pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 6, 2017

Boundaries

Life is organized by boundaries.
Borders define nations. Standards of behavior define morality. Boundaries express and enable covenantal agreements. Think of traffic lanes on the highway. On a two-lane road a thin boundary divides the road into the two lanes. Even if the white line is broken into short stripes, it rules the road. Because of this agreement, we are unafraid of traveling nine miles above the speed limit (ten miles over might get us a ticket) with oncoming cars just inches away. Covenantal boundaries and rules make our highways safe at amazing speeds.

This is the power of boundaries.
Even in these “anything goes” times, teens are able to manage their hormonal surges When they have behavioral boundaries—there are things they will not do. Perhaps the boundaries are set from an internal sense of propriety or by carefully taught moral principles from the home or the church, but these unseen borders can keep youth sexually pure until a marriage contract draws delightful new boundaries for them.

Boundaries are necessities on the Path of Life.
The ancient words of Psalm 16 praise the Lord for the life-boundaries His covenant people enjoy.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Boundaries are born in reality. I grew up in a small Delta town on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River–now there is a boundary! For more than a century of civilization people of the town of Helena had to cross the River by boat. When I was about 11 years old a magnificent bridge was built to span the mighty stream in all seasons of the year from the highest spring floods to the winter days when the temperatures and the waters were low enough for the river to freeze. Cars no longer needed to ride on the slippery decks if a dangerous ferry boat called The Pelican.

Another Dangerous River
When sin entered the human story, a wide and raging river carved a deep and dangerous boundary between our heart and the heart of God. For centuries the world had the nation of Israel as a witness to the One True God. The nation of Israel had the Law and a system of worship wherein the blood of innocent animals paid the high price of transit across the river. This ancient grace stood on pillars of the promise of some future Redeemer Who would come and build a bridge.

A Better Bridge
Jesus is that Redeemer. He has bridged the raging river for us and now we have ready access to the heart of God. Sin no longer needs to separate us from the God we need and love.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Indeed.

Scriptures:
Psalm 16:5-11 NIV
LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 74:12-17 NIV
But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever flowing rivers. The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
John 14:6 NIV
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I owe You so much! My life, my salvation, my destiny, all come from You and through You. You are the bridge spanning boundary of my sin. Your Word gives me clear boundaries of behavior. Through the Bible I know what pleases You and blesses me and I can clearly see the sins that would grieve You and harm me. Your binding covenant marks the lane in which I should travel, warning me of curves and hills and hazards of all kinds. Your faithfulness to Your promises is my security. Yes, the boundaries of my life do occupy good and pleasant places. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ Name.

Song:
Nothing Between
Words and Music: Charles A. Tindey

1. Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; there’s nothing between.

Refrain:
Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
So that His blessed face may be seen;
Nothing preventing the least of His favor,
Keep the way clear with nothing between.

2. Nothing between like worldly pleasure,
habit of life, though harmless the seem,
Must not my heart from Him ever sever,
He is my all, there’s nothing between.

Refrain

3. Nothing between, like pride or station;
Self or friend shall not intervene;
Though it may cost me much tribulation,
I am resolved, there’s nothing between.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

Feruary 5, 2017

Unity

Such a simple concept, unity—many as one.
The motto of the United States of America is E pluribus unum-“ meaning “out of many, one.” Musicians have adapted a French word, ensemble, meaning, “together” or “all at once” to express the idea of many voices or instruments achieving an artistic unity of expression. Not a difficult idea to grasp, but a challenging reality to achieve. Most of the time in musical or theatrical rehearsals is spent trying to become an ensemble—many functioning as one.

It is important to remember that Jesus prayed for our unity.
His prayer is recorded in John chapter seventeen. After His detailed teaching about the events crowding close upon Him—the week of His passion—and the more distant event of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would begin His New Covenant ministry in the hearts of those who would follow Him, Jesus prayed for our unity.

Yes, our unity. He prayed for the Apostles and for all who would come to know Him through their witness. So Jesus prayed for us!

And what did He ask for us? That we would be one—an ensemble of the spirit—singing one story in many languages until everyone has heard the tune.

Paul used another analogy, the human body.
It is made of many parts—and He didn’t know about the cell level of the human body!—but is really a unity, a unity with diversity. The human body had many members all functioning uniquely together as a single individual. There was to be no envy of one member for the position of another because all were equally vital to our health.

