Week Twenty-Two - Under His Wings

Psalm 139 is one of my favorite Psalms because I always find comfort and joy in its description of how much God is involved in the tiny, everyday details of my life. His intimate attention and care are truly too marvelous to comprehend. 

Dick Brogden, in his devotional Live/Dead, speaks of Psalm 139, saying, "It unveils the joys of being fully known."

God knows us, so we do not need others to know us; we rest in who we are in Christ without seeking extra attention from others. 

God knows us, so we keep no secrets from Him, for He knows everything, and we need not fear exposure. 

God knows us, so we are free, hedged in by His love, and under His everlasting wings.

As we continue Ruth's journey from last week, we left her traveling to Bethlehem with Naomi. Despite the challenges and uncertainties, she is steadfast in her determination, venturing with God. As the Lord would have it, Ruth goes out to glean for food and finds herself in the field of Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi. 

God will not disappoint Ruth, for her testimony of kindness and faithfulness to her mother-in-law has gone before her, and Boaz shows her generous favor. Ruth casts herself upon God, and God will not disappoint her.

When we cast our all upon God, trusting fully in Him, He will not fail us either. Whether we need sustenance, encouragement, forgiveness, or strength, He meets us right where we are and provides for our every need. His provision is a testament to His care for us, moving every circumstance for our benefit. 

In Ruth 2:12, Boaz says to Ruth, "The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." Ruth's steadfast mind placed her in favor with everyone around her, and God wraps His wings of protection and divine providence around her. 

Psalm 84:11 reads, "No good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly." To walk uprightly means to live in a manner that is pleasing to God, following His commandments and living a life of integrity. God always rewards faithfulness, and the faithful are always under His wings for protection and provision. 

"Walking by faith is not a blind walk; it is a confident, assured stride based on the knowledge of God's Word, character, and promises." (Gail Gritts)

Where are you on your spiritual walk? Are you venturing by faith with God? Do you recognize His presence, and are you assured of His protection? Do you, like Ruth, understand that you are "under whose wings thou art come to trust?"

Week Twenty-One - Steadfastly Minded

Stubbornness is most often seen in a negative context. It could be because it frequently comes with an ungracious attitude. But if we change the word from stubborn to steadfast, we have a similar quality but with a more positive context. Let me show you what I mean. 

If someone said,  "Sheer stubbornness caused him to refuse to admit his mistake." We would believe the person to be unyielding and proud. But if we changed the sentence to read, "His steadfastness caused him to hold his position," we'd have more admiration for his stance.

Being steadfast-minded means having a firm, unwavering resolve and focus, not easily swayed by doubt, fear, or external pressures, and remaining steadfast in one's beliefs, decisions, or actions. Steadfast people are mentally strong and resilient, holding firmly to their convictions. This does not mean they are unapproachable or unwilling to consider others' opinions, but they will judge decisions by a consistent set of rules or principles.

Let's consider Ruth's example of steadfastness. Ruth 1:18 reads, "When she (Naomi) saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her." As the story goes, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem after the death of her husband and two sons. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, decides to go with her, and though Naomi gives several reasons for Ruth to remain, Ruth's heart is steadfastly minded about going with Naomi.

Why was Ruth so determined to push forward? Maybe she deeply loved Naomi and felt concerned about her traveling alone. Maybe she had no family to return to, or maybe she believed God had more for her in a new place. For whatever reason, Ruth was steadfastly minded to push forward.

Oswald Chambers said, "When God gives a vision, transact business on that line no matter the cost." That's what Ruth did, and that's what we must do. When God opens the door, we must go through with a steadfast mind, set on completing our assignment by faith. We should not waver, turn back, or be double-minded.

1 Corinthians 15:58 exhorts us, "Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 

As much as Ruth is an example of steadfastness, Balaam is an example of stubbornness. He kept pushing forward to a mission of his own choice, and as he struck the donkey, God used the poor animal to point out the folly of his stubbornness.

So, are you stubborn or steadfast? One holds great reward, and the other sure folly. 

Week Twenty - Mouth to Life Resuscitation

Oh, how powerful are our words. With one unguarded comment, we wound, and with one considered comment, we heal. Dick Brogen calls words weapons of mass destruction.

God is not silent about the power of our words and often warns us to speak softly, thoughtfully, and with purpose, because our words reveal the true intent of our hearts. The book of James reminds us that our tongues set things on fire and are virtually impossible to tame. With our words, we bless God, and with our words, we curse others. 

But that should not be the way we speak. James 3:10 says, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

We discover so much about our words in Scripture, but let's give one more thought before we continue.  Ephesians 4:29 reads, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." This is a great measure for words. Is it corrupt? Then don't say it. Will it build someone up? Then don't withhold it.

Dick Brogen wrote, "Praising God and encouraging others is the opposite of tongue death - these are mouth-to-life resuscitation."

