Pressing On In His Footsteps

Isaiah  30:12-14  (MSG) Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this: “Because you scorn this Message, preferring to live by injustice and shape your lives on lies, this perverse way of life will be like a towering, badly built wall that slowly, slowly tilts and shifts, and then one day, without warning, collapses — smashed to bits like a  piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”

Observation

People like you and me make up every society in every nation of every time in history.  We can forget that they are people with families, hopes, dreams and challenges whether in 1000 BC or 2000 AD.  There are and have always been people who live in a way that pleases God and others who seek only to please and profit themselves at the cost of others (“live by injustice and shape your lives on lies”).  Because we have a perspective limited by mere decades of life, we can wonder why God does not move more quickly to execute justice.  Sometimes it seems in our lifetime that the wall is not tilting and shifting because the movement is imperceptible to us in our short lifespan.  We want Him to do so according to our time schedule – NOW.  We want to see results!

“…then one day, without warning, [the wall] collapses —   smashed to bits like a piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”   I take note of the “without warning”.  Even when we look back, we lack the experience of being there, living in that society and under those conditions.  We are removed from and unaware of the deplorable condition of society that led up to the wall collapses that have come over the millennia, such as the revivals that completely turned a society right side up, the revolutions that have overthrown unjust rulers, and the social reforms that have succeeded against entrenched power/traditions.  There is no way to explain with words the history leading to those powerful events; you must live them.   Perhaps, now we are beginning to see the wall tilt.

Impact on Me

As I look around at the culture that surrounds me, I often feel like a foreigner in a strange land.  And, then I realize that I am!  In Christ, I am a citizen of Heaven, an ambassador and missionary on mission to this Earth.  If I begin to feel intimidated by the seeming height, size and strength of the walls of ungodliness set to block the truth I am sent to share, I pray that I will be reminded that these are “towering, badly built wall[s]” that can fall as quickly and completely as the walls of Jericho did when the Hebrews just obeyed the directions of their God – even when it did not seem to make sense.

In those times of doubt, I want to remember that I have experienced miracles that cannot be explained with words – miracles of provision, healing and restoration.  There is nothing that compares to being in the midst of the power of God working, impacting your situation, making possible what is impossible, demonstrating that His eyes and attention are on you, filling you with a joy and peace that is immeasurable. 

These kinds of experiences fill me with hope for the next impossible challenge.   They also cause me to recognize that it is not what talents, abilities, resources, experience, training or status I bring to the table that matter; it is only my faith, my willingness to be used and my obedience to His instructions that matter.  His success does not depend on me, but mine entirely depends on Him.

Devotion

Lord, God Almighty, Everlasting, Ever Faithful, may I never forget Who You are and will be in and through me when I just obey.  I may look at the walls that stand between the deceived and Your truth as walls that must tilt and collapse, “smashed to  bits  like  a  piece  of  pottery,  smashed beyond recognition  or  repair,  useless,  a  pile  of debris to  be  swept  up  and  thrown  in the  trash.”  Remind me always that Your time frame is based on Your eternal strategic perspective, not mine.  May I never lose hope in Your faithfulness and the fulfillment of Your Word when the time is right and most profitable to Your Kingdom purposes.  Romans 15:13 (JBP) “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.”.  Let me know that the wall will fall when You are ready.  In Jesus’ name, I   pray.

Psalm 29 (A psalm of David)

¹ Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for His glory and strength.  ² Honor the Lord for the glory of His name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.  The God of glory thunders.  The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.  ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.   ⁵ The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.  ⁶ He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; He makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.  ⁷ The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.  ⁸ The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;  the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  ⁹ The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.  In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord rules over the floodwaters.  The Lord reigns as king forever.  ¹¹ The Lord gives His people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.

Observation

Can we stop just a little while and stand in awe and wonder of the Lord?  “Selah” should be right here to remind us to do so.  We don’t have an exact translation of selah but we see it often in the psalms.  It seems to be a suggestion to stop, reflect, contemplate and meditate on the wonder of what you just read or, in the case of the psalms, sang.  “The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.”  Any one of these statements speak of power and majesty beyond our conception.  Do we really perceive how unique, powerful and majestic God is?

These words are truth – reality – our eternal refuge and strength – immutable, from, about and for the One with “no shadow of turning” (James 1:17).  However, we live in a world where seeing is not believing and hearing is also not reliable.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) has blurred what is real, what is fact, making it possible to alter what is actually seen and heard.  AI has a myriad of beneficial uses, but we live in a fallen world where it will not always be used for good.  Scripture is one of the only places left that does not and will not be changed.  This is why we need to soak in the Word, be firmly rooted in the salvation provided by Christ, and remember every moment of every day Whose we are and Whom we serve.