We live in a world beset by division. Markets depend on identifying separate groups and feeding the wants and needs of those people. If we are on the verge of being conquered, it is because we are being so thoroughly divided.

The Kingdom of God requires unity, unity with diversity.
Each of us is an individual with a path of life that God has promised to show us. We each have good works laid out for us to do in this world. But we are intended to operate from a common base, a community of faith wherein all our work adds up to the work of God in the world.

There is an anointing in unity that is destroyed by division. The Psalmist speaks of the anointing oil flowing on each one until we are all one.

This is necessary. It is the answer to the prayer of Jesus.

And it is, indeed, good and pleasant.

Scriptures:
Psalm 133 NKJV
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing — Life forevermore.
Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NIV
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
John 17:20-22 NIV
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Prayer:
(BCP) (adapted)
O God our light and salvation, who makes all free to worship you: May we ever strive to be faithful to your call, following the example of those faithful ones who have gone before us that we may faithfully set our hands to the Gospel plow, confident in the truth proclaimed by your Son Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Song:
We are One in The Spirit
Words and Music: Peter Scholtes

We are One in The Spirit, We are One in The Lord.
We are One in The Spirit, We are One in The Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, By our Love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, We will walk hand in hand.
We will walk with each other, We will walk hand in hand.
And together we’ll spread the News that God is in our land.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, By our Love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 4, 2017

Tranquility

There are three kinds of tranquility:

  1. The kind we imagine when life is anything but tranquil,
  2. The kind we enjoy when living is easy, and
  3. The real thing, a tranquility based in the facts of faith.

God gave each of us a powerful imagination.
As children we commute from the real world of grownups and ordinary things to the world created by our imagination with its surprising shapes, colors, characters and happenings seen only through our childish eyes. Grumpy adults call it day-dreaming and continually require us to awaken and come back to the world of their reality.

Why are we grumpy?

Life—reality—called us one too many times and we never found our way back to the tranquility of our day-dreams. Our imaginations were forced to live on in symbols in our dreams, dancing with our fears or celebrating our hopes, but forgotten when the alarm clock sounds.

Sometimes stories, in print or on the screen, beckon to our long-neglected imaginations to live vicariously with

  • heroes and anti-heroes,
  • maidens in distress and strong women making it big in a man’s world,
  • animals so familiar in their four-legged humanity that we understand them perfectly, or
  • even monsters and villains we love to hate as they trample the cities of our imaginary worlds or threaten to topple the fail-safe structures of our imaginary civilizations.

But none of the tranquility of escapism is really ours. Soon the book is closed, or the credits roll and it is back to real life and its troubles still there waiting for our return, problems still unsolved, dilemmas still undecided, pain never soothed, bills unpaid, and conflicts still raging.

We long for more than this.
In quite moments before sleep overtakes us, we think of tranquil places we have known, images of home, of yesteryear, of childhood or school days when life was simple and fun. Those memories lull us to sleep where dreams deal with our fears in more fantastical ways. It is strange that memories of peace give way so readily to frightful dreams, but this is the fleeting, shadowy world of tranquility as a sleepy time exercise.

The Real Thing
There are days when real tranquility is our lot for a day. No conflicts threaten the peace we feel. Bills are paid. Pain is gone. Work is going along nicely, thank you, and the ones we love appear to love us right back. We want to memorize moments like these so we can hold them in our minds forever and recall them when we need them.

Going Deeper
There is a tranquility that does not spring from either the circumstances of life or our imagination; there is a real tranquility of the spirit. This tranquility speaks from the deepest part of us regardless of what our list of “things to do today” may hold—disasters, dreams, or delightful prospects.

This tranquility is based on the facts of our faith in God.

  • God loves us just as we are.
  • God has redeemed us as He found us and is transforming us into His likeness.
  • God has hemmed us in behind and before and has laid His hand on us.
  • No weapon formed against us shall prosper.
  • He knows the future and is already there.
  • God is One who keeps His covenant promises.

Let the seasons of life change the color of the landscape before us. Let the leaves bud, wave green in the summer wind, dry and die in autumn, and huddle to the ground in winter. We are blessed evergreen trees flourishing throughout the years of our lives. This reality is our tranquility, safe from storm, stealth, and savagery, because its source is the unchanging, unassailable character of God.

