Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

Checking the church calendar
Isaiah 1: Meetings, meetings, meetings, I can’t stand one more!
As a pastor I admit that this phrase resonates with me! In this case, though, itā€™s God whoā€™s talking and he’s weary of his people going through the motions, filling their lives with meetings and other religious activity, but never simply getting about the business of righteous living. Sometimes, I think, religious activity is a cover up for spiritual failure or it may be a substitute for actually going out and making a difference in the world. There’s a time for meetings but those meetings are to move us to real living in the Lord. I fear that we church folk attend a committee meeting and think weā€™ve done what Jesus intended we do. In some cases, we’d be better off to drop the meeting and get out into the real world, making a difference in people’s lives for Christ’s sake.
Take Away: Remember, Jesus told us to ā€œgo and make disciplesā€ ā€“ not ā€œgo and have meetings.ā€

Devotional on Proverbs

2002 – Maine

Rescue the perishing
Proverbs 24: Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help.
Fanny Crosby wrote the missionary song thatā€™s based on this proverb. Many a missionary service of years gone by has featured her song “Rescue the Perishing.” Would that the lives of God’s people feature itā€™s message in this day! The immediate assumption of the proverb is that there are those who are, indeed, perishing. In some cases itā€™s quite clear that people are in trouble. Their lives are unraveling and itā€™s plain that things can’t continue as they are. In other cases it takes insight to see whatā€™s happening. People are living ordinary lives and pretty much keeping things together. However, spiritually speaking, they too are perishing. When Jesus stated his mission he gave it in terms of “rescue” saying he came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” As I consider this proverb, Iā€™m challenged to join Jesus in that mission. “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”
Take Away: As followers of Jesus we need to join him in his mission to rescue the perishing.

Devotional on Jeremiah

2009 – View from Rhapsody of the Seas – Seattle, WA

We are sinners
Jeremiah 14: We know we’re guilty.
The prophet has no false illusions about his people. Theyā€™ve sinned against God and their sins have horrible consequences. I note that in this passage Jeremiah uses “we” language instead of “they” language. He identifies with his sinning countrymen. As I read this passage any picture I might have of a craggy old prophet shaking his finger at the “sinners” and telling them to shape up vanishes. Jeremiah cries out for God’s mercy using “first person” language: “we know we’re guilty,” “we’ve betrayed you.” Could it be that one reason the church fails to reach the lost is that weā€™ve adopted an “us and them” mentality? Don’t get me wrong, I know itā€™s important to pray for the lost while thanking the Lord that Iā€™ve been found. Still, thereā€™s a place for cooperate confession. Our culture is rotten. Immorality is the norm. These are “our” sins. Lord, we know we’re guilty, we’re bad people. Please do something to help us, do it for your sake.”
Take Away: Thereā€™s something powerful and life changing in praying prayers of cooperate confession.

Devotional on Jeremiah

2009 – at Mendenhall Glacier – Juneau, AK

The harsh reality
Jeremiah 14: Preachers and priest going about their business as if nothing’s happened!
Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because he speaks of his tears for his people so often. In this passage he says he cries “day and night” over their sin and the resulting destruction it will bring to them. Heā€™s shocked and dismayed by all he sees: so much pain and suffering, so much sin and evil. Now, another thing shocks him. It’s the reaction of the church people to all this. He expects at least for them to share in his tears over it all. However, it isn’t that way. Church services go on as usual. “Wasn’t that an interesting illustration the pastor used in the sermon?” “Yes, but he preached a bit long for my taste, however, that special in song was lovely, wasn’t it?” Off we all go to our favorite restaurant for lunch, hopefully, we’ll get there before the Baptists. Oh, I’m not really against good church services or Christians enjoying fellowship after the service. However, Jeremiah’s heartbreak over lost people does speak to my heart today. We’ve got to stop doing business as usual and find ways to impact our society for Christ. Our church growth model is often more about getting people to switch to our church than it is about seeing people saved. We simply can’t think we’re doing what the Lord commanded us to do by just having good worship services while so many are headed out to eternity without Jesus.
Take Away: We’ve got to stop doing business as usual and find ways to impact our society for Christ.

Devotional on Matthew

2014 – Arches National Park, Utah

Guess whoā€™s coming to dinner?

Matthew 9: A lot of disreputable characters came and joined them.

