Don’t Be Devoted to Convictions

“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is puckish, which means, “mischievous; impish.”

Today is Hug An Australian Day. If I could find one, I would!

Christi is packing for her trip. Her plane leaves at approximately 9:00 this morning. Last night, we enjoyed a couple episodes of 11-22-63 on Hulu, while eating too much pizza. I mean, seriously, I’m still full this morning. Bleah. And I always say I’ll never do that again. Hah! It’s too easy to say that after the fact, isn’t it?

I’m somewhat sad that she is leaving for this trip, but, as they say, “This, too, shall pass.” I don’t like sleeping by myself, even in our own bed. It’s just not right. I also know that she’s going to be exhausted when she gets back. The schedule for this convention is grueling. She has to be up for breakfast by 6:00 every morning, and events don’t stop until 10:00 at night.

The Red Sox squeaked out a 1-0 victory over the Braves, last night, while the Rangers flirted with being no-hit by a Yankees pitcher. The Rangers finally managed to get a hit in the 7th, and a run in the 8th, but still lost 3-1. The Sox are in second, only a 1.5 behind Baltimore, and the Rangers are tied for second with Oakland, .5 behind Seattle. The Mariners have quietly sneaked into first place!

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 57

Note the contrasts in this prayer. On the one hand, we have “storms of destruction” and lions, fiery beasts, and people with sharp swords for tongues, and on the other hand, the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. “There is no contest.” All of the things that threaten the Psalmist, in the end give way to songs of praise!

“O God, wake me out of the nightmare fantasies of sin and temptation that threaten my peace with you, that I may live in the daylight of your purpose and be alert and attentive to your love for me in Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.”

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

“The Supreme Climb”

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Genesis 22:2

Abraham was ready to do anything for God, even to the point of killing the only promised son, Isaac. “Character determines how a man interprets God’s will.” We must obey what God tells us, “according to our sincere belief,” so that God can break us from “traditions that misrepresent him.” If we stay true to him, “God will take us through an ordeal which will bring us out into a better knowledge of himself.”

But we must always be ready to break from traditions and convictions. We cannot be devotees to our convictions. This is the mindset of fanatics. If Abraham had been thinking this way, he would have gone ahead and killed Isaac, claiming that “the voice of the angel was the voice of the devil.” Ponder this for a while. Our convictions sometimes get in our way, and God will tear those down in order to bring us into a deeper, more intimate knowledge of himself.

Father, there have been times in my life when I have been devoted to convictions, rather than to gaining deeper knowledge of you. You have brought me a long way in this regard, but let me not fool myself; there is still far to go. I desire to be brought into that deeper, better knowledge of you. Keep drawing me in, Father, by the continued knowledge and learning of Jesus Christ and his ways. May I put his words into practice in my life and find them to be true.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

The Destruction of Affinities

“Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”~~Earnest Hemingway
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from the Oxford English Dictionary, is psychedelicatessen, which is, “A shop selling psychedelic articles. Now chiefly in extended use with reference to music and art.” Sounds like my kind of place. Groovy, man.

Today is Take Your Child To the Library Day. You see, there’s this magical place, full of these things called “books.” Yeah, they have a few computer terminals. But books. And more books. Every kind imaginable. Please, oh, please, take your child to the library. And if you don’t have a child, take your own darned self to the library!

The library was just about my favorite place in the whole world, when I was growing up. I could lose myself in there. It was upstairs in the old Mineral Wells City Hall building. The floors were creaky wood floors, and the smell . . . oh, man, that smell!! I can close my eyes and almost smell it right now. Old books. What a beautiful aroma! The two librarians were pretty magical, themselves. There was always something special about them. Sigh. How I miss that library.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I got off work pretty close to the usual time, and got a little good news earlier in the day. I’m not going to share any of this story here until I know that it’s okay with the other person involved. But it made the day much better.

We’ll be leaving for Mineral Wells in a little while, to spend the night and go to church with Mama. We haven’t done that in a while, and Stephanie is pretty excited about that. I think Rachel and Just will meet us for lunch today, as well. Good times.

