Renewed Day by Day

01/09/2023

Jacob, the the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, has a dream. The dream is that of a stairway from heaven to earth. On that stairway, he sees a vision of angels ascending and descending on it. At the top, the Lord in His majesty. God tells Jacob that He will fulfill the covenant promise to give the land upon which he is lying, to his descendants.

Jocob is a complex biblical personality. He is a deceiver and lives life by his street-smarts, in a sense. He is always scheming to get the advantage for himself. This is not an endorsement to live a life of deception in the least, but a witness to a God who keeps His will in full view and works within the contingencies of broken humanity to graciously, patiently, and sovereignly extend the reach of His plans to reclaim a lost world.

Jacob is not deserving. He is a mess, and most of us would not stand for his obvious misconduct in the everyday (my take, anyway). God transforms him from Jacob, the deceiver, to Israel, the Prince of God.

Our knowledge of others is incomplete and we stand as partial and petty judges over others. I am thinking that we are better off looking within ourselves AND looking up in repentance and expectation of how God may shape us for a better future. Let’s see what difference this break of grace may make.

01/04/2023

This year I have renewed my commitment to reading through the Bible in a year. What I thought I would do is share verses from my journey through the God-breathed Scriptures with you.

This is the fourth day of the year and my particular reading plan has me in Genesis 13 through 17 (the narrative a out Abram/Abraham). My attention this morning was focused on Genesis 17.1: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless.’”

Walk before Me and be blameless. Could the bar be raised any higher? It is raised so high here, that we may be tempted to ignore this and keep praying and pressing on to the best of our ability. Let’s not ignore this call and lean into it for a moment.

David, who lived generations after Abram, was a man after God’s own heart and he desired to walk blamelessly before his God. In Psalm 56 he writes: “You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life” (Psalm 56.13).

Delivered from death - our eternal salvation. Our feet from stumbling - our daily pursuit of God and His righteousness. Walking before God in the light of life - our life in the freedom and grace only He can provide.

No one is more invested in your spiritual success than God. He wants us to rise higher. He is more than able “to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before His presence with great joy” (Jude 24). Trust His goodness and His promises over your limited and vulnerable emotions.

“The path of the righteous … shines brighter and brighter” (Proverbs 4.18). Walk before God with renewed purpose and encouragement, and see what difference this makes.

12/01/2022

12/01/2022

We have two images in this verse. One, feminine and maternal. The other, masculine and military (I don’t know any other way to put it. That was the culture … and we can still relate today).

The maternal side of God’s protection is the feather and wing. Jesus uses this image as He laments over Jerusalem. “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings …” (Luke 13.34). There is warmth and security built into this image of protective care.

The masculine side of the verse image is that of the shield and rampart, the large body protective shield used during advancement and the smaller arm shield for the heat of the battle.

What covers us as a shield as we advance on to enemy territory and as a rampart during spiritual warfare is God’s faithfulness to us; a faithfulness that will not leave us or forsake us.

Interestingly, Paul uses a similar image in Ephesians 6. In his description of the believer’s spiritual armor, he bids us “… take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6.16). Shield. Faith.

Knowing that God has you covered should make a difference for you today. I hope it does.

Be blessed, my friend.

11/30/2022

THE connection between ourselves and God is a love connection - not an “I have followed all the rules” connection, or “I did my best, surely God understands” connection. Yes, obedience is very important. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2.26). Yes, personal investment in your spiritual walk is very important. “Make every effort to enter by the narrow door” (Luke 13.24), Jesus tells us.

But … at root … our connection with God is a love connection.

Jesus brought this out with his relationship with us. “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14.23).

This Psalm verse tells us that our love for God and the acknowledgment of His name are linked. This linkage of our love and His name issues forth in deliverance. Indeed, the Bible tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2.32 & Romans 10.13).

We all want rescued and delivered from something weighing us down, pressing in upon us, surrounding us in some intimidating way. Stay with this verse for a while. Take in His rich love. Meet His love with your love for Him, and then articulate His name with your mouth … and see what difference that makes in your situation. “… for he acknowledges My name.” Amen!