Matthewā€™s job of collecting taxes makes him one of the most disliked people in the community. His dealing with the Romans is unsavory in the eyes of most people and tax collectors are viewed as being dishonest, taking advantage of others. We donā€™t know if thereā€™s more to the story, but his transition from collecting taxes to following Jesus happens in one sentence here in the book of the Bible that bears Matthewā€™s name. Jesus invites and Matthew stands up and follows. Later on, Matthew throws a party in honor of our Lord. Having followed Jesus for less than a day poor Matthew doesnā€™t have any ā€œinsiderā€ friends. All he has is ā€œoutsiderā€ friends; others who are looked down on by the ā€œrightā€ sort of people. Matthew invites them all to come to this event where they, too, can meet Jesus. The religious leaders canā€™t believe their eyes. All their suspicions about Jesus are confirmed. He canā€™t tell the difference between good and bad people. In fact, heā€™s too at home with the wrong sort of people. Know what? Jesus is right at home with them. However, the question to ask is, ā€œWhy are we followers of Jesus so uncomfortable around sinners?ā€ Jesus loved them, enjoyed their company, and offered them a better way. I fear that we church people have more in common with the religious leaders than we do with Jesus. We isolate and insulate ourselves inside our church buildings. We read our Christian books and go to our Christian movies and listen to our Christian radio stations. We have Christian softball and bowling leagues. When the pastor urges us to bring our unsaved friends to church we shrug our shoulders and declare that we donā€™t have any. Maybe the church world needs to add ā€œbefriend a sinnerā€ week to our busy church calendars.

Take Away: We canā€™t bring light to the world if we spend all our time hidden behind closed church doors.

Devotional on Matthew

2014 – Arches National Park, Utah

Practical instruction

Matthew 10: Itā€™s best to start small.

Jesus now settles on twelve men to be his core team. They donā€™t know it yet, but they (with one exception) will become Apostles who will lead the infant church. He sends them out on a mission to spread word of Kingdom come. Interestingly, he spends as much time telling them what not to do as he does telling them what they are to do. For instance, he tells them not to head off for distant places. Rather, theyā€™re to stay local. He tells them that they donā€™t need to take a lot of stuff with them. Their changed lives are the best ā€œshow and tellā€ imaginable. Theyā€™re to stay in modest places, to be gentle and not argumentative with those they encounter, and to leave a place rather than stay for a fight. They arenā€™t to worry about what they will say but, instead, to trust the Lord to give them the right words at the right times. He tells them not to be afraid or intimidated. His example of Kingdom ministry is offering ā€œa cup of water to someone who’s thirsty.ā€ It occurs to me that I tend to make complicated what the Lord made simple. Maybe instead of spiritualizing all this stuff I need to do something simple like buying some bottled water to give out to anyone who looks like they might be thirsty.

Take Away: Letā€™s not complicate simple mattersā€¦if we keep it simple, weā€™ll find an abundance of ministry opportunities.

Devotional on Mark

2014 – Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Iā€™ve got a secret

Mark 4: Weā€™re not keeping secrets, weā€™re telling them.

The theme here is parable telling. Mark tells us some of Jesusā€™ stories and then remarks that Jesus is ā€œnever without a story.ā€ The reason for this approach, according to Jesus, is that heā€™s in the ā€œsecret revealingā€ business. No hidden, mystic religion of riddles here. Jesusā€™ purpose is to open wide the doors to the Kingdom of God. People who never understood before now get a crystal clear picture of God at work. Now we understand how the gospel takes root in some lives but not in others. We see what happens when the gospel does take root, starting small but becoming a huge, transforming force in life. And, we see Godā€™s purpose in all this. Those who receive the gospel are to let the light of that gospel shine in their lives. We arenā€™t to be ā€œkeepers of the flame.ā€ Instead, weā€™re ā€œgivers of the flame.ā€ We donā€™t take the gospel into our lives and hide it. Instead, itā€™s to be the noticeable thing about us. So, howā€™s it going? Do people see the light of the gospel in my life? If Iā€™m one of those who has received the gospel and if it has taken root and become the number one thing in my life, is it what others see in me? At the very core of my life, Iā€™m to be a ā€œsecret tellerā€ letting others in on the best news in the world. If not, maybe itā€™s because Iā€™m not the kind of ā€œsoilā€ I think I am!

Take Away: Some secrets are best told.

Devotional on Luke

2014 – Day trip to Vancouver, BC

Jesus likes people of doubtful reputation

Luke 15: A lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus.