I have a serious prayer request for those of you who pray. We have some friends, a couple who live in San Antonio. Adam and Stephanie Green. She was Stephanie Foote many years ago, when we went to First Church Watauga, and was active in the children’s ministry there, so our kids know them, as well. She is experiencing some serious health issues, right now, apparently centering around her throat/esophagus area. So serious that she is currently in ICU for the third time in the past couple of weeks, if I understand correctly. Please pray for healing for her and peace for her husband and children.

On this date, in 1998, a rental car carrying Austrian Johann Holzel was struck by a bus in the Dominican Republic, where he was vacationing. Most of you probably don’t have a clue who that was. But if I call him “Falco,” you might know. In Austria, he was a superstar, releasing the original recording of “Der Kommisar” in 1982. His recording of that song barely made a dent in the U.S., but four years later, when he released “Rock Me Amadeus,” it shot to number one on the Billboard charts. Not only was he the first Austrian to hit number one on the U.S. charts, but he was also the first to score a number one hit on the American pop charts by a male rap artist! That’s right, boys and girls. ” . . . it wasn’t Doug E. Fresh or Kool Moe Dee or Kurtis Blow or Run-D.M.C. but an Austrian in a powdered wig who first brought hip hop—of a sort—to the top of the pops.” You can read the rest of the article, if you so desire, at History.com.

Today’s birthdays include:

1665–Anne of Great Britain, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland
1695–Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician
1756–Aaron Burr, 3rd Vice President of the United States
1895–Babe Ruth, American baseball player
1911–Ronald Reagan, American actor and President
1912–Eva Braun, Hitler’s wife
1913–Mary Leakey, British anthropologist
1917–Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian actress
1922–Patrich Macnee, British actor
1931–Rip Torn, American actor
1940–Tom Brokaw, American news anchor
1941–Gigi Perreau, American actress
1943–Gayle Hunnicutt, American actress, born in Fort Worth, Texas
1945–Bob Marley, Jamaican musician
1950–Natalie Cole, American singer
1962–Axl Rose, American singer, Guns N’ Roses
1966–Rick Astley, British singer
1976–Kim Zmeskal, American gymnast
1988–Allison Holker, American dancer, married to tWitch

So, today is Rick Astley’s birthday, the teen pop star of the eighties, who gave us “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Someone with way too much time on their hands has given us this gem. It doesn’t work 100%, but it’s still fun, and quite unexpected.

Vince Guaraldi, Hugo Montenegro, Danny Thomas, Arthur Ashe, Carl Wilson, Falco, Frankie Laine, and Lew Burdette are among notable deaths on this date.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
Psalm 22:12-21

We cannot even begin to imagine what Jesus experience on the cross; the hostility and the pain. But the cruelty of the crucifixion is what resulted in the magnificence of the resurrection. “The worst that men could do became the occasion for the unbelievable best that God can do.”

“On the cross, Lord Jesus, you gathered all the hostility and suffering of the world (all my hostility and suffering) and made of it a mighty act of salvation and deliverance. Praise your great name! Amen.”

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

Today’s reading is “Are You Ready to Be Offered?”

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
2 Timothy 4:6

The readiness to be offered is “a transaction of the will, not of sentiment.” I need to tell God that I am ready to be offered, “then let the consequences be what they may.” And when God puts me through the crisis, it will be in private; no man will be able to help me go through it.

Being offered means going through the fire, “burning and purification and insulation for one purpose only, the destruction of every affinity that God has not started and of every attachment that is not an attachment in God. You do not destroy it, God does.” This is frightening, is it not? Is this why so many of us hold back, in our will?

“Tell God you are ready to be offered, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.”

Father, I want to be able to tell you that I am ready to be offered, to go through this burning and purification, destroying every affection within me that is not for you. I want to, but it scares me, if I’m being honest. Move me with your Spirit. Take away those affections, that my total life might be about you and your glory.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

Life. Now and Forever.

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”~~Ernest Hemingway (BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is clishmaclaver, “gossip; idle or foolish talk.” As you might expect, it’s a Scottish word.

