Month: March 2015

MY TIMES ARE IN HIS HANDS

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CD COVER-FRONT
As I stated in my Bio, I am a singer, songwriter and guitarist. Over the years, the Lord has blessed me greatly by giving me “songs in the night” to comfort my soul and those of others. In the next devotionals, I’m going to add my songs to enhance our devotional experience.  The Lord has always given me a verse on which to meditate and then a song from that verse. Other than the Word of God, there is nothing like music to soothe the soul…and what better way than the two of them together.

My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
Psalm 31:15

Do you ever feel that as the years have flown by, so have the dreams in your heart taken flight and disappeared into oblivion? You don’t have to be old to feel this way, although the older you get the more the thoughts haunt you. I know, not only have I been there…I’m still there! What I mean is, on occasion, I still deal with such thoughts. I have, however, learned to temper them with the promises in God’s Word…the most relevant of those being, “my times are in His Hands.”

My Father God knew all the mistakes I would make before I made them. He knew I would not be perfect or even near perfect and yet He loves me! You notice I said, “He loves me, not He loved me.” His love is unconditional. His love is irrevocable. His love is merciful. His love is capable of restoring hopes and dreams that you thought were long gone. When people in your life, even your own family have given up on you and deemed you unsuccessful, His plans for you are still intact! Even when you have given up on yourself, He will not loosen His hold on you! “For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] (Hebrews 13:5b AMP)

As long as you have breath in your body, it’s not too late! “For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.] (Romans 11:29 AMP) God never says, “Uh oh, they’ve done it now! They’ve made one mistake too many. I’m writing them off.”  No, God knows the plans He has for you. He wants you to get on your feet, dust yourself off, and get back on track toward the goals He has put in your heart.

You’ve heard the saying, “Who knows what the future holds?” That is a true statement. We don’t know what the future holds. But if we are a Christian, we know Who holds the future! And the plans He has for us are good! “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 LB)

Look at your future through God’s eyes. It’s growing brighter and brighter each day! He hasn’t given up on you. Now don’t give up on yourself!

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG…

GOOD vs EVIL

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For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked,
but I will increase the power of the godly.”
Psalm 75:9b
New Living Translation
And having disarmed the powers and authorities,
he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Colossians 2:14 NIV

Have you ever felt that evil people seem to prosper and don’t have a care in the world, while those that are trying to do good and serve the Lord seem to be having one challenge after another? I certainly have…and King David did too. He wrote about it in the following Psalm.

One thing I greatly admire about David is that he was not afraid to tell his innermost thoughts, especially to the Lord. And because of that, we have many life-lessons that can be learned from his conversations with God. At one point he even says, “God, I wouldn’t be able to speak to people about this. They would think I’m a traitor to You. So I’m just trying to understand it myself.”

Read the following Psalm and understand that the wicked may be prospering now, on this earth, but it will not always be so. God is the Righteous Judge and He will not allow evil to go unpunished…nor will He allow good to go unrewarded!

Truly God is good…to those whose hearts are pure.
But as for me, I almost lost my footing.
My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone…
For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.
They don’t have troubles like other people;
They’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.
They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.
These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!
They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.
They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth,
And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.
“What does God know?” they ask.
“Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”
Look at these wicked people—enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.
If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.
So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!
Then I went into Your sanctuary, O God,
and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
Truly, You put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.
When You arise, O Lord, You will laugh at their silly ideas
as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
Yet I still belong to You; You hold my right hand.
You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.
Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy those who abandon you.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.
Psalm 73 NLT

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!

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LIER

(Oops! Did I say that out loud?!)

No weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17 NIV

“Liar, liar…pants on fire…hanging on a telephone wire!” Have you ever heard that saying? If you live in the south you have. I know we used to chant it as children when we thought someone was greatly stretching the truth.

There is speculation that it originated from a version of the 1810 poem “The Liar” by William Blake. Although some people dispute that fact, I read the poem and there certainly are a number of similarities. The phrase itself sounds a bit like a perverted nursery rhyme, but the message is universal. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Well what in the world even brought this to mind?” Think again and you can probably guess. Right! Someone blatantly lied to me…straight-faced! (It also reminds me of a verse in an old Bob Dylan song (I’m aging myself now!)… “♫ You lied, straight-faced while I cried; still I look to find a reason to believe. ♪”

I just don’t understand it! Completely aside from being a Christian…why do people lie when they know that there’s a very strong possibility that they will be caught? Maybe they just sense that there’s a “patsy”…uh, I mean a naïve or trusting person around. Maybe they just don’t care if they get caught or haven’t thought that far ahead. Maybe they just enjoy fabricating things. Either way, lies are always perpetrated with a self-serving motive and total disregard for the person being lied to! Believe me…I’ve had plenty of personal experience in this area…on the receiving end!!!

