Category: Devotional

Glory & Pride

Glory and pride. One is God’s and the other comes before the fall. What are we to do with our successes and achievements? Is self-loathing the answer?

Years ago I was approached by a woman after I had led worship (I think) and she praised the work I had done. I was very bad at accepting compliments and must have looked like Neo from the Matrix films ducking and dodging her attempts to pat me on the back. Eventually, in a fit of frustration she looked at me sternly and sniped, “Just say ‘thank you’ and take the compliment!” That was rather embarrassing.

I’ve since learned to receive praise much more graciously.

But how do we keep from getting a fat head in circumstances like this? Because this is basically what happened to the nation of Israel throughout the books of the Kings; they mistook the wind of God in their sails as their own expert seamanship and got the fat head. Then God took away His help and Israel fell and fell and eventually end up in captivity. You don’t want to end up in captivity do you??

The good news is that I don’t think it’s all that hard to navigate this issue. Pride is something I think we can take in our work and even in our outcomes, so long as we are sure this pride is relative to ourselves and not others. If we get to the point where we are better than person X or Y then there is a problem! But we we are enjoying meeting our own standards or setting a personal best for output or outcome, then I think we can do that safely. But it’s still important to recognize that we are working as unto the Lord by stewarding the gifts and talents He has given us. Glory is even simpler. Don’t take it. Re-direct it to the Lord. Someone want to lavish praise on you? Receive it graciously, but say something like, “All glory to God!” or, “Praise the Lord for using me.” Now, I’m not advocating for false humility! If you cannot say these things sincerely and give God His due glory and praise, there’s a deeper issue there that you need to seek the Lord about!

In summary: all glory is God’s, but you can take pride in your work… so long as you do it with humility.

Foiling God’s Plan

Psalm 114 is an interesting one. It describes the flight from Egypt by the nation of Israel and describes the earth in some unique terms. The sea “flees”, the river “turns back”, the mountains and hills “leap”. The language is curious and worth thinking about because the author then asks what has prompted this behaviour. Finally the author states that the earth trembles before the God who turned stone to water.

As I thought about this kind of weird Psalm, I couldn’t shake the thought that God’s plan is unstoppable. Even the rivers and seas and mountains and hills cannot stand in His way. Think about that. These objects of nature would flee, turn back, and leap out of the way than make some feeble attempt to thwart God’s purposes.

And I guess that’s the crux of this thing, gang. Nothing can stop my God. He WILL have His way. His plans will come to pass and there is nothing we can do about it. We really only have two options when it comes to God’s will. Hop on the train or stand on the tracks. I’m going with the former. If you want to try the latter… it was nice knowing you.

Are there gods Other Than the God of Israel?

No. There are not1.

So then what do we make of the other gods that people worship? We have no problem saying they are ‘false’, or ‘not real’, or even ‘idols’, but these are all more pleasant euphemisms. None of the other gods from Baal & Molech to Zeus & Mercury, to Vishnu & Allah exist. But people heard from these gods! People got information from them! People ‘felt’ their presence!

So… what so we make of that?

It’s quite simple, really. Let’s take a look at a portion of today’s reading. Psalm 106:34-37:

They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods.

The original Hebrew word translated by the NET as “false gods” only appears in ONE other location in the whole of the Old Testament. That verse is Deuteronomy 32:17:

They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about.

Every supposed ‘god’ who is not the God of the Bible is just a demon (or possibly many of them) trying to fool and distract you so you never realize you are on the wrong path. They are an illusion. A mirage in the desert leading you to death rather than the promised oasis. The skeptic might rebut that the same could be said for the Christian God. And I would concede that the same charge could be laid against the God of Israel… but… I think there is an incredible amount of evidence for my God’s existence. Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, Josh & Sean McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict, and pretty much anything by William Lane Craig’s ‘Reasonable Faith’ ministry.