One problem the religious leaders have with Jesus is the type of people he attracts. He gets along with prostitutes and tax collectors, the very ones they use in their sermons as the kind of people who should be avoided at all cost. Jesus, though, welcomes them. He doesnā€™t tell them to go clean up their acts and then come back. Rather, he welcomes them just as they are. When the religious leaders complain about this, Jesus tells three ā€œlost and foundā€ stories. In each story that which is lost is of real value and in each thereā€™s great rejoicing when itā€™s found. The religious leaders might think of these folks of doubtful reputation as worthless fodder for the fires of hell. Jesus, however, places great value on them and when one of them comes and listens and then chooses to be a friend of his he thinks a celebration is in order. As I read these lost and found stories I fear Iā€™m less like Jesus and more like the religious leaders who are represented as the elder son in the final parable. In our society a Christian can pretty much saturate his or her life with ā€œChristian stuff.ā€ If I handle things right, I can avoid these people of ā€œdoubtful reputationā€ and not have to deal with them at all. If I do that, though, I have more in common with the religious leaders than I do with Jesus.

Take Away: Jesus loves lost people and so should I.

Devotional on John

2014 – Riding the Anacortes Ferry to Friday Harbor, WA

Rubbing shoulders with the ā€œuntouchablesā€

John 4: Open your eyes and take a good look at whatā€™s right in front of you.

The disciples go into Sychar to buy some lunch. As good Jews theyā€™re uncomfortable dealing with the Samaritans, but they steel themselves for the task, do what has to be done as quickly as possible and return to Jesus who, in their opinion, has wisely waited outside of town. To their surprise, they find him in conversation with one of ā€œthemā€ and a woman at that! Shortly (at least in my imagination) these disciples will squirm and nearly run away as the whole town of Samaritans surrounds them, pressing in on every side. This will be the first small break in their separatist views that will be broken wide open by Paulā€™s ministry some years later. Jesus describes this Samaritan village, not as a necessary evil, but instead, as a field ready for the Kingdom harvest. In the church we often pray that the Lord will help us find spiritually hungry people to whom we can minister the Good News of the gospel. Is there a chance that weā€™re like the disciples at this point? Are we overlooking the possibilities right next door? Are there people we carefully avoid who Jesus views as ā€œfields white unto harvest?ā€ Would the Lord have us (me) rub shoulders with some of these ā€œuntouchables?ā€ I need to spend more time in this passage.

Take Away: If Iā€™ll just open my eyes I might see some surprising spiritual realities.

Devotional on Acts

2014 – Mt Rainier National Park

Giving credit where credit is due

Acts 3: Faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes.

Peter and John are on their way to a prayer meeting when they encounter a pitiful lame man at the Temple gate. Peter has no money but he does have faith in Jesusā€™ power to heal. By that faith the man is wonderfully healed. This healing causes quite a commotion and a crowd gathers. Itā€™s now that Peter brings a quick sermon giving Jesus all the glory for the healing and calling on his listeners to put their faith in this Jesus who makes a real difference in peopleā€™s lives. As I watch all this unfold I canā€™t help but wonder how good a job I do of giving Jesus the credit. Hereā€™s what I think: Christians do a wonderful job of giving the Lord credit for organized, intentional ministries. We make sure that people helped through official channels know that weā€™re ministering to them in Jesusā€™ name. On the other hand, I donā€™t think we do a very good job when we minister in unofficial ways. I fear that often people just think weā€™re nice folks because we take it for granted that they know weā€™re acting as representatives of Jesus. We need to develop a better strategy along these lines. I need to come up with a line to say when, for instance, I stop to help my neighbor carry some bit of heavy trash to the curb for pickup. When he says ā€œthanksā€ I need to be ready to say something about my being a follower of Jesus and I just try to do stuff I think heā€™d do. It may not always be appropriate and itā€™s probably not a time for me to preach a sermon like Peter does in this passage, but then again, helping carry a worn out clothes dryer to the curb isnā€™t as big a deal as healing someone like he did.

Take Away: Christians need a strategy for giving Jesus the credit for simple acts of kindness they do it his name.

Devotional on Acts

2014 – Mt Rainier National Park

Pentecost 1b

Acts 4: Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message.