And oh, how people need to hear words of life today. The internet and news are full of negative, damaging words. People seem to believe that freedom of speech means they can say whatever hurtful or hateful things come to their mind with no accountability. But let's not be deceived, Jesus said we will give account of every idle word (Matthew 12:36). 

If we are haphazard or unchecked in our speech, we are unwise and damaging to those around us. God will hold us accountable. How much better to be a life-giver? To seek ways to defuse anger, sow unity, and seek peace rather than to blaze words of fire into situations?

Psalm 34:14 contains the phrase, "Seek peace and pursue it." By our words, we can do this. We can give mouth-to-life resuscitation to those gasping for a kind word. We can bring peace to a situation when we pre-judge our words and follow Scriptural instructions.

Our words should bring hope, joy, and even challenge, pointing the receiver to Christ. How are you doing with that these days?

Week Nineteen - Plundering

Tom and I are in a new era. We are not retired, but our ministry has shifted to a different sphere. We are now the old veterans. It is our joy and pleasure to encourage, mentor, and support those now in leadership. Tom used to refer back to the passage in Numbers 9:25, which says the Levitical priests were to move into this type of ministry at 50. Well, he couldn't move there at that age, but he has finally arrived there! It is a joy and a privilege to see the church grow, to watch people move forward with the Lord, and to know that there will be fruit that remains long after we are gone. They are our "crown of rejoicing" (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

Dick Brogden brooched this idea in our devotional reading this past week. He wasn't talking about sitting back and watching things; he was challenging older believers to keep venturing and plundering. Using the story of the lepers in 2 Kings 7, who went into the city to find the enemy gone and everything free for the taking, he said, "Jesus delights over senior citizens who spend their golden years 'plundering' the nations through prayer, visitation, and outreach."

We aren't supposed to just sit and wait to die; we are to still be about our Father's business and out there venturing by faith. There is a great need for people who have walked with God to continue walking in prayer for the church, the leadership, and the growth of the younger ones. There is wisdom under the grey heads that can be brought to bear for those struggling, in need of encouragement, or just a kind word. There is still outreach that can be done best by those a little further down the road, and there is financial, verbal, and physical giving that can be done by the more mature who understand the grace of giving in tangible ways.

Then he wrote, "It is criminal for Jesus' followers, who are amply supplied, to sit in holy huddles while vast collections of people have no access to or news about the Living Bread...they should be calling out to the gatekeepers that there is life, deliverance, and hope." 

Those lepers could not contain their discovery. They recognized that to do so would be wrong. In 2 Kings 7:9, they said, "We do not well: this day is the day of good tidings, and we hold our peace; if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household."

If you are an older Christian, let me challenge you to not sit in "holy huddles." Don't separate yourself from the life of the church. Get out there and mingle with the young ones. Share your story, share hope, and plant hope in their lives. It will bring fresh life to your soul. Be flourishing in the courts of the Lord (Psalm 92:13-14). Keep your light shining and keep plundering and venturing by faith. 

Week Eighteen - Make Some Noise!

My devotion book this year is Live/Dead by Dick Brogden. Our dear friends, Ken and Carrie Liles, recommended it, and we have not been disappointed! Today, I want to share some quotes I have copied out. I hope they bless your heart and challenge you as they did me.

Dick Brogden writes, "We pass God's tests by obedience, not by performance. He is measuring us by how much of our heart He controls. The obedience of the missionary is linked to the obedience of faith of the nations."

Though we often fail to see the link, blessings are always on the other side of obedience. Our obedience is not just about our own blessings, either. As we obey the Lord, our obedience results in blessing for others. When we obey in witnessing, others hear the gospel. When we obey in giving, others take the gospel. When we obey in prayer, others are empowered to spread the gospel.

So my thoughts that day were on obedience and the eternal fruit it produces.

But here is a longer quote that really caught my imagination.

"Enemy forces feed on and are fed by fear. Fear inside errant ideologies is what drives them and energizes them. Gideon was allowed to sneak into the Midianite camp in order to hear their fear (Judges 7:10-13). The enemy realizes that a rolling barley loaf would "tumble" into town and knock down their tents. We are that barley loaf - we clumsily roll down a hill in all our weakness, and God amazingly uses us to defeat His enemies. False ideologies intrinsically know they cannot win. What are we afraid of, then? Let's roll!

We have to make some frontier noise. The enemy is not intimidated by whispers. It is the shouting, the breaking of pitchers, the blowing of trumpets, the sudden light in the darkness that surprises and routs the enemy (Judges 7:18-20). We have to open our mouths despite the risks and the superiority of the foe. It is the unexpectedly bold proclamation that strikes fear into the heart of our enemy."

Fear surrounds us, causing uncertainty and apprehension, and that is exactly what the enemy wants. However, in the Bible references mentioned in the quote, it is the enemy experiencing fear. They feared the power of the God of Israel. They knew they would not win, yet their fear motivated them to seek to destroy Israel.

It reminds me that the enemy knows God's judgment is coming, but he still defies Him. Fear makes them irrational.