Today is Cat Herders Day. Do you feel like you have been tasked with the impossible? Today is your day!

We actually got Christmas lights put up on the house last night! We aren’t completely finished, but all that’s left is the lights around the garage, which is not that difficult and only requires the short ladder and a staple gun. One of our small conical yard trees wouldn’t light up, so we’re coming up with a plan for that. I think that storing those things in the Texas heat during the summer just wipes them out. We have had “pre-lit” trees for inside the house before, and they always quit working after one summer in the attic. And of course . . . after checking all the bulbs and replacing several during the installation . . . when we got done, one light was out. Sigh. We didn’t fix it last night. Maybe tonight.

My mother is in Marshall with a group of seniors (not the high school kind), on a trip to see the infamous Marshall Christmas lights. Hopefully, she is having a good time. They are coming back on Wednesday.

Ten days until Christmas.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Solid Joys)

Today’s reading is “Life and Death at Christmas.”

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10

John Piper writes that, just as he was getting ready to write this devotional, he received word that a dear saint that had been part of his fellowship for many years had passed away at the age of 87. As he spoke to her surviving husband, he encouraged him to be strong in the Lord. The man’s response was, “He has been a true friend.” Piper writes that he prays that all Christians will be able to say that about Christ at the end of their lives.

Piper also remembers his mother’s death, every year during Advent. She was killed in a bush crash in Israel in 1974, cutting short her life at 56. Even today, he says, the events are real to him, easily bringing tears.

“Many of you will feel your loss this Christmas more pointedly than before. Don’t block it out. Let it come. Feel it. What is love for, if not to intensify our affections — both in life and death? But, O, do not be bitter. It is tragically self-destructive to be bitter.”

At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the One who came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Our eternal home of abundant life will be with Jesus. Do we feel restless for home? I’m going “home” for Christmas, to spend the days with my mother. This will be our first Christmas without my father. I know of at least one other person that will be celebrating Christmas without her mother, for the first time.

Why does it feel so good to go “home” for holidays? It is a foretaste of our permanent Home.

Christmas. The birth of Christ. That we might have life, now and forever.

“Make your Now the richer and deeper this Christmas by drinking at the fountain of Forever. It is so near.”

Savior First, Then Teacher

Good morning. It is Saturday, July 21, 2012. Today is “National Junk Food Day.” Nevertheless, I probably will not indulge in the festivities for this day. I do plan, however, on having a nice lunch with my family at Frilly’s Cajun seafood restaurant in Denton.

On this date in 1861, the first battle of Bull Run began. It was the first major land battle in the Civil War. On this date in 1899, Ernest Hemingway was born. And on this date in 1595, “Pumpsie” Green became the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox. Sadly, the Red Sox were the last team in MLB to integrate. Apparently, they held a tryout for Jackie Robinson in April of 1945 and declined to sign him. It seems my favorite team has a history of bad decisions.

---

The nation is still, of course, reeling from the tragedy at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, in Aurora, Colorado. I offer no opinions here, only that all of us who pray need to continue to offer up prayers for the families of those who lost their lives, and for those who were injured to recover. Pray for peace and comfort for all involved. Also pray for the survivors to be able to return to some kind of normalcy. One blog I read, written by one who was there, said they had not slept yet, some 12+ hours after the event. You can read that blog HERE, or you can just click back to my last entry, as I reblogged it last night. It is a chilling, yet wonderful testimony from one whose faith in God is secure.

---

Father, I pray for a vision of you this morning. I pray for something that will clarify my mission in this world, as I follow you.

---

Today, I’m reading Psalm 51. It is generally accepted that David wrote this psalm of confession after Nathan the prophet confronted him about the Bathsheba incident.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleans me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. (1-4)

I’ll admit I’ve always struggled with verse 4. Can David really say that he has only sinned against God? What about Bathsheba? He committed adultery with her and murdered her husband. “Rebellion against God was the root of his sin, and his crime injured people who belonged to God and transgressed a social order created by God.” (Reformation Study Bible notes) I guess, ultimately, God is the only one we “sin” against.

