Well Done, Thy Good And Faithful Servant

As 1 write today for Friday's devotional, I do so with much sadness in my heart, but at the same time with a sense of peace. You might think that this sounds like a contradiction of terms, but for many of you who will be reading this devotional, I think that you know exactly what I am talking about, or better yet, who. Who indeed, but Lahoma. In trying to decide on the "most perfect" verse that would be fitting for Lahoma, I gave up after finding it almost impossible to pick one from the hundreds that all seemed to be just right. But, I finally decided on the one that we hear so often because the words do describe best the life that Lahoma lived. "Well done, thy good and faithful servant: Matthew 25:21. And all of God's people and ALL THOSE WHO LOVED AND LOVE Lahoma say "Amen." If 1 tried to go through and list all of the ways and deeds that Lahoma faithfully performed in His name, and for His glory, there would not be enough space to do so in this short devotional. However, just a few come to mind that we all were privileged to be a part of — Women's Bible Study ( she made the Bible scriptures come alive); Team 413 (people who never walked or ran more than a mile, or at all, were convinced by her that they could run or walk half or full marathons); Missions (she took it literally to spread the Good News to all parts of the world, not just California); Praise and Worship Team (she lifted her strong Soprano voice at every opportunity); Church Council (sharing of her gifted leadership skills); Mentor (there are so many young women who were blessed by her guidance); Artist of the Most High God (how many God-inspired murals, art projects at our Church come to mind); Teen Challenge - Los Angeles (she really did believe that every person has value), etc, etc., etc.

Well Done, Thy Good And Faithful Servant

As 1 write today for Friday's devotional, I do so with much sadness in my heart, but at the same time with a sense of peace. You might think that this sounds like a contradiction of terms, but for many of you who will be reading this devotional, I think that you know exactly what I am talking about, or better yet, who. Who indeed, but Lahoma. In trying to decide on the "most perfect" verse that would be fitting for Lahoma, I gave up after finding it almost impossible to pick one from the hundreds that all seemed to be just right. But, I finally decided on the one that we hear so often because the words do describe best the life that Lahoma lived. "Well done, thy good and faithful servant: Matthew 25:21. And all of God's people and ALL THOSE WHO LOVED AND LOVE Lahoma say "Amen." If 1 tried to go through and list all of the ways and deeds that Lahoma faithfully performed in His name, and for His glory, there would not be enough space to do so in this short devotional. However, just a few come to mind that we all were privileged to be a part of — Women's Bible Study ( she made the Bible scriptures come alive); Team 413 (people who never walked or ran more than a mile, or at all, were convinced by her that they could run or walk half or full marathons); Missions (she took it literally to spread the Good News to all parts of the world, not just California); Praise and Worship Team (she lifted her strong Soprano voice at every opportunity); Church Council (sharing of her gifted leadership skills); Mentor (there are so many young women who were blessed by her guidance); Artist of the Most High God (how many God-inspired murals, art projects at our Church come to mind); Teen Challenge - Los Angeles (she really did believe that every person has value), etc, etc., etc.

Say What?”

"He said, "God and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused: make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:9-10

This is what God says to Isaiah after Isaiah says, "Here am I, send me." This is the message from God to Isaiah's people and also to us. Isaiah had confessed that he himself was a man of unclean lips and served a people of unclean lips. God symbolically touches his mouth with a live coal from the altar to purify Isaiah so his guilt was removed and his sin was atoned for. What does the message from God in verses 9 and 10 mean? There is a religiosity, a phony spirituality that we are capable of particularly when we have 'heard it all before', and when we are bored with His teaching that causes a callousness or hardening of our hearts toward God. We listen, but we don't take it in, we see it, but we don't wrap our minds around it. After we start to get calloused, we then start to get deaf and sleepy.

Values Clarification

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who put darkness for light and light for darkness. Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Isaiah 5:20

I could write a book about this. What an indictment from God. Oh how we have fallen in this trap again and again since the garden. Satan tempted humans from the beginning to question God’s Word, His values, and His motives for setting boundaries. Today, we suffer from a rash of twisted justification and redefinitions. As innocent hip jargon meanings such as: “sick”, “outrageous,” and “bitchin”, to the totally misleading wonderful terms such as “pro-choice”, “universal health care”, and “mercy killing” for example, it’s no wonder we are confused, bewildered, and unclear about so many things.

Shelter, Shade and Refuge

"It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain." Isaiah 4:6

In Isaiah 4, we are reminded of the Lord’s provision and guidance. He provides and guides. I love the four terms used to describe His glorious canopy of care. Shelter, shade, refuge, and hiding place. For me, these words mean something particular; maybe to you, too. Today a passage like this blesses me because of where my head and heart are at, responding to all that is going on around me. I’ll share my reflections and hopefully they will bless you, or you will receive something particular from the Lord for you.

The Savior of the World

"We have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John 4:14

I so want to catch the infectious spirit of the early believers again in my life. You do know of course, that we too have seen and testify that the Father has indeed sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Isn't that what the world needs? Doesn't it need to be saved? Doesn't it need to be rescued? Isn't the world in peril? It certainly is. More importantly to God, every individual on the face of the earth needs to be redeemed. Why isn't that the most important thing?