Just in case I am being misunderstood in any way, let me be a clear as I can be: Allah is a demon. The Hindu gods are demons. The Sikh gods are demons. Every so-called god that is NOT Yahweh is a demon doing yeoman’s work to distract and confuse as many as possible. And friends don’t let friends worship demons.

  1. There are a great many problems with the idea of other gods beside Yahweh as well as the idea that there are sub-gods under Yahweh. A great many people have discussed this issue, so feel free to look that up if you are interested since that is beyond the scope of what I aim to do in these daily posts. ↩︎

Everything. All of it.

I’ve said before that poetry really isn’t my thing. When it comes to reading my Bible, I love the history, the theology, the wisdom, and even the law! Leviticus is drastically underrated. But Psalms has never been a book that I particularly look forward to reading when it comes up. I know it is God’s inspired Word, so even though it isn’t my preferred read, I still do it and I still pray for the Lord to open my eyes to some wonderful new truth or to convict me about paying closer attention to a truth I already knew. Some days I find it more difficult to mine the Psalms for something awesome, but other days — like today — hit me square in the jaw.

Psalm 104 starts and ends with this phrase; “Let all that I am praise the Lord”. So simple on it’s face that one might be tempted to say, “I know, I know” and keep reading, but no sooner had my mind processed the word than I was caused to sit back in my chair, look at the stunning landscape I find myself in this morning, and really think about that phrase. I proceeded to jot down a handful of sentences about this verse in my journal before sitting in the weight of the conviction of that thought.

All that I am. Everything. All of it.

Does all that I am praise the Lord? Does everything I do praise the Lord? Let me put it this way: after each thing that you do, can you praise God for it?

What did you do today? Have breakfast? Drive to work? Have a conversation with a coworker? Talk about someone else? Mindlessly doomscroll on social media? Spend time with your kids? Ignore your spouse? Harbour a grudge? Go for a walk? Get angry at someone? Watch a movie? The list of possibilities is endless. After each of these tasks, can you say that the Lord was lifted up in that, or that He gave that to you for your good?

Is God praised in the way you cultivate relationships? Is God praised in the media you consume? Is God praised in way you conduct your life? I hope this is as convicting for someone else today as it was for me.

Love you all. Be blessed today. Praise Him with all you are!

Sing to the Lord. Do it Now.

Just a quick thought today. Several times throughout the Psalms we are told to sing to the Lord. Not the more broad “worship”, but specifically singing. Why? Let’s pop that question in our pockets for a sentence or two while I describe my ideal Sunday service for you all.

I would like to see an extended time of worship, 20-30 minutes devoted to worship in song. Perhaps with other creative elements like scripture reading or videos, but mostly worship in song. This would be followed by a 30-minute message expositing God’s word. Then another closing song of response that matches the theme of the message. Perhaps a jubilant anthem, perhaps a somber acoustic reflection.

Why structure it this way? And why give as much time to worship in song and to the study of the Word of God? This is where we pull out that question from earlier. Why does the Psalmist so often encourage us to worship in song? Because I believe that while the sermon engages the head, music engages the heart!

Psalm 96 even says that we should sing to the nations! We should WITNESS through song! That’s what I believe as well. The music draws a tender heart toward God. The message equips a willing mind with His truth. And then the mandate moves a submitted hands to do the work of the Lord.

Heart. Head. Hands.

Repeat.

Delight in the Law… Really?

For YEARS after I returned to the church around age 13 I was always perplexed by this idea of delighting in the law, yet we see it pop up in the Psalms on multiple occasions. So what’s the deal with that? Doesn’t the law limit our freedom? Doesn’t it put restrictions all around us? Tell us what we cannot do? Why would I celebrate that?!

Here is my question: do we *really* want totally unencumbered, unfettered, limitless freedom? For those who might be thinking “Yes”, but know the other shoe is about to drop, here it is: another word for the scenario I’ve just described is lawlessness. That’s right. Total freedom is the same as lawlessness. Except that one sounds like a good thing and the other sounds like a bad thing.