Impact On Me

This is not a tirade against AI.  I am aware that, like anything else, AI can be used for good or evil.  For example, money or work are not inherently evil, nor are they always a means of deception.  The twisting happens when they become idols, replacing dependence on God for dependence on what we ourselves can provide – when we decide to determine what is good or evil rather than leaving it with God. 

The devil takes every thing created or available to use for deception.  He started with tempting Adam and Eve with the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and proceeded throughout history to use every other invention of humankind, attempting to twist the goodness out of it by making it another idol, another instrument of deception, another trading our way for submitting to the Lord’s way.  However, the Word says I don’t have to be ignorant of the devil’s devices, so I choose to pray for the Lord’s wisdom in my choices as I stand again daily before that Tree. 

But I digress….  “The Lord rules over the floodwaters.  The Lord reigns as king forever.  ¹¹ The Lord gives His people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.”  Regardless of the machinations of the enemy of my soul, I have confidence in the power, majesty and promise of the Lord I serve because I choose to be rooted in Christ.  He is able to lead me in righteousness and truth.  He is able to give me the strength and wisdom to choose wisely.  He is able to give me peace in the midst of this stormy world.  He is able to lead me in battle right on through to victory.  He has the eternal plan to redeem this fallen world and restore Eden – first working within me and then calming the storms around me by flowing in and through me.  This is why He deserves all honor and praise.  This is why I stop to stand in awe of Him.

Devotion

“Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for His glory and strength.  Honor the Lord for the glory of His name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”  I do honor You, Lord, awesome in power, wonder, goodness, mercy and grace.  Stop me from rushing to get things done when I need to stop and recognize Your awesome wonder – in a sunset, in a flower, in how you are working in the lives of my family, every little thing that is another miracle of Your love and care for me.  Convict me when I think I am too busy to read Your Word or listen to the wonder of You set to music.  I want to walk with You, at Your pace, so I can listen to all You have to share with me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT   We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.  We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.  We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

Colossians 1:15-20 Phillips  Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through Him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through Him, and for Him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for Him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation.  And now He is the head of the body which is composed of all Christian people. Life from nothing began through Him, and life from the dead began through Him, and He is, therefore, justly called the Lord of all. It was in Him that the full nature of God chose to live, and through Him God planned to reconcile in His own person, as it were, everything on earth and everything in Heaven by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross.

Observation

Here are a few reminders about who we are in Christ as we look toward the future.

We operate from a position of advantage.  We are IN Christ, not near Him, not next to Him but IN Him.  We are the children of the Almighty God, Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is never surprised by the moves of the enemy.  He is never unprepared or taken aback by what happens.  He never leaves or forsakes us. 

We are not in charge of the ultimate plan. He feels no pressure or compunction to react or act according to any plan or timetable other than His own.  He is never concerned about what people will think about an individual battle that seems to be lost.  He will partner with us and equip us to accomplish His plan and fulfill His will and purpose BUT He will not necessarily bless any plan we come up with on our own.  He has already won the war and will lead us in victory – if we choose to follow into His Kingdom that He has established on earth as it is in Heaven.  We need to wait and take however long it takes to hear from Him and be wise enough to trust and embrace His plan for us.

We have been given superior weapons.  The weapons our God gives us are not the weapons the world sees as powerful but are those that exercise His absolute spiritual power and authority – on earth and in the heavenlies.  These are the invisible weapons of surrendered life of faith born from a heart established in Christ. These weapons wield incredible power against which the enemy has no defense  – 1 Corinthians 13 love, grace, forgiveness, mercy, self-sacrifice, humility, obedience to His call, the fruit of the Spirit among so many others.  The enemy gains no foothold, no victory, when we wield only God’s weapons by responding according to the Word of God rather than react according to our flesh.  We are not ignorant of the enemy’s devices;  we should also know how to use the weapons God has given.

God is not performance-based.  Will we be judged by Jesus one day for the works performed by us as an act to demonstrate our love and gratitude for Who He is and what He has done for us?  Absolutely!  However, showing Him many lists with all the boxes checked off, showing all the good things we decided to do on our own in His name, will not impress Him nearly as much as how well we listened and obeyed in whatever He specifically asked us to do.  If we trust God enough to pray and wait to hear His plan, setting aside our timetable, our need to be in control, and our need to rack up another achievement to gain the praise of men, we will find that our joy will be full because we have given Him joy in His heart.

Impact on Me

These are all reminders that speak powerfully to me.  Learning to live by faith is a journey of surrendering over and over, finding Jesus faithful when I do, and moving on to the next opportunity to learn to trust Him.  Sometimes, I have to circle back a few times on the same path. It is amazing to me that Holy Spirit is such a patient and faithful teacher and companion.

I need to remember that my God’s power, authority and strength is like the whole power plant compared to the devil’s microwave strength – like the Sun compared to a mini-flashlight.  I think about Peter walking on the water.  He was actually doing it until he was distracted by the stormy waves.  Why would calm or stormy make a difference – walking on water in any case is impossible.  My goal this year is to keep my eyes on Jesus so the storminess around me won’t distract me from remembering and exercising who I am in Christ.

Devotion

Almighty, Everlasting, Omniscient Father, I worship You.  Jesus, Creator, Redeemer, Savior, You are worthy of all praise.  Holy Spirit, patient and constant, teach and guide me in trusting in my adoption, my redemption, my authority in Christ so I won’t be distracted by the storms and sink.  Help me to wait on You but act quickly to obey when I do hear Your voice, Your call.  School me in using Your weapons, provide me with the humility needed to use them, and grace, grace, grace.  I ask this all in Jesus’ name.

Micah 6:6-8 MSG   How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God?  Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves?  Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil?  Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin?  ⁸ But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.

Matthew 6:9-15 Phillips  Pray then like this—‘Our Heavenly Father, may your name be honoured; May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day the bread we need, Forgive us what we owe to you, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. Keep us clear of temptation, and save us from evil’.”  ^14-15 “For if you forgive other people their failures, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you will not forgive other people, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your failures.”

Observation

All of the sacrifices mentioned in the Micah passage above were common sacrifices of the time.  The pagan cultures offered food, animals and even human sacrifices to try to gain favor with their angry and inconsistent gods – gods who often modeled the worst of human behaviors.  These false gods were many, demonic and demonstrably fickle, wrathful and woefully flawed.  These cultures prayed and petitioned without expectation of blessing while hoping to avoid the wrath of their gods.

The Jewish faith required the sacrifice of animals whose blood temporarily covered over the sin of the people.  The high priest had to repeat the sacrifice every year for the nation and individuals could bring an animal without blemish for personal atonement.  These sacrifices were meant to foreshadow the permanent sacrifice to forgive sin that Jesus would make on the Cross.  Unfortunately, the sacrifice became the fix allowing them to live as they pleased rather than living according to the nature and heart of God – an outward “spiritual” act replacing an inward spiritual submission.  This is Micah’s point.  God wants us to show proper respect for Him by living His love.

Impact on Me

I have always believed that submitting to and following the Lord is simple but not easy.  As Micah says, “Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.”  Simple – because it only requires making the choice to submit to surrender and serve with my full heart, striving to be like Him, submitting to His instruction, considering others before myself, and accepting His assignments.  This is not easy because doing this battles against my human tendencies – resenting being treated like the servant I claim to want to be, withholding forgiveness from those I don’t think deserve it, giving in to other manifestations of my pride, my desire to be recognized and praised for my achievements, my comfort, my control over my life – the list goes on. 

“Forgive us what we owe to you, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. …For if you forgive other people their failures, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you will not forgive other people, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your failures.”  So, as an example, this is simple but definitely not easy.  This is Jesus speaking so I want to hear.  I recognize that forgiving others’ failures – especially when that failure was hurtful – takes a hit on all the struggles listed above.  I also recognize that holding on to unforgiveness only causes more hurt for me and can lead into the abyss of resentment, bitterness and hatred that will color how I relate to God and others.  If I want forgiveness for my failures, the choice is simple, and, when I ask Holy Spirit to support and encourage me in hearing and obeying His voice, I will make it so.

Devotion

Lord God Almighty, Savior, Redeemer, Ever Constant Companion through life, God of My Hope, there is none like You.  I ask You to help me show the deepest respect for You by my heartfelt and Spirit-led living of Your love, Your nature, through my life.  Help me to live a simple life of submission and obedience to You, Your Word, Your will and purpose for my life.  I want to take You seriously, choosing Your harder road rather than an easy self-pleasing life.  I pray this all in Jesus’ name.