11/16/2022

Not only is our God an ‘everyday’ God, but a God of the deepest compassion - to us, the people around us, and to our society as well. The terms “widows and orphans” are found frequently in the Bible. These terms represent the most vulnerable in our world, and God calls our attention to the most vulnerable and to His heart.

James says in his open letter to the young Jesus community, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from being polluted by the world” (James 1.27).

But I struggle, wanting truly to help someone and wondering if the ‘needy’ person is simply playing the system and playing me as well. I am positive I am not the only one with this thought. The needs are daunting and seemingly endless.

Catch your breath a minute. Give yourself some grace and go to God for wisdom so that you can serve out of His compassion, rather than out of your sympathetic emotions. If we base our service on emotions, we short circuit His guidance and squander the opportunities He desires for us to step into.

Look at the world through this lense, let Him sharpen the focus … and see what difference this makes, not just for you, but perhaps for someone else.

11/15/2022

Love this one! He daily bears our burdens. For some, a refreshing reminder. For others, a new revelation (… like, “Who added this verse to the Bible?” type of revelation).

When you realize that the God you serve surrounds you constantly with the gracious goodness and the abundant strength you need, it will make a difference.

Like and share. There are people who need this one today. Thanks.

11/14/2022

My soul clings to You. My hopes cling to You. My dreams cling to You. My need for comfort and reassurance clings to You. I need to cling to You for forgiveness and deep cleansing

What is in your soul today? Take a look. Don’t be afraid. Cling to Him. You can’t cling to Him with stuff in your hands.

His right hand is the hand of strength. He upholds. He can even lift you up.

Stay close and see what difference that will make today.

11/11/2022

Confess . Be free . Serve with confidence . Be blessed . Bless others with grace

11/10/2022

This one is more easily said than done. Chances are you have spent many a sleepless light and endured cruddy days because of the cares you can’t shake. So what do we do with this verse other than embroider it on a pillow?

We need to speak with the Lord about what is bothering us, true. More than that (or more deeply than that) we just need to be in silent before Him. Why? We need to soak in the Lord. There is a level of presence that goes beyond words … He’s there … He sees … He hears … He knows … He loves … He can get us through and beyond.

As pastor, I cannot tell you how many times people will tell me a horrendous story with the redemptive pivot point: “If it hadn’t been for God …” and something of hope and wholeness emerges as they continue. This is real.

Take a deep breath. Then, take another with the first syllable of Jesus’ name on the inhale and the second syllable on the exhale; and breath the name of Jesus, taking that name deep within.

You will find in that quiet deeper things within you will emerge which you can offer to the Lord in prayer. This is just one way you can cast or roll your cares upon Him.

“Come to me, all you who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus gives us a peace the world cannot give, and this peace can give us the deepest calm and confidence. Try this, and see what difference this makes for you today.

11/09/2022

Unharmed by the battle? How do we make sense of this verse?

There are many battles that have harmed us and set us back. Our life has been changed, and not for the better, by unjust loss of employment, a diagnosis that has all but consumed our resources, prayer, and hope, etc. Fill in your own story.

Ransomed unharmed … let’s work with that a second. Perhaps a helpful reframing is to remember, that for the blood-bought believer, the battle belongs to the Lord.

There are those times when we have created the battle. We are selfish, impulsive, short-sighted … I have found in retrospect that only I can take the bow on center stage for mess I have made. The Holy Spirit will bring us to the clarity of truth and can still work with us. In a sense, the battle, that is to say, the way forward to victory is the Lord’s. Let Him work. We can be ransomed from the battle, unharmed and better for it.

And then there are those times, when it has nothing to do with us. People are selfish, impulsive, short-sighted … and sometimes evil, maybe demonically so. The battle is the Lord’s. He can deliver us. We may have scars. Jesus did. But ultimately brought through, unharmed, with the power to pursue, not just a new normal, but a new life.

Whatever you are going through today, or this season. Be humble before the Lord. Seek the victory of truth-clarity first in your spirit, and then move forward knowing He is watching over you today, and see what difference this makes. The battle belongs to the Lord. He has made your life His care.