Tag Archives: faith

In the Shelter of the Most High

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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.
Psalm 91:1-2, NIV*

I confess I don’t understand how to interpret parts of this psalm, when it seems to talk about walking in total protection and yet Christians suffer and die like everyone else. But these first two verses have been my prayer for a week and I’m seeing something new here.

When I’m alone with the Lord, it’s usually easy to rest in His shelter. Then I say “Amen,” close my Bible and get on with the day’s responsibilities.

In the house, I still sense a bit of His shadow, unless things get really hairy. Put me into a store or other community venue with lots of people and distractions, and I feel like I’m on my own. Like I’m outside the compound, and shelter is on the other side of the wall. Maybe it’s an introvert thing, I don’t know.

The Lord has been enlarging my image of His shelter. Why should it just be the corner of the couch where I curl up with my Bible and blanket? Couldn’t it include my whole house? Why not the entire community, country, world? Wouldn’t His shelter fill the boundaries of His Kingdom?

Since I can’t get away from God (see Psalm 139), I can’t get out of His shelter, away from His shadow. That must mean I’m still dwelling in His shelter even if I’m in unfamiliar territory. My refuge and fortress, my God, isn’t in a location I have to run back to. He’s in all and over all.

Father, thank you for Your grace that lets me dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and that lets the Spirit of the Most High dwell in me. Help me abide in confidence in You, wherever you lead me each day.

Our song today is “Your Love, O Lord,” by Third Day. It’s based on a different psalm, but still gives the image of resting in the shelter of God.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Speak to One Another

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Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. … Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:15, 19-20, NIV*

I can’t stand sales team pep rallies. You know, the impassioned speaker who gets listeners “all fired up,” leads in a group cheer, and works them into such a frenzy of eagerness that they practically trip over each other on their way out the door to convince the world to buy what they’re offering.

We do need encouragement and motivation, especially in those occupations which encounter a lot of negativity or opposition, but I don’t know if hype is really the best way to provide it.

We also need encouragement and motivation in living the Christian life, whether we’re experiencing outright opposition or just the general wearing-down of daily stress. Again, spare me the theatrics.

St. Paul told us to be alert and intentional about how we live. He knew how easily we can miss opportunities or be distracted from the underlying battle, or even be distracted from God.

With all our busyness, it seems like we rush into and out of church or Bible study groups and never have time to encourage one another. Our pastors and leaders can only pack so much into a message or worship service.

Technology changes things. You’ll often find me listening to a worship CD or to K-LOVE to let the songs keep me focused, and I’m trying to share encouragement through this blog. But the first and best way involves actual human contact.

When we take time to hear one another, we can share a word, a prayer, a song. Nobody wants a pat, trite answer, but a Spirit-inspired bit of encouragement from one Christian to another can really help.

Father, thank You for Scripture, and for the way You speak through fellow believers. Please help us encourage one another with words from You. And help us keep silent when all we have is words from ourselves.

I’m thankful for so many strong Christian music artists who share encouragement. Here’s a song to keep us on track today, by Steven Curtis Chapman: “Not Home Yet“.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Perspective

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But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8, NIV*

I was reminded recently that we come to God, not to get hold of Him but so He may get hold of us, speak to us, lead and direct us, and do His work in and through us.

At first this seems like two sides of the same coin: we reach out to Him, He reaches out to us. Both are needed.

But who reached first? Who initiated the relationship? Scripture says it was God.

If I’m focused on what I see, what I choose to do “for Him,” that seems to place me higher. If the focus is on Him, asking what does He see, what does He want to do through me, then He’s revealed in the position of power and authority.

It’s not about me doing things for God, it’s about Him: what does He want to do through me? Through you?

Father, I praise You for Your grace that makes us worthy to stand in Your presence, and for Your love which seeks us, finds us and changes us. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness, and to love You above all.

This is the Chara Christian Dance Company 2007-2008 interpreting Todd Agnew‘s song, “Reached Down“.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Trust and Confidence

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But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV*

These verses are resonating with me again this year. The first time was a season of uncertainty and they anchored me against fear’s pull. Now, in a still-uncertain but less personally-tumultuous season, I’m drawn to a the beginning rather than the end: my spirit is stopping at the trust and confidence, and the verse is a reminder, focal point, perspective-keeper that I can carry with me into each day.

It’s an aid to let me follow James’ directive to continue looking intently into God’s word and to do what it says. What it says to me at this point is:

  • Trust in the Lord;
  • Put your confidence in Him.

Somehow that expands into resting securely in God’s love, strength, grace and power. It means trusting that He’s present with me now – not benevolently watching from “up there” but right here with me, His Spirit dwelling with mine even though He’s also with you and simultaneously sustaining all of creation.

Present. Not distant.

I want – need – to stay present with Him. But in the words of the old hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” I’m “prone to wander … prone to leave the God I love.”

Father, Your Spirit has drawn me to Yourself, and given me life. Thank You for such grace and mercy. So many times I lose focus and drift away, but You always call me to return. Please heal the fractures and unite the fragments. Give me that unity of focus on You that I need. Let me stay by Your side in trust and confidence. Help me not to wander.

Here’s a mix of new and old: Jars of Clay singing “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Believing God

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Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6, NIV*

God told this childless old man that the longing of his heart – the aching wound he had carried so long – would be satisfied. And Abram believed him. Pure and simple. He accepted God’s promise as truth, and trusted God to do as He said. There’s peace in that.

For me, his simple acceptance of God’s word is key. Not the particular promise he received, but the general heart attitude of believing God. Not whether he understood the hows and whys, nor what was at stake, just that he heard God and believed him.

Sometimes we hear God speak a personal word to us. We may not understand, but we need to trust His character and believe Him. Every day, whether we hear Him or not, we have His character and promises revealed in the Bible. We can believe them.

It’s the simplicity of Abram’s belief that inspires me. I’m so bad about complicating things. Instead of fretting, I need to quietly believe God. Accept Him. Let Him be the strong one, the leader. Trust Him and let Him have the wheel.

Help me, Father, to take my proper place trusting You, open to You, believing You. I’m sorry for the tangled complication I make of life – and of my own thoughts – and ask You to lead me into a simplicity of spirit that rests in You – actively trusts You – believes You the way a flower believes the sun.

Our song this week is “Lord (I Don’t Know)” by the Newsboys.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Not Forgetting

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Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:23-25, NIV*

As  a new mom, I thought I could tell my toddler something once—explain it to him—and that would be enough. Before long I was reciting the age-old parental question, “How many times to I have to tell you not to do that?”

Now I understand the reason young children need repeated coaching: they’re still developing cognitive and reasoning skills. We’re often like that with spiritual lessons, or at least I am. I wonder what some of the things are that God has been patiently repeating, waiting for me to process?

In this chapter alone I see a few:

  • Pay attention and consciously apply what He says;
  • Perspective: see that trials prove I can depend on God-and don’t take them personally;
  • Trust God’s character when I’m asking for wisdom; He wants to give it, and I don’t have to convince Him;
  • It’s about God, not about me.

He could zap me in some mystical way to “get” the message, and sometimes people do learn in one take… often the hard way. But it seems His preferred method is involving us in the learning. Any teacher will tell us it’s a more effective way to ensure the message sticks.

Instead of passively reading the Bible and then carrying on as usual in our days, let’s stay alert for the verses that really resonate with us. Maybe stick them on the fridge or steering wheel. Think about what they mean in our circumstances. Speak them aloud. After all, they’re our defence against despair and defeat… and one way God wants to grow us.

Father, I confess I tend to wait for You to change me, when You want to involve me in the change. You are the power in the equation. I can’t change myself. But you want to develop my spiritual muscles so I’ll grow up in my faith. Thank You for Your patient teaching. Please help me pay attention and practice what You teach.

Our song this week is “Thy Word,” sung here by the Maranatha Singers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SLHWFpSlq4&feature=related

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Without a Doubt

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If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
James 1:5-8, NIV*

I used to think these verses meant I had to be sure I’d get what I asked from God. The kicker was, I wasn’t always sure what He wanted to give.

It’s clear from other parts of the Bible that we need to ask in keeping with God’s will. (We don’t even need to leave the Book of James to see this: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3, NIV)

Sometimes we have “how” or the “why” doubts, but James is talking about the “Who” doubts: about God’s character. It’s okay to be unsure of what to pray for, but we need to be sure of God. His character is revealed in Scripture and in our lives, and we need to remember and rely on it.

I have a friend whose cancer sounds terminal. Does God want to heal her, or to reward her with Heaven? I don’t know. But I can pray for God’s care in the details of her life, without any doubt in His love and provision for her.

The two men I’m praying for with depression/alcohol issues… Jesus came to set the captives free. I can be confident He wants to finish the job in their lives.

The people He’s placed on my heart who don’t know Him… God is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and I know it’s His prompting that has me praying. He longs to adopt them as His own.

In the end, it’s all about God. The better we know Him, the easier it is to trust Him. He gives us the faith, but we need to walk in it.

Our song this week is Jeremy Camp‘s “Trust in You.”

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God with Us

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I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10b-11, NIV*

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’-which means, ‘God with us.’
Matthew 1:22-23, NIV*

As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the Incarnation – Emmanuel, God With Us – I wanted to share this video with you. Created by AJ Production Company, it features Todd Agnew’s song, “God With Us” (from my favourite Christmas CD, Do You See What I See?).

The video reminds me of a short novel that’s part of my annual Christmas celebrations. If you can find a copy, I encourage you to read Seeker of Stars, by Susan Fish. It’s the wonderfully evocative story of a young boy fascinated with stars and how he becomes a man who follows a star to Bethlehem in search of a king.

Have a wonderful and wonder-filled Christmas.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Faith to Receive

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In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
Acts 14:8-10, NIV*

Paul was spreading the good news of Jesus: Emmanuel, God with us. He saw this crippled man – really saw him, and saw he had faith to be healed.

This reminds me of Jesus teaching in his home town: “… he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matthew 13:58, NIV) And of the way He had to first deal with the father’s faith issue before healing the tortured son:

“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
Mark 9:19-25, NIV*

God is all-wise, and if He chooses not to heal someone, no amount of manufactured faith can make it happen. But if He offers healing, or deliverance, or salvation… it seems to me like we need faith to receive it.

The good news here is it’s God who gives us the faith: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

The gift of God: but we still need to receive it.

For the people on my prayer list, this adds to my prayers. I’m praying for God to give them faith to receive the salvation, healing, and/or deliverance they need.

For me, I need to pray for faith to receive whatever God wants to give me. He’s still growing and shaping me, and I don’t want to miss anything because I couldn’t receive it.

I wanted to share a link to Robin Mark’s “With All Faith,” but couldn’t find it on YouTube. Instead, here is a song the LORD and I shared yesterday as part of my prayer for a young man who doesn’t know Jesus. I’m playing it now in anticipation of the day when he can sing it himself. This is the David Crowder Band’s rendition of “Heaven Came Down” from the Illuminate CD. I prefer the simpler version on their Lime CD, but this is still great – and check out the pictures with it.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Equipped

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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV*

Sometimes I need a balance adjustment. While I’ve been spending time in prayer and God’s word, learning to love Him better, and growing in relationship with Him, that’s only part of the goal.

He wants to equip me for good work. St. Paul makes this even clearer when he says we must turn away from wickedness and ignoble purposes and become “instrument[s] for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” (2 Timothy 2:21, NIV)

Christians are intended to show Jesus’ love to the world. We have the Great Commission and the promise of His presence. Loving Him, expressing our love to Him, isn’t complete if we’re not looking around with His perspective, seeing what He sees, and acting as He wants to act through us.

If I want to know how to pray for people and events – if I want to know how God wants to use me in people’s lives – I need to pay attention to what’s going on. Ask Him about it, think about it, and not be so quick to drop it in pursuit of other tasks or diversions.

Instead of waiting to get close enough for God to reveal His perspective, I need to be doing my part – be faithful in the little things – if I hope to see progress.

Father, thank You for loving us. Please help me pay attention as You show me how You want to love those around me.

We can all make today’s song our prayer: “Give Me Your Eyes,” by Brandon Heath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mhpLjPslbM

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.