The law is as much protection as it is prohibition. All the more in the case of God’s law. He wants to see each of us flourish and in order to reach our maximum potential, we need to stay on the optimal path. That’s what the law does. It provides guardrails to to keep us away from the sin that wants to trip us up and derail us. It makes sure we do not merely finish, but finish well.

So yeah… let’s delight in the law!

The Uselessness of Jealousy

Psalm 49:16-19 says…

Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendor of their houses increases;
for they will take nothing with them when they die,
    their splendor will not descend with them.
Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
    and people praise you when you prosper—
they will join those who have gone before them,
    who will never again see the light of life.

Recently I found myself twinged with jealousy over the opportunity given to a friend. Why wasn’t I offered that? Why was I passed over? I moved past it, but it gnawed at me. Then a while later that same opportunity DID come to me. At first I was excited, but then I was convicted. Why had I allowed this jealousness to creep in? What good did it do? Perhaps the Lord was testing me. But now I was given what I had wanted and I knew in my spirit I had to decline. My heart was wrong about it. I didn’t want to pursue it because of what the Lord had done, but because it would finally bring ME the chance my friend had already had. Me, me, me! And so jealousy ultimately COST me this chance that I would have gotten had I simply been content with my circumstances.

Friends, avoid the so-called “Green-eyed monster”. It will destroy your happiness and cost you more than it ever earns you. It is easy to look at others and long for the things they have… but if you aren’t happy now, those things won’t MAKE you happy. That’s why we are called to seek the kingdom of God FIRST, and THEN all things will be added.

God bless, my friends. Find joy in the little things today.

Ever Felt Alone? You Aren’t the Only One

I was struck reading Psalm 42 today. You’re probably familiar with the first two lines: As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for You. But the Psalmist (identified only as a descendant of Korah) goes on to talk about how God feels far away. He knows that God is his “direction”, his “life”, and his “rock”… yet He still feels disconnected and aloof. Which is crazy to me since this guy is LITERALLY WRITING SCRIPTURE! We understand the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and yet this Biblical author felt that God was distant and hidden!

Even in a time when God was performing unfathomable miracles, manifesting hordes of angelic theophanies, and sending prophets to speak for Him, and inspiring people to pen the most enduring words in human history… those very people felt far from God.

We often hold this mistaken belief that if God just moved like He did in the Old Testament things would be better. The world would believe more readily. Or some other wish-casting nonsense. The fact is that people felt the same then as we do today. Israelites being led around the Sinai Peninsula by a PILLAR OF FIRE walked away from God. There is nothing He can do that would make more people believe, short of commandeering their free will choices.

We’re not special today. We have the same problems and temptations all people have had throughout human history. Judas literally lived and travelled with Jesus, and STILL thought the money was more valuable. So if you feel like God is far away, know that you are not alone. This is something we have all experienced at one time or another. But it comes in ebbs and flows. Stay faithful. The tide will come in.

Barefoot & Pregnant in the Kitchen

There is a picture in the minds of people about the so-called “Proverbs 31 Woman”. She is quiet, reserved, raises the children, and keeps the home. And maintains a Godly disposition throughout. Frankly, I think this is based on some twisted, idealized Stepford Wife male fantasy… because it is certainly NOT what I read in Proverbs 31.

Seriously. Go read Proverbs 31:10-31. The woman described there is not some wallflower. She might be the single greatest human being to ever walk the face of the earth. Here is my list of her traits as gleaned from a quick reading of the passage:

Skilled in textiles. Skilled in agriculture. Skilled in ranching. Excellent culinary ability. Gifted in administration. Skills of assessment and negotiation. A landowner & trader. Shrewd in business. Multiple philanthropic concerns and activities. Always prepared for the foreseeable. Entrepreneurial. Well-kept and presentable. Known for wisdom. Known for kindness. Deeply observant.