The ā€œsilver and gold have I noneā€ healing of the lame man gets the attention of everyone, including the religious leaders. Peter and John are arrested for starting a riot, but the city has caught ā€œmiracle feverā€ and the leaders are in danger of having a real riot on their hands if they donā€™t let the ā€œmiracle workersā€ go. The disciples are seriously warned to stop talking about Jesus and then let go. Victoriously, they return to the gathering of believers, telling all that has happened. Knowing that these leaders donā€™t make idle threats, the Church goes to prayer. On one hand, they ask the Lord to deal with their threats. On the other hand, they ask him to fill them with ā€œfearless confidence in preaching.ā€ If the Lord will, then, they seek an easy path in proclaiming Jesus. However, easy or not, they ask for boldness in telling about him. Luke reports that as they pray thereā€™s a ā€œmini-Pentecostā€ as the ground trembles and the Holy Spirit re-fills them. Out the doors they go in Pentecostal power to tell the story of Jesus. It may be that we go about this ā€œtellingā€ business all wrong. We tend to focus on the ā€œmake it easy for meā€ part rather than the ā€œmake me boldā€ part. Thereā€™s nothing wrong with asking the Lord to open the way, after all, thatā€™s what happens in this passage. However, we might just see a more powerful display of the Holy Spirit in our lives if we backed it up by praying the ā€œeasy or not, make me more boldā€ part of the prayer.

Take Away: Maybe we lack boldness because we donā€™t ask for it.

Devotional on Acts

2014 – Mt Rainier National Park

Telling thankful people just who to thank

Acts 14: We donā€™t make God; he makes us, and all of this.

Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra and open their ministry there by performing a miracle, healing a lame man. The town goes wild and before they know it Barnabas and Paul are identified as the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. In the mythology of the day Hermes is the spokesman of the gods and since Paul does most of the talking they identify him as Hermes. Barnabas, though, gets the highest title. Maybe thereā€™s a lesson here that if we keep our mouths shut people will think more of us than they would otherwise! Anyway, it takes some doing to calm the crowd down so that Paul can preach the Good News of the gospel to them. Since the theme of the day is already set, Paul focuses in on the true God and his good will toward all people. That good will, he says, is evident in the blessings that surround each of us. Hereā€™s evangelism fueled by Creation. Even a person whoā€™s secular to the core looks at the majesty of the Grand Canyon or some other natural wonder and feels a sense of gratitude. A good place to start a conversation about the Lord is to tell them who it is that we thank for it all.

Take Away: One of the ways the Lord has revealed himself to us is through his Creation.

Devotional on Romans

2014 – Mt St Helens, WA

God at work here

Romans 2: There is something deep within them that echoes Godā€™s yes and no, right and wrong.

Paul hasnā€™t spent his time locked up in some ivory tower thinking about hypothetical situations. Rather, more than anyone else, heā€™s gone out into the real world dealing with people from all walks of life and a variety of religious beliefs. We think that if we have a spirited exchange with a friend whoā€™s a Catholic or a Pentecostal or a Baptist that weā€™ve been debating religion. Paul has encountered a variety of religious views that reveal our denominational differences to be as trivial as they really are. Heā€™s worked with idol worshipers and with a wide variety of pagans. In all that, Paul has never backed away from his faith in Jesus Christ and heā€™s proclaimed that faith at considerable personal cost. Still, even in the most non-Christian settings heā€™s discovered in people the image of God. Heā€™s seen in those whoā€™ve never heard of the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount an innate understanding of the concepts taught to Godā€™s people by them. This, Paul says, is a proof of Godā€™s hand in their lives and a reminder that their coming to Christ isnā€™t as distant a journey as one might think. On one hand, I donā€™t want to drift into the dangerous waters of universalism. Among other things, that diminishes the sacrifice our Lord made on the cross. On the other hand, I want to appreciate the good things I see in people who havenā€™t yet come to the Lord. On every human heart, follower of Jesus or not, a sign can be hung declaring ā€œGod at work here.ā€

Take Away: Before I ever think of God he thinks of me and before I ever respond to him, heā€™s already at work in my life.

Devotional on Colossians

2014 – Florence, OR

The secret to evangelism

Colossians 4: Make the most of every opportunity.

Believers arenā€™t supposed to create closed communities of the faithful. Rather, weā€™re to live right out in the open, rubbing shoulders with those outside the faith, making friends, sharing in their lives. I donā€™t think this means that believers are never to ā€œretreat.ā€ After all, Jesus at least attempted to get the disciples away from the crowds sometimes. Still, he always went back to them, loving them, and, apparently, liking those who werenā€™t his followers. Paul urges the Colossian Christians to not only stay involved in their community but to make the most of that involvement. Interestingly, his directions for them arenā€™t as evangelistic as you might think. He describes ā€œmaking the mostā€ as being ā€œgracious in your speechā€ and tells them that their ā€œgoal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation.ā€ Apparently, our influencing others for Christ doesnā€™t necessarily start with a ā€œspiritual conversationā€ at all. Instead, it starts with friendship, respect, genuine interest. In fact, Paul specifically warns them not to ā€œput them downā€ or ā€œcut them out.ā€ In light of these instructions, becoming a ā€œfriendā€ to someone just so we can tell them about Jesus is off the table. My seizing the moment starts, instead, with my making some genuine friends outside the body of believers. Then, I make sure Iā€™m always gracious in my conversations with them, wanting the best for them. Real friendships are the secret to evangelism.