Scriptures:
John 14:27 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4 AMP
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
Colossians 3:15 NIV
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Song:
Wonderful Peace
Words: W.D. Cornell; Music: W.G. Cooper

1. Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.

Refrain:
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.

3. I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 3, 2017

Advancement

However it is measured, daily progress is to be desired.
It is important to us to feel that we have advanced the cause of our lives, the purpose God has for us, and the dream or vision the Holy Spirit has given to us. At the beginning of the day we pray for advancement in these things. At the end of the day we look back, hoping to measure the advancement of the day. If we see progress, we can go to sleep dreaming of tomorrow’s tasks. If the day has been one of setbacks or frustrations, we worry ourselves to sleep searching our memories for unseen flaws of technique or hidden causes of the random nonsense that robbed the day of measurable progress.

Give it time.
Advancement isn’t always easy to judge. Many times what we need is a greater time reference than a single day. What may seem like a setback today may prove to be a necessary course correction in a few days. With time, frustrations can lead us to new understandings of the task we are attempting. Even people who we think have hindered our advancement may turn out to be friends not enemies, helpers, not hinderers.

To gain this more accurate perspective, we must pull the camera of our analysis of our work back to a wider view. It is possible that the energy we pour into worrying about an unproductive day may be wasted. Things can look completely different from a longer viewpoint. Tossing in bed and constant adjustment of our pillow can be relieved by reflecting on how the Lord Himself might judge the day just past.

Paul encourages us to ruminate, not on the possible setbacks of the day, but on the final victory in Christ that is guaranteed in the Covenantal Promises of God.

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”

Remember the Promises.
As we meditate on the promises of God, the energies wasted on worry can be more profitably spent on

  • praise in advance for what God has promised to do,
  • thanksgiving for what God has already done,
  • anticipation of what tomorrow may bring, and
  • confidence in God to see us through.

Perhaps it is time to replace our hunger for advancement with a quiet confidence in faithfulness.

We cannot always sense advancement, but we can always be faithful. If we have been faithful, we have advanced the cause of Christ.

It may be that we have to look to the right or the left to judge our progress. This is useful, but all we need is a glance or two. Keep looking up

  • to the vision,
  • to the dream,
  • to the prize, and most of all,
  • to the Lord.

True advancement comes only from Him.

Scriptures:
Psalm 75:6-7
No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.
Proverbs 4:25-27
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Isaiah 30:19-21
O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Galatians 6:9-10
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I take a constant delight in You. As I do You shape the desires deep in my heart. I long for each day to be one of progress, ever higher, ever deeper, ever greater and all of this in Your will and love for me. Help this day to be one of advancement—advancement of Your splendid Kingdom. Help me move in Righteousness for Your cause does not advance through sloth or wickedness. Help me operate from a base of profound Peace with no anxiety in my mind or fear in my heart. Strengthen me with the Joy of the Holy Spirit which gives me Your power for the tasks before me. For Your Kingdom’s sake, Amen.

Song:
Higher Ground
Words: Johnson Oatman; Music: Charles Gabriel

1. I’m pressing on the upward way, New heights I’m gaining everyday;
Still praying as I’m homeward bound, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith on heaven’s tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2. My heart has no desire to stay Where doubts arise and fear dismay;
Though some may dwell were these about, My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

Refrain

3. I want to live above the world, Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has heard the joyful sound, The song of saints on higher ground.

Refrain

4. I want to scale the utmost height, and catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heaven I’ve found, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 2, 2017

Deep

Beneath the glittering surface of our lives there is the deep of who we really are, who we were, and there are dark tidal forces taking us where it seems inevitable that that we will end up. Most people passing by us see only the glitter and never the deep.

We like it that way.

The deep is private stuff, like the ocean’s floor covered by tons of water, beyond the penetration of the sun’s light and effciently obscured by the silt and sand collected in our hearts.

So distant is the deep, that we seldom dare explore it ourselves.

Just a glimpse of the monsters that may lurk there or the mysteries that linger there is enough to send us searching for the shallows and the friendly splashes of air that welcome us back from the deep.

