Resting in Christ

For those of you who study the Sabbath school lesson, this title brings with it hints of color from your study last week. (For those of you who don’t study the lesson, I invite you to check out ssnet.org or absg.adventist.org for a free digital version.) The goal of the lesson was to take another look at the Sabbath, to understand what it means to receive Christ’s rest.

In Christ’s ministry we see Him turning away sharp questions, with a few words He can redirect or diffuse tension. He seems to carry with His ministry the restful calm that comes with the same power to calm a storm with just a word. And yet when we see Christ confront the Sabbath, He is militant.

It was unlawful in the society at that time to provide medical assistance to a person on the Sabbath unless it was lifesaving. And yet Christ worked seven miracles on the Sabbath, none of them life threatening illnesses. Christ wanted to reorient their lives around the Sabbath and recapture the joy that only Sabbath can bring.

Will you choose to look forward with eagerness to this coming Sabbath? Will you choose to prepare throughout the week for this precious, precious time with God? Take this attitude of expectation and joy with you as you join your church family for study and worship.

Celebrate Forgiveness

These words always thrill my heart, "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." You can find these words in Psalm 103. You may want to highlight them gently with a colored pencil or a crayon so you can find them easily.

Maybe you need them as much as I do, a reminder that even though I fail Him, He is willing to forgive and remove my sin. Grace. That beautiful gift of God, that He gives so freely and paid so dearly for. A. Weiser says it this way, "As long as man does not understand the depths of the knowledge of sin, he does not really know what grace means."

Another commentator says it this way, "It is precisely because sin is the most shattering experience in his life that the poet is able to recognize the truth that God's grace is greater than man's sin. That His love is stronger than His anger." In spite of the striking analogies drawn on to express forgiveness, the word pictures can hardly do justice to the wideness of God's mercy.

Conversation starter with God: Talk to God about what forgiveness and grace mean to you. End with a time of praise and thanks to the God who chooses to give this kind of mercy.

Renewed Strength

I remember a quiet drive on the roads of Wisconsin. The winding paths, the sparkling sun, the crisp breeze whipping in through the crack at the top of the window. It was peaceful and routine, and then out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed a bird in flight. Turning my whole attention toward the bird it dawned on me it was a beautiful and strong bald eagle. And it was not alone, three companions took wing together on the wind currents.

Psalm 103 talks about God’s goodness and then the sweet reminder, He “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Naturalists tell us of the power and beautiful of an eagle that extends throughout its life. An eagle can live through its hundred years of life, and still be as energetic and vital as when young. Our own eyes remember the magnitude and strength of an eagle, we even choose it as the symbol for our country. To be renewed to the strength of an eagle is no small promise.

These words emphasize to us the infinite benefit of God’s forgiveness. Just look at the verse just about in Psalm 103 to gain context. Verse three says, “Who forgives all our iniquities, who heals all your disease.” When God forgives it is complete. He blots it out. Imagine the energizing realization that the burden of sin is removed. That God says to you, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Conversation starter with God: Spend time talking about the places you need to confess. What sin do you need to turn over to God and go boldly in the future knowing He truly and completely forgives you?

Painting Our Praises

Have you ever painted a picture? Maybe with oils, or water colors, or finger paints. How about writing a poem or a book? A sonnet or a haiku? What about sewing or weaving a tapestry? Built a piece of furniture or a house? Each of these take God-given abilities, talents you can use in turn to praise Him with.

David took his gift to praise God with song, and wrote a psalm. You can find his beautiful hymn in your Bible in Psalm 103. It begins with the words, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

This hymn is called a “star of the first magnitude” in the galaxy of hymns because of the all-pervasive sense of gratitude to God. David exhorts himself to bless, or praise, God’s holy Name. And he even explains the reason, “forget not all His benefits.” God has done so much for him, he can’t help but sing his praises. Apparently the psalmist so deeply appreciated God’s goodness bestowed on him, he feels the inner urge to express his gratitude to the Lord with jubilation, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

How will you praise God today? Will you sing? Will you speak his praise? Will you bless him with music or draw a picture of praise? Today, do not forget the many benefits that can only be attributed to God. Spend time praise Him for His goodness to you.

We Grieve with Hope

In the past few weeks these verses stands out as my theme: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

You all know of the loss in my family. My father in law, Bill Crews passed away on March 31. This turned our known world upside down and sent us rushing to be with family in Florida. Life is different without him in our lives. As we gathered together to talk and pray and encourage one another, there was a steady stream of reminds that we walked this difficult road with a family of believers. Texts of courage came to my phone. Messages of lifted prayers on our behalf came. Then the bereavement cards arrived to remind us that while we grieve, we grieve with support. So during this time of loss I grieved with the hope of the resurrection, and with the full knowledge of my church family who came around and supported us. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for those expressions of caring and for the prayers lifted on our behalf. God is carrying us through into this new reality, and I thank you for letting Him use you to remind us of that.

God's Presence is Real

What words do you repeat to yourself when you wake in the middle of the night with heart pounding and adrenaline surging? How about Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." It is the reminder of God’s presence that makes these words precious. God’s presence allows your heart to calm and the adrenaline to subside as you reorient yourself to the reality that God will never leave your or forsake you.

This week choose to be aware of God’s presence in your life. Spend three to five minutes just sitting quietly and being aware of God’s presence. The words of Deuteronomy 31:6 assures us that God is always with us. Claim this promise and then be attentive and aware of God’s presence with you at that moment. A realization of God’s very real presence can bring you peace in the middle of a storm of thoughts, or worries or concerns. His presence can quiet your heart enough to prepare you for the rest of your devotional time.

In those moments, you may even feel encouraged to stand up for truth in difficult situations. You may remember a moment at your job where gossip started. This may give you the courage to turn that conversation toward the truth. You may remember a friend who looked burdened and take that opportunity to ask if they want you to pray with them.

The knowledge that God is with you is meant to be a comfort. It should instill a thread of iron in your backbone for difficult situations. Knowing God is near when your heart breaks gives courage to step into the future. God’s presence can enable you to serve with a joyful heart. How will you allow this realization to shape your life this week?

For God So Loved...

Arguably one of the most memorized scriptures in all of the Bible, John 3:16 brings a reminder of God’s love and a hope for our future. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It reminds us of God’s love and affection, as well as His plans for our future.

And yet the idea that God loves the world is surprising. Elsewhere in the book of John is the caution not to love the world, he cautions against loving the world because it is a place of disbelief and hostility. Commentator Carson puts it this way, “There is no contradiction between this prohibition and the fact that God does love it [the world]. Christians are not to love the world with the selfish love of participation; God loves the world with the selfless, costly love of redemption.”

This insightful comment brings new meaning to the prohibition against Christians loving the world. The prohibition isn’t against loving the world that is protected by Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. The world described is not God’s second book, nature. We as Christians are called to be stewards of the physical world around us. Rather it is that part of humanity that is opposed to God. That part of society that chooses to rebel against God’s laws and instructions. And while we are told not to love that part of the world, or become a part of it, Jesus purposefully chose to enter that very world with the goal of redemption.

This is what Jesus came to do, to show this love through redemption. It is not to a specific group of people, not those chosen or privileged that the Savior came to seek and to save. It is the world. It is all of humanity. It is you that Jesus chose to save. “He came to save the world, namely, the all-encompassing circle of men and women who inhabit this planet, people who embrace darkness habitually (3:19–21),” according to Burge. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16