David acknowledges “original sin” in verse 5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

He then proceeds to a plea for cleansing.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit. (7-12)

These verses are well known, and a great passage to include in any prayer of confession that we might engage in.

In regard to a sacrifice, David offers up the following:
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (16-17)

David truly understood the heart of God, at this point. God desires for our hearts to be broken by our sin. He desires true contrition, and he will not ignore that.

---

My Utmost For His Highest

Blessed are the poor in spirit… Matthew 5:3

Chambers warns against setting Jesus up as Teacher first. “If Jesus is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to tantalize me by erecting a standard I cannot attain.” This is what is not realized when people say that Jesus was “just a good teacher.” Why show me something that I cannot reach? “I am happier without knowing it.” We are told by Jesus that we must be pure in heart, that we must do more than our duty, and that we must be perfectly devoted to God. Let me make this clear; there is no way that I can do any of those things! I repeat, once again, the words of Joel Engle, pastor of The Exchange: “The Christian life isn’t hard; it’s impossible!” I must know Jesus as Savior before any of these teachings have any meaning to me! When I am “born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only; He came to make me what He teaches I should be.
The teachings from the Sermon on the Mount produce despair in me, if I have not been redeemed by Jesus. The very idea that we can carry out his teachings without his grace in our lives is self-righteous and conceited. And quite wrong, as well.
Jesus begins this sermon with the above verse; “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” “Blessed are the paupers in spirit,” Chambers says. It is the first principle in God’s Kingdom. “The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility – I cannot being to do it.” When we have reached that point, then Jesus calls us blessed. I spent a long part of my “Christian” life not understanding this. But trust me, I get it now. Without Jesus, I am nothing. Without him, I have no hope. I cannot be “good enough.” I cannot live up to the standard that Jesus the Teacher raises. I am poor and destitute. But with his grace in my life, with his righteousness imputed into my spirit, I have already succeeded. I can’t do this, but he can! And as Zach Schroeder, youth pastor at The Exchange, has been known to say, “I’m cool with that.”

---

Father, I thank you that you have shown me how poor I am. I don’t want people to misunderstand. I am rich in you, and I am fully aware of that. But I am poor in myself. I have nothing of value to offer you. As Horatius Bonar wrote, “It is with our sins that we go to God, for we have nothing else to go with that we can call our own.” Oh, but I can offer you musical talent. You gave me that. I can offer you my mind (thankfully, at age 54, still somewhat sharp). You gave me that. I have nothing that I did not receive from you. So I am fully aware of my spiritual poverty in your presence.
And yet, I am rich! I am rich because my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. I acknowledge your ownership of everything in my life. I am also rich because I have the righteousness of Christ within me. I may not always act like I do…in fact, I’m quite certain that much of the time, I don’t. This would be because of the battle that rages against the flesh. However, I say that it’s getting better all the time. I believe that my flesh is getting weaker as my spirit gets stronger. I am rich because you love me, Father. “How deep the Father’s love for us; how vast beyond all measure; that He should give His only Son; and make a wretch His treasure.” Suddenly, I am at a loss for words, overwhelmed by the deep, deep love of Jesus.

Ah, Father, I rest in your embrace!

And like David, I confess my sinfulness to you. No, I haven’t committed adultery with a neighbor or murdered someone’s husband. But I am a sinner. I am conflicted by this knowledge up against the glorious knowledge that all my sins have been forgiven! By his stripes I am healed! Yet I continue to sin in this flesh. I pray for a clean heart, O God. Create in me a clean heart, O God! You are doing that. I praise you. I worship you, my God!

I pray for this day. May you protect us and give us peace as we (hopefully) travel to Denton to visit Rachel and Justin. In whatever other activity we choose for the day, I pray for peace, rest, and relaxation, to help prepare us for the next work week. Draw me into your presence frequently today, Lord, to offer up prayers for others. Let my life be a life of breathing prayers. May your Spirit be my air.

---

I feel like I’ve rambled a bit today…but I also believe the Spirit led me on the ramble. Know that the teachings of Jesus cannot be attained unless he empowers. He is more than Teacher. He is Savior first, then Teacher.

Grace and peace, friends.