Take Away: For church people itā€™s a big challenge to make good friends who are outside the church. Still, itā€™s a key component to evangelism.

Devotional on 1 Peter

2014 – near Sutter’s Mill – Coloma, CA

Putting Jesus on display

1Peter 2: Treat everyone with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

Being a Christian in a non-Christian society has its challenges. Sometimes Christians are viewed with suspicion and other times with contempt. Peter says itā€™s up to us to correct the mistaken views of our faith. We do that, not by standing up for our rights or debating to prove our point or by withdrawing from society. Instead, we take our spiritual lives out to the streets and let our faith be seen by anyone who cares to look. We treat people well, granting them dignity no matter what their station in life. We treat one another well, refusing to sink to petty infighting over minor differences of opinion. We live as people who reverence God, unashamedly putting our high regard for the Lord on display. Finally, we conduct ourselves as good citizens, not using our citizenship of heaven as an excuse for neglecting our duties as citizens of the country in which we live. The result is that people who donā€™t know much about our religion will come to respect us. That, in turn, will open the door for us to have a real influence for Jesus. We donā€™t try to win people by beating them over their heads with our Bibles. Rather, we win them by putting the Jesus we serve on display in our lives every day and in every situation.

Take Away: People are drawn to lives that reflect the real Jesus.

Devotional on 1 Peter

2014 – Yosemite National Park

The disposition of the believer

1Peter 3: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.

The original readers of this letter are under pressure, suffering for their faith. Not only that but theyā€™re in the first generation of Christianity. In this passage Peter describes the general disposition of a believer. Christians are to be agreeable, sympathetic people. Weā€™re to be known for our compassion on others and our humility concerning ourselves. Weā€™re not to advance the cause of Christianity by force and people arenā€™t to have to worry about watching their ā€œPā€™s & Qā€™sā€ when theyā€™re around us. Even non-Christians are to feel comfortable and it should go without saying that weā€™re to treat one another in kind, agreeable ways. Sad to say, some believers havenā€™t gotten this memo. They think that theyā€™re doing God a favor by forcing their moral code down peopleā€™s throats. They think theyā€™re being good soldiers in his army by creating lots of collateral damage on fellow believers with whom they have a few differences of opinion. The question I need to ask myself is how do I score on this ā€œagreeable, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, humbleā€ test? Peter, it seems, can almost hear peopleā€™s self-justification at this point, so he adds: ā€œThat goes for all of you, no exceptions.ā€ He continues, ā€œThatā€™s your job, to bless.ā€ Of course, my non-Christian friends are to know that I believe thereā€™s a superior way for them to live. At the same time, theyā€™re to conclude an encounter with me feeling that theyā€™ve been blessed and not cursed.

Take Away: Do people think of time with us as a blessing or a curse?

Devotional on Genesis

2013 – Burgess Falls State Park, TN

The God of the House of God
Genesis 35: He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel (God-of-Bethel).
Having returned to his home region, Jacob and his large family settle in. However, it isnā€™t long before things get complicated. The interaction between Jacobā€™s family and the natives of the land turns ugly with a rape and then retaliation that includes murder. Itā€™s time for them to go and the Lord names the place: Bethel. It was at Bethel that the Lord first appeared to Jacob when he was on the run from his brother. Now, he moves his entire family and all his belongings to Bethel. Apparently, it comes just in time. Not only are the locals preparing for war against them, but many of Jacobā€™s entourage has begun to dabble in the religions of the region. Itā€™s time for Jacob and family to go to Bethel. When he arrives he builds a new altar to the Lord there. The name ā€œBethelā€ means ā€œHouse of God.ā€ Jacob names the altar ā€œEl-Bethelā€ meaning ā€œThe God of the House of God.ā€ He isnā€™t only bringing his family to the place where he met God; heā€™s bringing them to God, Himself. I know itā€™s quite a stretch, but I canā€™t help but think of our own efforts to impact our families for God. It isnā€™t enough to insist that they behave themselves or even attend church with us. We need to bring them to God, Himself. Without that, everything else is just sideline stuff thatā€™s bound to fail.
Take away: We need to do all we can to bring our loved ones to a personal relationship with the Lord.