What Is the Truth?
How much energy do we spend in self-delusion pretending the surface is the true story? Concentric relationship circles radiate out from us with only a very few people in the closest ring and there are secrets we must never tell even them. There is no need. It is all under the blood of Christ, long ago forgiven and stricken from the heavenly ledger. We know this, of course, but even these forgotten and forgiven things erupt in strange images in our dreams setting little fear fires that burn in the night and leaping to mind at odd hours during the day.

The Deep Things of God
Who is there that we can trust to dive deep into the hidden, neglected caverns of our historical hurts and lingering fears? Is there a “Deep” that can speak to our “Deep?”

The good news is this: The Holy Spirit dives as deep into us as we go. At conversion, our sins were cast from us into a sea that is so much deeper than we are. Thank You, Jesus!

And the Spirit within us is an abiding Spirit. He does deep work. At the surface it may feel like an emotional tug, or we may feel nothing at all. But when we open our depths to the Lord whose dimensions are deeper still, He is faithful to do the deep work only He can do.

  • Hurts are healed.
  • Painful memories are managed, filed away someplace too deep to disrupt our joy.
  • Despair is dislodged and hope installed in the empty space left behind.

No matter how deeply we have been hurt, no matter how deep our shameful secrets are buried, no matter the terror that crouches deep in us, the Spirit of God goes deeper.

We are deep but the Spirit dives deeper. Trust Him with your deep places today

Scriptures:
Psalm 42:5-8 NIV
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. … Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me–a prayer to the God of my life.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 NIV
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
Fulfill Thy Word and make me pure (and whole) within;
Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame;
Grant my desire to magnify Your name.
from Cleanse Me J. Edwin Orr

Song:
Deeper, Deeper
Words and Music: C. P. Jones

1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom, More of grace to know.

Refrain:
O deeper yet, I pray, And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord, In Thy precious, holy Word.

2. Deeper, deeper! Blessed Holy Spirit, Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus, And His perfect will.

Refrain

3. Deeper, deeper! Though it cost hard trials, Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus, Let me fruitful frow.

Refrain

4. Deeper, higher, every day with Jesus, Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image Perfected at last.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 31

Worship

Today is a day for worship.
It is the day the Lord has made! Yesterday we discussed the call to rest to the refreshing of our bodies, minds, and hearts. We must garner our strength for what we have the honor to do today. We will worship. We will minister to the Lord! He has filled us to overflowing, so we will let our thanksgiving and adoration overflow. He has been faithful to us, so we will be faithful to Him on His day. He has ministered to us and now we will minister to Him.

What does it mean to minister to God?
It is very different from the common understanding of ministry. We have learned to think in terms of the strong ministering to the weak. If that were the only way ministry flowed—from the strong to the weak, the able to the unable, the rich to the poor, the well to the sick—it would make no sense to say that we can minister to the Lord. He is never weak or unable or poor or sick, and if He were, we would be powerless to help Him.

But worship is ministry to the Lord.
We who are weak respond to His strength. Because we are unable, we rejoice in His limitless ability. In our poverty, we extol his vast riches—not the paltry residue of earthly commerce, but the priceless resources of all creation. We press through our illness to touch the hem of His garment and as our worship flows to Him, His healing flows to us.

Just as a child can delight the heart of a loving parent, the Lord Jesus delights in our gratitude. He takes joy in our offerings of music and speech when they emanate from a sincere heart. He responds to our worship just as He did the alabaster jar Mary of Bethany lavished on Him. “Leave her alone! She has done a beautiful thing to me. She has done what she could.”

It is amazing to think that we can minister to the Lord. We can do this incredible thing because He has ministered to us. He has taken away our sins. He has given us His Spirit to dwell in sweet communion with our spirits. His loving-kindness has brought us to this day—a day to minster to the Lord, to give him the glory due His name and to worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

Scriptures:
Psalm 29:1-2 NKJV
Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I hear much talk about worship these days, what people like and don’t like, what they want and don’t want. You know my heart. You know my list of what I like and want; there is no need to pretend you don’t know these things. What I like and what I want in today’s worship will be the very first thing I will sacrifice to you. Take my preferences and my expectations of men and burn them on Your altar of fire. Holy Spirit help me keep my focus on Jesus. Enable me to set my affections on Jesus. I want to open my heart to You and empty it of all it contains. Then, may You fill it with nothing but passion for You. All for You, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Song:
I Worship You, Almighty God
Words and Music: Sondra Corbett

I worship You, Almighty God, There is none like You.
I worship You, O Prince of peace, That is what I want to do.
I give You praise for You are my righteousness.
I worship You, Almighty God, There is none like You.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 30

Diversion

Just as we have been called to work for the Lord, we have been called to rest before Him, to rest and be refreshed in body, soul, and spirit. Refreshing the body requires a cessation of physical activity. To refresh the spirit is to drink deeply from the Word of God and to breathe deeply in the atmosphere of Heaven, the holy Presence of God.