Now I know the Bible tells us to “think the best of every person,” but surely the Lord draws the line somewhere! Actually, this is what Proverbs, the Book of Wisdom says about Iying…“There are six things GOD hates, seven which he detests: a haughty look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet swift in running to do evil, a false witness who lies with every breath, and him who sows strife among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19 Complete Jewish Bible) Did you realize that God hates lying? It is mentioned twice in this passage. But how many people think nothing of telling “a little white lie” or even a “black one” for that matter! The only time it bothers them is when they get caught and I know people who are not even bothered by that. They just tell another lie to prop up the last one or make excuses for it. And it is absolutely NEVER their fault!

One time I asked a lady who had blatantly lied to me…“How can you just lie to me straight-faced and with no conscience?” Her reply was, “It’s easy. I just pretend the thing I lied about never happened.” I was dumbfounded! But the Book of James does tell us…“But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. (James 1:22 AMP)

I could give you many more examples in my own life of people who are apparently self-deceived, because they believe their own lies. It is incredulous, but is a serious matter indeed. Anything that God hates is not to be taken lightly!  Don’t get caught in the world’s trap of thinking it’s no big deal.

As Christians, how do we handle someone deliberately lying to us or about us? There is only one way… pray for them and ask God to be your vindicator.

 

THE BIG PICTURE

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FRUIT STAND

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Daniel 2:21

My times are in your hands.
Psalm 31:15a

As I was driving in to work one morning, I passed a local fruit and vegetable stand. The man who runs it was putting out his wares for the day. He had tables full of melons, tomatoes, peaches and all kinds of vegetables. I thought to myself, “How in the world does he make enough to keep this place going? Obviously he can’t make over two to three dollars profit on each basket or item sold.” Then it was as if the Lord said to me, “He has to look at the big picture. He can’t look at each sale of the day or even the sales for the week. He has to count the profit at the end of the month or maybe the end of the season. And in the meantime, he has to faithfully attend to his produce, culling out any items that may have gotten overripe or gone bad overnight. He has to cover them or take them in at night and bring them back out in the morning. He has to sit there all day expectantly, whether he has a customer or not. And he has to do this one day at a time, one week at a time until the season is over.”

Does the job seem mundane? I’m sure it does. Does it seem unprofitable at times? Absolutely! Does it all seem an act of futility in the big scheme of life? No doubt! Then why is this fruit stand even necessary? Well, first of all, it provides a means of livelihood for both the owner and the worker. It provides a service to people to enrich their life. It provides a sense of accomplishment as daily duties are performed and people are served. And lastly, it is where these people are destined to be at this particular time in life whether by choice or by happenstance.

Does this all sound too familiar to you? It does to me! There are times when I ask myself each of those questions and in the moments that follow, I have a choice to make. Do I trust my Heavenly Father enough to believe that at this moment in time I am right where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing…and if not, that He will show me differently? Am I too busy complaining to count the blessings of the moment? Am I looking at a single day’s accomplishment instead of looking at the big picture? Am I looking at this present session instead of looking at the whole season of my life?

“Lord, help me to see ‘my times’ through Your eyes
and adjust my attitude accordingly.”

MACRO GOD

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UNIVERSE

God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
      toddlers shout the songs
   that drown out enemy talk,
      and silence atheist babble.

 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
      your handmade sky-jewelry,
   Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
      Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
   Why do you bother with us?
      Why take a second look our way?

  Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
      bright with Eden’s dawn light.
   You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
      repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
   Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
      even animals out in the wild,
   Birds flying and fish swimming,
      whales singing in the ocean deeps.

 God, brilliant Lord,
      your name echoes around the world.

Psalm 8:1-9
The Message Bible

When I read this passage of scripture, especially this poetic rendition from The Message Bible, my heart swells with excitement and awe! Why? The psalmist is talking about my Heavenly Father and His unprecedented, unequaled love for me. The brilliant God who made the macro vastness of the universe cares for micro me!  And in His eyes, I am not micro, but macro also. He loves me so much that He made me in His image and put me in charge of His glorious creation.

I know you’ve often heard stories of kids bragging on their dads. Each one thinks his dad is the greatest! What about the children of famous actors or football stars? Well, let me tell you, they have absolutely nothing on us! Our Father is not just world famous, He is universally famous. His power and influence extends to the far reaches of the earth, the universe and beyond. His exploits are renowned to every people group that inhabits the earth. Even creation itself proclaims His existence with voices loud and clear! And we have the awesome privilege of saying, “That’s my Father…that’s my Dad!”