderly neighbor, visiting nursing homes, going way beyond what was expected in relating to the learning-disabled kids I taught.  And it filled me with a joy I had never experienced before. 


As I’ve got older, I was also far more bothered by my sin.  I’m forgiven, thanks to Jesus’ death in my place.  I still sin though, and sinning grieves me a lot more than it did when I was younger.  I’m still appalled by the things I sometimes think and sometimes the things I do as well, and so I’m that much more grateful to Jesus for loving me and forgiving me, despite my sin.


That is what it’s really like to KNOW and love Jesus – not just know about Him – but KNOW Jesus Himself – as Savior and Redeemer, dearest Friend, Almighty God who is worthy of all worship and praise, coming King with whom I’ll live forever.

I don’t follow Him perfectly, no one does, but I certainly believe the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:6, when he says:

Being confident of this, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

All those years ago now, when Jesus opened my heart to believe all that the Scriptures say about Him – not just with my mind, but with my mind and heart and soul – He began His good work in me, to save me from the penalty of my sin, and to make me more like Himself.  And one day, He will complete His work, and that’s a promise!



If you are reading this blog, consider that it is no accident, but rather Jesus drawing you to Himself.  Maybe you have always thought you “knew” Jesus, but as you read, you realize that you do not know Him in the way I’ve described.  Do you want to?  Then tell Jesus so.  I can tell you there is NO prayer He longs to answer more than that one!  


Get out a Bible and read the gospel of John.  Write down all the things Jesus says about Himself in it and think about them.  For example: Jesus says “I am the light of the world.”  What does it mean that Jesus is the LIGHT of the world? Light illuminates darkness.  Light helps us see when we can’t find our way.  Light can give warmth.  Do you know Jesus in those ways?


Jesus says, “I am THE way, THE truth and THE life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.”   What do you think that means?  What implication does that have for those who say there are many ways to God?  


Talk to Jesus about what you read in John’s gospel.  Ask Him to help you to understand.  Ask Him to help you believe, to go from just knowing ABOUT Jesus, to really KNOWING Him – with all your heart, soul and mind – that you might live your life for Him.  


Dearest Jesus,


I do not know who will read this blog today.  As they read it, will You warm their hearts to recognize the truth about Jesus and create in them the faith to believe all that the Bible says about Him.  Open their hearts to believe.  


As they read Your Word, the Bible, may they really SEE Jesus in all the ways in which He describes Himself.  May they believe that He died to save them from sin and its penalty, that He has broken the hold sin has over them so that now they can say NO to sin, and live FOR Jesus.  Help them to understand that one day, because YOU live Jesus, they will live also.  


And help them to trust in Your promise that the work You begin in them, this very day, You will carry on to its completion, until You call them home, or You come again.  

Thank You, Jesus.   Amen.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

How much do you know about shepherding?  I’m guessing about as much as I know, which isn’t much.  That’s why I found a book I purchased many years ago so enlightening.  While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks, written by Dr. Timothy Laniak, tells of his experiences living with and interviewing modern Bedoin shepherds. The book is intended for pastors who want to be good shepherds of the flocks under their care.  


In addition to wonderful photographs, I’m intrigued by what goes into shepherding.  Dr. Laniak describes what it takes to care for, protect, and guide sheep. Dr. Laniak discovered that sheep know they belong to a shepherd.  He names them, knows them and counts them every day. He says: 


Naming is a powerful, tangible expression of the shepherd’s intimate bond that begins at birth and grows through an animal’s tenure with a flock.


He gives this description of the shepherd’s knowledge of his sheep from watching one of his Bedoin shepherd friends:


The mothers, which number 51 were kept back from the lambs by Falah and Salim, while Nasir began to call them by name, and as each was allowed to come up, Nasir slipped the noose off the young one’s neck and give it to the mother.  He knew every mother and every lamb.  


An astonishing thing was that he called up each ewe and picked out her lamb in complete darkness. . .All through the process of loosing the lambs, calling up the mothers and handing the baby to suckle, he was calling out name after name amidst the din of mothers’ “baaing” and lambs crying for their food.  


To me it was pandemonium; to Nasir and Falah, everyday procedure. . . he could recognize each mother and each baby by the feel with his eyes shut.  All were black, but by feeling heads and backs he knew by touch which was which.  


Amazing, isn’t it?  What intimacy of knowledge each shepherd had of his sheep.  But there is something even more amazing than a shepherd’s love for his sheep, and that is the love of Jesus for His sheep.


Yesterday, in our 21 days of prayer initiative from our church, we read the tenth chapter of John’s gospel.  In it, Jesus calls Himself the “Good Shepherd”.  He says:


I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. . . He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.  


I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and am known by My own.  


And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.


I love the picture of the Bedoin shepherds calling their sheep by name, and each one responding by pushing through the crowd of sheep to come forward.  To me, all sheep in a flock look the same, and yet the shepherd has a name for each one.  He knows them so intimately that even in the dark he can identify one and match her with her lamb.  


That is how well Jesus knows us – intimately, by name, in a loving relationship, like a Father with His children – or a shepherd with his sheep.  He calls them “My own” and they know Him so that when He calls, they recognize the sound of His voice and respond.  


Occasionally, a shepherd might find himself defending his sheep from a predator.  Jesus’ sheep are unsnatchable – for both Father and Son, who are ONE – keep them safe and secure.  


Sheep aren’t particularly smart, so the shepherd can’t allow them to wander by themselves.  They’ve been known to walk off cliffs if left to their own devices!  Jesus guides His own, as it says in Psalm 23:2; 3b

To green pastures and beside still waters and leading them in paths of righteousness

There is such comfort, peace and assurance in this description of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  Even in these days of coronavirus insecurity, you can know His peace when you belong to Jesus.


He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep.  His life in exchange for yours.  His righteousness in exchange for your sin and its penalty of death.  His life in abundance now, and eternal life with Him forever as a result.  


Who wouldn’t want that?  Want it?  Tell Jesus and watch what He does in your life!  

I’m praying for you.

LIVING UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OR ABOVE THEM?

This is the start of the third week of social distancing, thanks to Covid 19.  How are you coping with this forced distance from family, friends and co-workers?  I don’t know about you, but I’ve had good days and bad days.  

I had a day last week that was tough.  I’m almost ashamed to tell about it because I am NOT a doctor or nurse on the front lines of caring for the sick and praying I stay well while doing it. That’s tough!  I’m not out of a job because the business that employs me had to shut down.  That’s tough. I’m not grieving over the loss of a loved one to this virus. That’s tough.  No.  I was just having a hard time being in, staying motivated, and finding something productive to do.  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but there it is. 

I can say though that that day really was an exception.  What has occupied more of my time than usual lately and has kept me grounded, at rest and without fear, has been the reading of God’s Word.  I’ve been reading in the Psalms and also in the gospel of John.  We’re doing a 21 day prayer focus in our church too, with a devotional video from our pastor on John’s gospel and a prayer emphasis to focus on that day.  

As I’m reading God’s Word, it has been a longtime practice of mine wherever I’m reading, to look specifically for the words the writer uses to describe God, and to write the words in the margin of my Bible, and then to use those very words to worship God in prayer.  

This week I read these things about God from the Psalms:

He is Judge

Deliverer

Defender

Merciful

Powerful

Our strength

He hears our prayers

He attends to our voice

Rock

Strong tower

Savior

Salvation

The Lord of Hosts (Captain of heaven’s armies)

He rules

And from John’s gospel:

He is Messiah

The Christ

The Source of Living Water

Lord of the Harvest

Sovereign over Creation (turning water into wine)

Healer (with just a word and at a distance)

Lord of the Sabbath

Giver of life

The Son of Man

Sovereign over Creation (feeding 5000)

The Bread of Heaven (who gives life to the world)

The Great I AM

The One Who satisfies spiritual hunger and thirst

The Resurrection

Seeker of the Father’s glory

Giver of the Holy Spirit

A number of years ago a good friend was going through a horrific family situation that threw them into confusion and despair.  One day I asked her how she was doing and she replied:  Okay, under the circumstances.  

She didn’t look upset at all, rather she looked calm and confident in the Lord.  I remember thinking, I know why she’s so calm.  It’s because she really isn’t living UNDER the circumstances, she’s living ABOVE them!

These are days when we could easily live under our circumstances.  We could let fear, uncertainty, what if’s, losses, anxiety, depression push us down so that we can barely get out of bed in the morning.  

Or, we can look at who God is and be lifted up.  Who is this God of ours?

Our God is powerful.  He’s the One for whom NOTHING is impossible!  He is our Healer and Deliverer.

Our God hears our prayers and is attentive to us.  When Jesus prayed, He said, “Father, I know you always hear me.”  He hears us too, always!

When we’re afraid, He is our Rock and our Strong Tower.  We can run to Him because He can’t be shaken and He never changes.

He’s our Savior and our Salvation.  He did for us in Jesus what we never could have done – made us acceptable, righteous, and forgiven in the eyes of God so that no matter what happens, we don’t have to fear the future.  We KNOW Jesus waits for us there and we will see Him face to face.

He is Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.  From Genesis to Revelation He has been God’s plan and the Scriptures testify that He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises to Israel and to all who believe.

He is the Bread of Life and the Source of Living Water.  All who come to Him can be sure they will never be spiritually hungry or thirsty, but completely satisfied in Jesus.

He is Sovereign over His Creation.  Is He the source of the Coronavirus?  No.  The fall of Adam and Eve affected creation as well, bringing sickness, disease, floods, famines, tornadoes, weeds, and all those things that mar creation.  However, God has allowed the Coronavirus – for our good and His glory – that you and I might see our need of Him and seek and worship Him and make Him known.

We can’t fail to be lifted up ABOVE our circumstances in the light of Who God is and what He has done.

I had a tough day last week, and I’m sure other tough days might lie ahead.  But when I feel weighed down UNDER my circumstances, I’m going to look into God’s Word, I’m going to look for God’s names and His attributes, and I’m going to dwell on Him and His majesty and greatness instead.

I hope you will too.

My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:5-8

PSALM FOR A QUARANTINE

A friend of mine joked this morning in an email about this being day 5000 of social distancing, thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Gave me a chuckle, but it’s really not a laughing matter, is it?  Besides all the folks getting seriously sick, there are fears of the economic fallout for countries virtually shutting down for weeks.  I think of my nephew who opened his own restaurant a year or so ago, who had to shut down and let all his employees go, and my hairdresser who is self-employed.  I know they and many others are wondering how they’re going to make it if things don’t go back to normal soon. 


I was reading from Psalm 57 this morning in my Bible.  It was written by a young warrior named David, of David and Goliath fame, who would later become king over Israel. (I Samuel, chapter 17)


David, just a shepherd boy at the time, keeping his father’s flock, was sent with food for his brothers who were serving with the army of Israel.  Every morning Goliath, a fierce giant of a man, would shout across the valley of Elah, taunting the men of Israel to fight, or at least send a representative to take on Goliath.


When David heard, he was incensed, and replied to those standing near:

What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

While King Saul and the rest of Israel’s armies “were dismayed and greatly afraid”, David went out to fight Goliath, armed with just a slingshot and five stones, and defeated him in the strength, power and confidence of his God.


David continued to serve under King Saul.  When David began to earn a reputation in the eyes of the people, King Saul began to be afraid of him.  For years then, David had to flee from Saul’s murderous intentions.  


Psalm 57 was written during this time when he fled into a cave to escape Saul. In verse 1 of the psalm, David describes this time as one of “calamities”.  


In verse 4 he speaks of his soul lying among lions whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword, causing his soul to be bowed down.


David was running from a human enemy out to destroy him, like a lion ready to tear him apart.  Every day was filled with uncertainty.  Would this be the day Saul would find him?  I’m thinking a lot of us can relate as we shelter in place to avoid COVID-19.


David had had the promise of God, and the anointing of Samuel, the priest, that he would be the next king of Israel, but that didn’t make the running and uncertainty any less anxiety producing!  


Or did it?


One of the things I love most about the psalms, and especially those written by David, is that in the same psalm in which David speaks of his enemies and his troubles, he also expresses his faith in the God who is sovereign over all.


In verse 1 David says:

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.

Until these calamities have passed by.

I love the word picture of God shadowing His own under His wings.  It reminds me of a photo I saw once of a mother bird who was caught in a wildfire.  She was completely burned, but under her wings her chicks had been kept safe.  She was their refuge, as God was David’s, because David trusted in God with his whole soul!


Who or what is your refuge now that things are calamitous?  We’re finding out it’s not in health and job security, right?  It’s not always in government – they’re often as clueless about how to resolve an issue as we are.  It isn’t always in a home, or the security of full grocery shelves.  


David was experiencing calamitous circumstances that could change at any moment, but he chose to trust God who never changes, in whom he could shelter and find refuge IN the circumstances.


And even though David had enemies out to get him, he was confident that God’s truth would prevail.  He says that in verse 3:

God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

David would be vindicated by God Himself when the truth was known.  


I have decided to only check on the virus updates once a day, you probably are checking yourself.  Have you noticed how much conflicting information there is out there?  Well, only God knows the whole truth about anything. If we seek Him, He promises to give us wisdom for how we are to live day to day according to His truth, even in the midst of calamity and uncertainty.  He wants us to seek Him, that we might know Him and His wisdom Proverbs 2:1-6:

If you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding, Yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding.  If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Maybe you feel like you’re living in a calamitous time.  Ours isn’t a human enemy, but a viral one, that keeps changing the course of our lives every day, keeping us on edge and uncertain.  That’s how David felt too, but he didn’t stay there!


The end of psalm 57 is such a wonderful expression of David’s confident faith in the Lord, a faith that cannot be shaken, even in difficult times.  Verse 7:

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.

Would you describe the state of your heart these days as “steadfast”?  How did David have a steadfast heart in his circumstances?  

He poured out his troubles to God, and then he shifted his focus to God Himself – the God who he describes as merciful (v. 1), trustworthy (v. 1), a refuge (v. 1), God Most High (v. 2), Savior (v. 3), source of truth (v. 3), exalted (v. 5), and glorious (v. 5).


Wow!  When we look at GOD instead of our circumstances, it inspires trust and peace and not fear.  David knew that and so he sang and gave God praise.  What a great remedy for fear and a lack of steadfastness!  


Feeling fearful.  Turn off the news, turn on Christian radio and SING God’s praises! 

If you’re not usually a church person, now’s your chance to visit without pressure.  So many churches are broadcasting live on Sunday mornings.  Tune into one.   

(My church is Celebration Community Church, Celebration, FL.  You can find live services at 6 PM Sat and 9 and 11 AM on Sunday on YouTube)

In verse 9-11 David says:

I will praise You, O Lord among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations.  For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens and Your truth unto the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let your glory be above the earth.

I’m finding that there are so many opportunities in this calamitous time to sing God’s praises among the people around us.  Use Facebook and texts and emails to share with others just how good the Lord is, so that His glory might be known in all the earth. Suggest they catch your church’s live service on Sunday morning.

Feeling shaky instead of steadfast?  


God is:

Merciful

Trustworthy

A refuge

God Most High

Truth

Glorious

Praiseworthy

Exalted

Tomorrow, let’s begin our day by praising God for all He has revealed Himself to be, and then let’s seek Him in prayer because it’s only in Him that we will the strength and peace we need to face an uncertain future.