How do we refresh the mind?
Often we do it with a pleasant diversion. A mental diversion is not the same as a distraction. A diversion is like a temporary detour on the road we are traveling. It will lead to pleasant or interesting surprises and will eventually bring us back to the road to our destination. A distraction is more like a wrong turn that takes us nowhere, shows us nothing, and leads us far from our destination. A diversion is time well spent. A distraction is time wasted.

Why? Because God made our minds to never stop running. Awake or asleep, our busy brains never stop processing information, (How else can an unfamiliar noise in the house wake us from a deep sleep?) dealing with our fears, and processing our plans. The only way to give the mind rest from all the heavy lifting it must constantly do is to divert it toward something that is equally fascinating but absolutely inconsequential.

Gone Fishing!
When someone goes fishing, the mind is diverted from crucial the daily tasks and is

  • occupied with the business of fishing,
  • absorbed in the beauty of the water and sky, and
  • fully engaged in the demands of landing the limit.

Whether we catch fish or not is not the point. The family will not starve if we return home empty handed. The same can be said for hunting, golf, tennis, hiking, camping, or vegging out in the recliner watching a sporting event or a great classic film. The mind is engaged so it is happy to

  • buzz along doing the math,
  • supervise the movement of hands and feet, legs and arms,
  • remember the lyrics of the songs,
  • measure and admire the ironies of the story,
  • hit that little white ball better than you did last time,
  • climb that next rise on the mountain path, or
  • contemplate the vastness of the sea stretching before us to the horizon.

This mental activity is untroubled by the life and death issues we face all week, so that part of the soul—the worry part, the obsessive part, the responsible part—gets a break, a much needed break.

Another Gift from God
Because we work hard all week, the Lord is pleased to give us interests that ease the emotional strain of the responsibility we carry while letting our ceaseless minds continue to chug along. In the process we are refreshed. When we follow this little detour back to the road God has given us, we bring our whole, refreshed humanity to the tasks before us. Rest is a part of the work He has called us to do. We pray for the anointing of His Spirit so that the work of the Kingdom, and our part in it, gets done.

Scriptures:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm23:1-3
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Your lovingkindness is, indeed, better than life. Thank You for making rest such a noble and necessary thing. Let Your call to rest drown out the fleshly call to busy-ness. Protect us from any hint of a Messiah complex that would lead us to believe that if we leave the frontlines even for a day, the war is lost. What nonsense! You and You alone, Lord Jesus, are Messiah. We are simply Your servants, called to work passionately and thoroughly but not tirelessly. Weariness of the flesh is not sin; it is simply a part of the ordained rhythm of life: work-rest; work-rest. As we rest before You today, letting our active minds explore paths of fun and amusement, we know that You are renewing our strength and soon we will soar again on eagle’s wings. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Song:
Near to the Heart of God
Words and Music: Cleland B. McAfee

1. There is a place of quiet rest Near to the heart of God,
A place where sin cannot molest, Neart to the heart of God.

Refrain:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee Near to the heart of God.

2. There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

3. There is a place of full release Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 29

Calvary

The wrinkled face of the earth offers many hills, from smooth, worn, grassy mounds to rugged, sharp, barren crags. The most prominent hills are given names so references to them are clearly set forth. Mt. Calvary was such a hill—the Place of the Skull. It must have reminded onlookers of death—a wicked apparition possessing the broken rocks like a doomed soul tortured by demons.

Calvary was chosen for executions by the Roman authorities and thus it was the workplace of the Roman soldiers. Like flies drawn to a dung heap the scavenger birds circled above the Place of the Skull, riding the thermals that boiled upward from the sun-heated rocks at the pinnacle.