We, however, are not to cower but stand by faith and proclaim the gospel boldly. Our lack of fear is exactly what unnerves the enemy. 

Tom and I began discussing this, and we thought of times when God led us to hold our peace in the middle of a commotion. Our quietness and resolve did not make sense to the enemy, but for us, it was a gentle calm, full of assurance that God was fighting for us. And there have been other times when we had to make some noise, speak the truth, and stand for the defense of the gospel. 

There is a time to be obediently silent and a time to make some noise! 

Week Seventeen - His Lingering Presence

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the word continually. As I usually find, God was not finished developing His thoughts. He brought me back again to the word abiding and began combining the two. I'm going to share what spilled out into my journal.

"The word abide captured me yesterday. As a reminder, I cut the word out of paper and pasted it over the doorway in my office. Then, Dick Brogden's devotion powerfully related to abide. He was talking about glorying in the presence of Jesus and wrote, "stop everything and linger in the glory cloud - the tangible presence of Jesus."

I've known this presence - the nearness of the Lord, the hushed praise as tears fall and I feel His arms around me. Such precious times. I long for them more and more, and not just for the experience, but the relationship, the knowing that He is with me. How precious to awaken to it, to know it as I look into the Word, and to see and feel it in church, and at times throughout the day - this is abiding. This is His tangible lingering presence.

Dick Brogden writes, 'David lifted a cry of longing for us all: "Oh, when will You come to me?" ( Psalm 101:20) We know we belong to Jesus, yet we long for more of Him. We struggle with the "plague" of our own hearts ( 2 Kings 8:38). Our sin and flesh cloud our spirits and make it seem that God is remote, clouded, and veiled. Hunger for God is itself a grace for it is God who "inclines our hearts to Himself" (1 Kings 8:58). Our hearts are often blurred by self and sin, yet we long for Jesus to come to us in renewed vitality. What wonder that God puts the desire for Himself within us. We do not have to manufacture passion, for we only pervert it when we try. Rather, by faith we trust that God will give us a desire for more of Him and will fulfill that desire. . . God often has to withhold His sweet presence in order for us to hunger for Him. He does not do this capriciously; for our folly requires it. Nothing makes us hunger for the Master's table like wallowing in the mire with pigs for a while. God helps us hunger for Him by allowing us to experience how unsatisfying everything else is.'

Nothing compares to Jesus's presence. Nothing is of more value than the Living Word of God—Christ Jesus. This reminds me of Proverbs 3:15, which talks about wisdom and understanding, and Jesus is wisdom personified. The verse says, "She (speaking of wisdom or He, Christ) is more precious than rubies, and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."

Lord, may I continually abide in your presence. Throughout this day, which is your gift to me, may I enjoy it and be thankful, for it is the day You have planned for me. Abide with me and cause me to abide with You, to linger in your presence."

Week Sixteen - Thoughts on Holy Week

I'm on social media daily, posting a thought or an encouragement, and others are doing the same thing. Often, we share each other's posts, but today I wanted to not simply share a picture but talk about two special ones that gave me fresh thoughts about Easter week.

The first read, "Jesus didn't say, 'I am finished.' He said, 'It is finished.' He was just getting started" (Tony Evans). 

Oh, what joy in that statement, that truth. The cross was not the end of Jesus; it didn't defeat Him. He came to give Himself for us on that cross. The cross was the goal, not the punishment. Jesus' mission was finished, but He was not!

Dick Brogden's statement stopped me in my tracks. He said, "The agony of the cross was felt (by God) before the creation of the world and will be felt long after re-creation. An eternal God bears eternal wounds." 

I'd never considered God being so acutely affected by the cross, but since Jesus is God, the idea of coming in human form and experiencing the pain of sin would be a wound shared equally for all eternity. 

So what was finished? The cross completed God's promise of restoration for mankind. Now, it is time to do our part: to accept Christ's sacrifice and be restored to God. That part, our part, is still ongoing. Have you done that?

The other post that caught my attention stated, "This week wasn't just history. It was His heart saying, 'I'll go first, I'll pay it all. My love for you is this deep.'" And that's what He did. 

Christ's sacrifice on Calvary paid in full the cost of our sins, the punishment we deserve, and the price of redemption. He went there so we didn't have to. 

And He didn't have to! He went because of love, a love we find hard to understand and sometimes hard to accept. We could never pay the penalty of our sin and find forgiveness without the immeasurable love of Christ. Sin demands punishment, and the book of Romans tells us that the "wages of sin is death." So when Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world and died, that payment was complete.

If you fail to accept His offering, you will pay the wages of your sin. Eternal death is the price. How odd that anyone would refuse such an offer. 

This Holy Week is a great time to meditate on what Christ did. It is a time of humble praise and wonder that God would send His only begotten Son to die on a cross for people who reject and scorn His sacrifice.

And if you have not yet yielded your stubborn and prideful heart to the loving compassion of Christ, this is a good week for you to lay down your will and give way to His deep and sacrificial love for you.