If I gave you this list of skills and abilities and said it was a man no one would bat an eye. But now that we know what credit this verse is giving this superwoman, we can’t help but wonder… what’s left for the man to do? Seems like maybe he’s just a money-earner for the real manager of the household! Men! Learn your place!

Of course I am being facetious. Men have value just as women have value. But I think we cut BOTH genders off at the knees when we minimize one side of the equation. Women should not be artificially suppressed as the aforementioned “little woman”. Nor should men be seen as a human ATM simply providing for the smarter and more capable woman (a trope that shows in popular culture from time-to-time).

I don’t think it’s reasonable for men to expect their wives to have all the skills and abilities of the Proverbs 31 woman (nor it is reasonable for ladies to expect this of themselves)… because she is perfect. None of the rest of us are. But I think what we CAN take from this, is that a wide range of skills can be possessed by either men or women. My wife might have skills A, B, and C, while I have D, E, and F. Another marriage might see the wife with A, C, and F, while the husband has B, D, and E. There are an incredibly wide range of overlapping possibilities here and it’s impossible to apply a template to every marriage. Instead we all bring different strengths into the relationship and our partner will complement us by shoring up our weak side.

We should be working together. Shoulder-to-shoulder in the trenches. God gave men a much-needed partner, not a servant.

Walled Cities & Self Control

In the time of King Hezekiah’s rule all the big cities were walled. This helped with protection during a very command-and-conquest period in human civilization. Obviously these walls served a role that is difficult to overstate. This was THE primary method of defence. Just look at what happened to Jericho! How were the Israelites able to take it so easily? Because God brought the walls down. Given that this was the situation, it’s no wonder that the city walls were well maintained, often inspected, and a key part of the city’s infrastructure. It would be foolish, reckless, and even unthinkable to allow these walls to fall into disrepair. The future of both the city and her citizens was at risk of certain doom if those walls were less than perfect.

This brings us along to the portion of today’s reading that hit me hardest and that I want to share with you, Proverbs 25:28.

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

Do you lack self-control in one or many areas of your life? Every facet of our lives needs to be brought into submission. Every thought, even. If you are dealing with self-control issues in shopping, eating, time management, family, friends, work, etc, etc, etc then you are letting the walls of your city break down. You are leaving yourself open to continued attack from the Enemy. That area where your self-control is lacking is the EXACT place Satan will attack. It is your weakness!

So how do I shore up my self control? Great question! Here are a couple of practical tools to help you.

Maximize Self-Control

Preserve your self-control effectively by avoiding temptations. This strategy ensures you don’t deplete your reserves prematurely. When faced with cravings for food, drink, spending, or other undesired behaviors, try diverting your attention with positive activities. Go for a walk, chat with a friend, tackle household chores, or engage in any task that shifts your focus away from temptation.

Strategic Planning

Anticipate situations that could challenge your resolve. Prepare in advance for how you’ll resist temptations to maintain your willpower, even after experiencing initial depletion. For instance, if you struggle with afternoon sugar cravings, fortify yourself with a satisfying lunch rich in fiber, protein, and whole grains to stave off hunger.

Regular Exercise of Control

Like a muscle, your self-control strengthens with consistent exercise. Engage regularly in activities demanding self-discipline to enhance your willpower over time. One time I put a chocolate bar in my fridge three months before a big youth retreat. Every time I had a craving for it, I would pray for my students instead. When we got home from that retreat and I finally got to eat it, it was SO satisfying! Simple games such as “red light, green light” or “freeze dance” can instill self-control habits in children from an early age.

Focused Goal Setting

Concentrate on achieving one goal at a time instead of spreading your efforts across multiple objectives. This focused approach prevents depletion of self-control in one area from affecting others. Once behaviours become habitual, they require less effort to maintain, freeing up energy to pursue additional goals.

Prayer!

God wants to help you! Pray about those things that trouble you.