It was all so routine. There were so many crimes against the state; the people in this corner of the Empire were a rebellious lot. They returned any kindness offered by a professional soldier with sneers and curses.

But today the duty on the ugly mountain of death would prove anything but routine. Three criminals, three crosses, and a crowd of onlookers climbed the hill today. Some of the people mourned—unusual for rebels and thieves—and other jeered, hurling insults at one of the victims. They put Him, the object of both the grief and the derision, on the center cross.

None of the men put up any kind of resistance. They were exhausted from the ordeal of getting to and up the hill bound to the crosspiece upon which He would die. It was a nasty business, but the soldiers had seen all there was to see many times before. They made quick work of the hammers and the nails and the raising of the crosses.

The Man on the center cross said things—that was unusual—and the things He said were even more strange:

  • something about forgiveness,
  • a prayer to His father,
  • something about His mother, and strangest of all—
  • “It is finished!”

The last thing He said was a shout—how could a man that weak have the strength, even as He breathed His last?

Wind and clouds and lightning and crashing thunder followed as the day grew as dark as the watch in the middle of the night. The earth trembled in protest to this execution and even as the tremors ran like sea waves through the rocks and sands on the hill, Jesus slumped in death.

It was finished, at least for now.

Scripture:
Mark 15:25-26 NKJV
Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, on this day, I stop the contemplate Calvary. Before I rush into the day, I pause to remember. Oh, I wasn’t really there but, as the old song said, “I’ve been to Calvary. I can say I’ve seen the Lord. I’ve been to Calvary through the witness of His Word.” Thank You for going only where You could go. Thank You for doing what only You could do. Thank You loving people so much—for loving me so much. Thank You for finishing the work of redemption, for it is finished—salvation is here! Your Kingdom has come in our hearts! The sin barrier is down so people and God can talk again. Into Calvary-cleansed hearts the Holy Spirit has come to abide—to live in us! Today we remember that horrendous hill, the Place of the Skull, the domain of death as the place where live begins again. For the glory of the Father!
Amen.

Song:
Calvary Isn’t just another Hill
Words and Music: J.D. and Steve Phifer

1. Oh how true the story told of Calvary,
Where with pain and blood Christ purchased you and me.
And no matter how the world at large may feel,
Calv’ry isn’t just another hill.

Refrain:
Calv’ry isn’t just another hill.
It’s the place of submission to God’s will.
Dying there Jesus stamped redemption’s seal.
Calv’ry isn’t just another hill.

2. Now each day I make my way to Calvary.
There a crimson stream is flowing full and free.
That can cleanse your soul, your mind and body heal.
Calv’ry isn’t just another hill.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 28

Change

Politics
Young, angry people form a mob in the streets. They shout slogans and hold signs crystallizing the changes they want to make into a few memorable words.

Prayer
A solitary figure lights a candle against the darkness he sees all around. He opens a Bible and perhaps a prayer book and in the dim and flaring lamp of the candle speaks ancient mysteries, unchanged from the time of Moses and David and Jesus.

Who will bring about real change, the protestor or the pray-er?

Both, we can be sure.

With violence one human system can bring down another and set itself up in its place to stand until a stronger group rises up with shouts and signs in the same streets.

Unseen by the human eye and certainly unrecorded by microphone or camera,

  • a heart turns from selfishness to servanthood.
  • A sinner turns around, repenting of his sin.
  • In a flash of grace seen only by spiritual eyes, forgiveness flows from the One who has been wronged to the wrongdoer and a new life begins.
  • Old ways pass away and new ways take their place.
  • A second birth on earth ignites a celebration in heaven. Angels dance and sing because another prodigal has started the long journey home.

These examples are not extreme as they may appear. Political protests affect change that may or may not be good, may or may not be lasting, and may or may not be legitimate. Wars are fought to change borders on a map, to free one people or to enslave another; only a few horrid things are certain in wars—death and destruction.

Prayer changes things in ways that are always good, though not always pleasant. God has chosen to work in league with mankind through spiritual things like, prayer, faith and obedience. These changes can be eternal and God has the legitimate right to make them. He is building a church and we are part of it.

The powers of hell will march against the church inflicting damage and wounding faithful soldiers, but there are things in the church which will remain unchanged by hell’s repeated assaults and the wounded warriors are healed while the battle still rages.

