It's Either - Or

It’s been wisely said that “If He is not Lord of all He is not Lord at all. If we do not value Him above all, we do not really value Him at all.” What does it mean when we say, “Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord?” There is a natural progression that begins with Jesus as our Savior and ends with Him as our Lord.

Shouting in a loud voice with words that came from the bottom of his heart, David proclaimed, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth.”

With God being Who He is and What He is and you and I being who we are and what we are, establishes a clearly and carefully defined relationship. It declares His role and our role: He is our Sovereign. And as our Sovereign we are to be submissive to Him. All that we are or ever will be and all that we have or ever will have is a result of the grace and mercy that comes from Him, our Sovereign Lord.

If God were not Sovereign, He would have no authority to dispense grace and mercy. That is what sovereigns do: they rule over their subjects and choose who will receive their favor. And the more power that any sovereign has the more important and precious is the grace and mercy they bestow upon their subjects.

Our Sovereign said, “Whoever chooses me to be their Savior and Lord will receive my love, mercy and grace and will have eternal life with me.” He also said, “Remember: I am with you every step of life’s journey to protect you and empower you to complete the plans I have for you ” No wonder David said, “Be exalted, O God.”

Prayer:  How grateful we are, Father, for the plans You have designed for our lives. We bow before You in gratitude and ask that You will guide and guard us in our journey through life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:5

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Purpose And Possibilities

It began when I bought him his first pair of cowboy boots. He looked at them lovingly and wore them with great pride. Even to bed. After he fell asleep, I would quietly go into his room and remove them gently not wanting to awaken him.

Michael and I “progressed” from the boots to jeans and a plaid shirt. Then a vest. Finally, a cowboy hat. Standing in front of the mirror in his room one day, he declared with pride: “I’m Cowboy Mike.” At that moment in his young life, he decided who he was and what he wanted to be: he discovered his destiny by the clothes he wore, and the dreams he had from watching cowboy movies.

Each of us, at one time or another, had a dream about who we wanted to become and what we planned to do with the life that God gave us. We wanted to bring the future into the present with carefully detailed plans and goals. We chose classes and programs of study to help us prepare for occupations that fit into our dreams. We looked forward to accomplishments that would bring us joy and happiness, satisfaction and success. For some life unfolds as planned. For others there were starts and stalls and stops. We worked hard at life.

To make the most of life, however, we must include God in our plans. He knows what is best for us because He gave us life. Writing from a cave one day David finally said, “I cry out to God Most High Who has a plan for me.” It is never too late to seek His plan for your life.

Prayer:  Lord, may we look to You to discover the plan You have for each of us and make You the center of our life. Only then will we become who You intended us to be and fulfill our destiny. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:  I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. Psalm 57:2

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Seeking A Safe Shelter

It was a stormy day. Fierce winds and heavy rains made the windows of his office shake intensely. Suddenly one of the panes came loose and the wind and rain came rushing in and soaked the desk and papers of the great hymn writer, Charles Wesley.

Suddenly, he was startled by the sounds of a bird chirping. He looked around and discovered that a small bird had been carried into his room with the wind and the rain and had taken refuge in his coat that he had laid across a chair near his desk.

Noticing that the bird was frightened, he silently made his way to the chair and began to softly stroke the feathers of the bird to calm its fast-beating heart. The bird did not respond to his gentleness. Then he noticed that a hawk was perched on a bookcase, carefully watching the proceedings. He walked from his office with the bird, holding it carefully and compassionately as God does us. When the rain ceased, he released it into the sky, went back to his desk and wrote the hymn, “Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly.” 

David had fierce “storms” in his life. There were many times in his life when he had no place to go or any person he could turn to for help. But he had God and he knew that he could turn to Him at any moment in any of the storms of his life and be safe and ultimately saved when the storm passed.

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,” he wrote. “For in You my soul takes refuge. I take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster passes.”

Prayer:  Thank You, Heavenly Father, for being our refuge when the storms of life arise, winds are strong, and waves swirling around us. May we find Your protection for our problems. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me. For in You my soul takes refuge. I take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster passes. Psalm 57:1 

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Why Does God Do What He Does For Us?

Everything we do in life is the result of a choice or decision we make. Every choice has its consequence or outcome. There are times when we make a choice, and we are pleased with the outcome or result. Other times we make decisions that hurt or haunt us; bring results that embarrass us or bring our lives or our goals to a grinding halt. Sometimes the results of the choices we make force us to look carefully at what we have done with our lives. Every choice, however, contributes to the legacy that we will leave behind us.

David made some especially important decisions that caused him pain and suffering, grief and fear. He knew that he was often disobedient to the promises he made to God and knew that he had to face the consequences of his choices. With deep humility he recognized the poor decisions he made and said, “I am under vows to You, O God!” Making a commitment or decision to honor and serve God is serious. It is not to be made without considering the implications it will have on our lives and the lives of others. A vow to God can be the beginning of a chapter of righteous living.

We all know of the tragedies in David’s life because he consciously broke his vows to God. With careful planning and deliberate choices, he committed crimes against both God and man. He knew what he deserved but went to God and repented, asked for and then received His forgiveness. The result? “You have delivered me from death...that I may walk before You in the light of life.”

Prayer:  We pray, Lord, that You will make us conscious of the choices we make and their consequences.  May we seek Your power to walk in paths of righteousness that please You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:  I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. Psalm 56:12

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Eternal Tears

One day, John promised us, “God will wipe away all tears.” Sickness and sadness, sorrow and suffering – whatever causes people pain or problems – would be gone, banished forever. We all look forward to that special day!

So it is strange when David said that “God will record my sorrows and list my tears on His scroll and in His record.” Whatever could be God’s reason for doing this to David? And might He do the same to us? Does it make sense that God would make a permanent record of grief – David’s grief and our grief as well?

God knew of David’s suffering and He knows when we suffer. Our God is a God who cares deeply for us and has compassion for us when we are gripped with grief. Why keep such a record?

Because God wants us to know that He knows and will respond to and one day relieve all our suffering!

Too often when we are overcome with illness or are struggling with sickness, we turn to the products we have stored in our medicine cabinet or to the countless remedies on the shelves of our pharmacies. And if and when they do not work, we turn to a physician and seek his counsel and cure. It is the normal, natural thing to do.

Unfortunately, all too often we only pray when all else fails. It is as if God was not aware of our sickness or has no time to be concerned with our health and wellbeing.

Not so, says David. God has a permanent record of every tear that falls from our eyes because they matter to Him. This is His way of saying, “I do care! Here is My record that I kept about you.”

Prayer:  Thank you, Father, for Your constant concern and never-ending care. We thank You and praise You for our health and well-being, recognizing Your presence and power at work. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll - are they not in your record? Psalm 56:8

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