  • The Word of God is fixed and cannot be altered. It is written.
  • The Name of Jesus remains the hope of those who believe and the curse of those who do not. It is powerful.
  • The Father in Heaven remains secure on His throne of majesty. No power can unseat Him. He is unchanging.
  • The Spirit of God goes through the earth at the Father’s bidding, bearing the banner of Christ, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. The Spirit is moving.
  • The empty cross stands against the moving clouds of a constantly changing cultural parade, unchanged in its message, untarnished in its purity, and undiminished in its power to save—to change hearts. It is finished.

In a time when the world is shaking with seismic change events and the ground beneath us trembles at the violence of the day, we stand on the unchanging Rock of Christ, impervious to the temporary storms of societies rising and falling around us.

We share with Him a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Scriptures:
Hebrews 12:26-29
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
James 1:16-18; 5:16
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my security. Changeless You remain in times of violent and constant change. At the same time, You have sent me into this world as an agent of change. I must preach Your peace into the constant conflict. I must sing Your praise over the noise of the lies wicked people tell. I must demonstrate Your compassion when I would rather shrink back from horrors of victimhood on every street corner. You have called me to shine a holy light into the back alleys where darkness goes unchallenged. You Holy Spirit goes deep into me to make the deep changes I need to be more like You. Change is present where it needs to be present—deep in my heart, and at my fingertips. Change is absent in Your great heart and to the glories of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Song:
Change My Heart, O God
Words and Music: Eddie Espinosa

Change my heart, O God, Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God, May I be like You.
You are the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, This is what I pray.
Change my heart, O God, Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God, May I be like You.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 27

Circumstance

Circumstances; we all have them and we must sort them out every day. This sorting of circumstances is a type of prayer.

Definitions include:

  • A condition or fact attending an event and have some bearing on it;
  • A determining or modifying factor.
  • A condition or fact that determines or must be considered in the determining of a course of action.
  • The sum of determining factors beyond willful control.

The omnipresence of circumstances yields a bevy of clichés in our speech:

  • “Circumstances permitting,”
  • “Under the circumstances,”
  • “Pomp and circumstance,”
  • “A victim of circumstance,” and
  • “Face the circumstances.”

Things We Can Control
Our ability to live through each day with any degree of self-determination depends on our ability to sort out the conditions and facts we will face. As free will agents, there are many things we can control, enough of them to count and to count on to give us courage to get out of bed, cleanup and dress for the day, and even to go out the door and start the car. Free will is a gift from God and He enables those who worship Him to do this regularly and with great redeeming effect upon the world.

Things We Cannot Control
However, some of the circumstances we face are well beyond our ability to control. The person without Christ must file these things safely away from the conscious mind in order to function. If the unbeliever cannot do this, the burden of life becomes too great to bear. That person must find relief in an altered state of consciousness, using anything from alcohol to drugs to soul-numbing addictions, to suicide.

God Is in Control
The Christ-follower is never left alone to face the circumstances of his/her life. The worshiper of Jesus does not stand in awe at a distance, but is held close in a secure embrace. There are no circumstances beyond the Lord’s control.

In prayer this morning, sort out the circumstances you will face today. Renew your vows. Rely on discipline to fully engage the fruit of the Spirit called self-control. Look for opportunities throughout the day to change the circumstances others may face. Look squarely, fearlessly into the circumstances beyond your control and place them in the hands of your Lord.

He can handle anything.

Scriptures:
Psalm 61 NKJV
Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name … So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.
Ephesians 1:21-23
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am so grateful for Your lovingkindness; it is better than life! Your Spirit enables me to prevail through this day regardless of the circumstances I will face. You were tempted in all points that I could ever be tempted yet you did not sin. Help me walk in Your victory today. By Your grace I can hear Your tender voice deep in my spirit, comforting me, challenging me, changing me. Let me say in every circumstance, “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” Amen.

Song:
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Words and Music: Ira Stamphill

1. I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future, For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him, for He knows what is ahead.

Refrain:
Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.

2. Ev’ry step is getting brighter, As the golden stairs I climb;
E’vry burdens’ getting lighter; Ev’ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining. There no tear will dim the eye.
At the ending of the rainbow, Where the mountains touch the sky.

Refrain

3. I don’t know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow, Is the One who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion, May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me, And I’ve covered with His blood.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved